* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
While islands are small by land mass, we are also guardians of massive swathes of ocean and capable of inspiring change
Children of Palau,
I take this Pledge,
To preserve and protect your beautiful and unique island home.
I vow to tread lightly, act kindly, and explore mindfully.
I shall not take what is not given.
I shall not harm what does not harm me.
The only footprints I shall leave are those that will wash away.
-- Palau Pledge
Imagine stepping out from a plane after a 24-hour journey to the western edge of the Pacific Ocean. Before you swim among the limestone Rock Islands or dive in a marine lake of stingless jellyfish, you must pass customs and immigration—that well-known point which marks a traveller’s entryway into another world.
But, here, you find something different. To enter Palau, you must sign a stamped pledge in your passport—written with the help of the children of Palau—a promise to act in an ecologically responsible way while visiting the islands: to tread lightly, act kindly, and explore mindfully.
Tourism can be a double-edged sword for many island nations around the world. It offers a vital pathway for economic wellbeing, but one that can devastate the beautiful and delicate ecology and cultural heritage of our islands that our guests come to experience. The Palau Pledge is the commitment we ask guests to our country to take to help us protect our pristine assets.
As president, my commitment is putting in place ambitious ocean conservation and resilience initiatives to protect the best and improve the rest. On Oct. 28, 2015, I signed into law the Palau National Marine Sanctuary Act that by 2020 will encompass over 80 percent of Palau’s marine area, or Exclusive Economic Zone, an area of almost 500,000 square kilometres. The remaining 20 percent is reserved for traditional fishing and a highly regulated and reformed domestic fishing fleet to serve our domestic and tourism needs.
While this legislation is a local victory, it is also a global one, helping us to cultivate a sustainable path forward—we are coupling values of our traditional ways with modern science and innovation to protect and live in balance with our environment, and ultimately protect our children’s and nations futures. I challenge other leaders around the world to step up to make the Palau National Marine Sanctuary look like a small commitment.
I have been humbled by the action of a number of my fellow island leaders around the world who have launched their own bold, visionary, and measurable commitments to build a resilient and sustainable future. These commitments are beacons of hope to the world that there is the vision and determination to navigate to the future we want.
From the Micronesia Challenge to the State of Hawaii’s Aloha+ Challenge in Pacific, to the Caribbean Challenge Initiative, Seychelles Blue Economy Vision, and Europe’s BEST Challenge for its own islands, these beacons demonstrate how we can deliver in a locally and culturally appropriate way on our global agreements and the Sustainable Development Goals.
It is the leaders of some of the planet’s smallest land masses that are taking large-scale and urgent action as they are severely feeling the negative impacts of climate change, resource depletion, and food and water pressures. To make our commitments a reality, we are working together with governments, philanthropists, private and public organisations through world-spanning partnerships and collaborative platforms—among them, the Global Island Partnership, which I am proud to lead with the Presidents of the Seychelles and Marshall Islands as well as the Prime Minister of Grenada and Premier of the British Virgin Islands.
Together with the State of Hawaii and partners, we have been working to make sure our progress is tracked and shared openly through online impact dashboards to show that our commitments are not just empty ideas but are followed by action that is fundamentally changing how we do things.
While islands are small by their land mass, we are also guardians of massive swathes of ocean and capable of inspiring significant change. In two years, Palau will convene world leaders and champions of change in our country to continue to galvanise commitments to build ocean and global resilience. Together the commitments of the islands, cities, states and countries across the world will light the way for our children for generations to come, to live healthy lives sustained by the abundant ocean that surrounds them.
Come along with us in creating this movement of people committed to taking action to preserve and protect your homes. I invite you to take the Palau Pledge to tread lightly, act kindly, and explore mindfully. Will you join us?
