Saipan Tribune 24 Jun 09;
Children sit on the edge of a porch, their feet dangling in the water. A two-story house sits apparently undisturbed, except for the seawater reaching up its doorway. Coral stretches across an ocean floor, its vibrant colors bleached a uniform white.
These were just a few of the images presented at yesterday afternoon's sessions on climate change at the 26th Pacific Islands Environmental Conference. Over 500 people attended nine sessions on the first official day of the forum.
Many were present to listen to Ben Namakin, executive director of the Pacific Islands Climate Revolution, as he spoke on why he seeks to spread awareness and engage youth on the issue of climate change.
“I just cannot see myself being relocated somewhere else,” he said. “I think it's not too late.”
Namakin's home of Pohnpei has been losing land as the sea level rises.
“One of my favorite places is now two islands,” said Namakin. “I visited the family who owns the land. The woman was crying because the place where her grandfather was buried is now underwater.”
Namakin described the need to educate and motivate Pacific island youth to make their voices heard.
“We contribute less than 1 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, yet we are paying the price,” he said. “Our very existence lies upon sea and land resources. We are still here. We can do something about it. It's never too late.”
Namakin joined other speakers who addressed climate change and the methods by which it can be confronted.
Trina Leberer, Micronesia program director of the Nature Conservatory, suggested site-based planning and the creation of protected area networks as two methods of helping the region adapt to change.
Yimnang Golbuu, chief researcher at the Palau International Coral Reef Center, described how Palau is working to manage coral bleaching on its northern reefs. He emphasized careful analysis and community involvement.
“You cannot say this is management and this is community,” he said, “because the management is the community.”
Ben Machol, manager of the Clean Energy and Climate Change Office of the Environmental Protection Agency Region 9, also spoke about the need for quantifying the environmental impact of greenhouse emissions.
“As you do an assessment, you can make better decisions,” he said.
He stressed the need for the Pacific to determine where the emissions are coming from in order to identify how they can be reduced. He presented a breakdown of California's emissions compared to a breakdown of U.S. emissions because similar information for Pacific islands is unavailable.
Peter Houk, a coral biologist who worked for the Division of Environmental Quality for many years, said the effects of climate change on the CNMI are already visible.
He cited climate-induced bleaching that occurred in 2000, 2003, and 2004 as one example. Receding shorelines and unusually large storms are further impacts, he said.
Houk said the CNMI can combat climate change by maintaining healthy water and fish and by reducing pollution.
“You have to create conditions where recovery can occur really easily,” said Houk. Spikes in water temperature that trigger coral bleaching occur in cycles, allowing a period of recovery to take place.
PIEC is sponsored by the U.S. EPA and the governments of the CNMI, Guam, and American Samoa. The conference will continue all day today and Thursday. (Anita Hofschneider)
