Koror 15.05.20: The Government of the Republic of Palau today announced the postponement of the Our Ocean Conference 2020, previously scheduled to be held from 17-18 August in Koror, Palau. The new dates will be 7-8 December 2020.
This decision reflects global concern at the spread and public health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the uncertainty as to when travel restrictions will be eased.
President Tommy E. Remengesau, Jr., President of the Republic of Palau, said: “Protecting the health and well-being of the Palauan public and those of visiting dignitaries and guests is paramount. Global attention now is rightly dedicated to saving lives, containing the pandemic, and delivering immediate economic responses”.
Our Ocean 2020 marks the first time that the Our Ocean Conference will be hosted by a small island developing state. The conference will draw particular attention to island perspectives to highlight how safeguarding our ocean is essential for achieving sustainable development.
The theme of the Conference – Local to Global Action for Our Ocean – will draw on Palau’s rich tradition as an ocean society to set a course towards a sustainable ocean economy that all of humanity will depend on, particularly in a post-pandemic world. Ocean action is ever more urgent to ensure its protection, enable humanity to live in balance with ocean ecosystems, and ensure a ‘blue-green’ recovery to the pandemic.
“As the global dialogue turns to how to build back better, we must also implement blue recoveries, and take the opportunities to scale up ambition towards a sustainable ocean economy. The Our Ocean Conference 2020 will be the place to showcase partnership and commitments towards this blue recovery,” said President Tommy E. Remengesau, Jr., President of the Republic of Palau.
Our Ocean 2020 will focus on six Areas of Action, convening partners from across the globe to identify solutions and make commitments to manage marine resources, increase the ocean’s resilience to climate change and safeguard its health for generations to come.
The conference invites governments, civil society organisations and businesses to submit new commitments, updates on previous commitments, and proposals for side events from June 2020 onwards.
Invitations to participate and a provisional conference agenda will be issued in September 2020. Further information will be posted on the Our Ocean Conference 2020 website in due course.
For information and interview requests, please contact info@ourocean2020.pw
Notes to editors:
For more information please visit https://ourocean2022.pw/
Palau will host the 7th Our Ocean conference. Previous hosts have included the governments of the United States (2), Chile, the European Union, Indonesia and Norway.
The Our Ocean conference aims to build partnerships between government, industry, science and civil society, putting knowledge, technology and finance into action to meet the challenges facing the ocean and enable protection and sustainable use to go hand in hand so that the ocean can continue to provide for the needs of future generations.
Our Ocean 2020 focuses on six Areas of Action, convening partners from across the globe to identify solutions to manage marine resources, increase the ocean’s resilience to climate change and safeguard its health for generations to come.
Invitations to participate and a provisional conference agenda will be issued in September 2020. Further information will be posted on the Our Ocean Conference 2020 website in due course.
Past commitments can be viewed at https://ourocean2022.pw/commitments/.
Palau’s ocean conversation practices extend back thousands of years. The tradition of Bul is a moratorium declared by Palau’s traditional leaders that places an immediate halt to the over-consumption or destruction of a species, place or thing. Bul has inspired one of the World’s most ambitious ocean conservation initiatives to date. This tradition is not only aimed at protecting Palau’s marine resources, but also at protecting the world’s tuna stocks – in the form of the Palau National Marine Sanctuary Act.
Palau was one of the first countries in the world to incorporate environmental protection into its immigration laws. Visitors to the island are required to sign the Palau Pledge on arrival, which raises awareness of the small changes that tourists can do to help preserve the beauty of its natural environment for future generations.
To learn more about Palau, visit Pristine Paradise Palau