A UN Resident Coordinator blog — Global Issues

“They don’t wish to go away their ancestral locations, even when they go underneath,” mentioned Jaap van Hierden.

Appointed by the Secretary-Normal as the primary UN Resident Coordinator for the North Pacific, he oversees ongoing improvement efforts throughout a distant area with 1000’s of small islands comprising of small populations which might be the stewards of an unlimited expanse of ocean and Earth stretching greater than 7,000 km from Palau to Kiritimati island.

He spoke to UN Information simply forward of the Fourth Worldwide Convention on Small Island Growing States (SIDS4) which is underway within the Caribbean twin island of Antigua and Barbuda. He defined how the UN Multi-Nation Workplace, often called MCO Micronesia, the place 13 UN agencies now function, was created.

“This principally undeveloped and quite pristine a part of the Pacific just isn’t well-known. Aside from Palau, these nations are usually not but vacation locations.

Other than receiving some US funding, all 5 nations within the area – Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Nauru and Kiribati – seem considerably forgotten and left behind by the worldwide group.

This triggered the necessity for an more and more efficient engagement by Micronesian leaders with the UN and its Normal Meeting, which in flip led to a assessment of UN multi-country places of work and the following institution of my publish.

Frontlines of local weather change

Upon my arrival, I rapidly discovered that Micronesians are on the frontline of local weather change with Marshall Islands and Kiribati liable to disappearing underneath the waves of our ocean throughout the lifetimes of our kids. Additionally going through an analogous existential threat had been the quite a few low-lying outer islands of Palau and Micronesia – with its 4 states of Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosrae.

Micronesians have been champions in our shared combat in opposition to local weather change and leaders and advocates in highlighting the significance of reviewing vulnerability by means of a number of dimensions.

They’ve additionally contributed to the continued “loss and damages” dialogue that ought to assist them adapt successfully in opposition to rising sea ranges and worsening climate occasions.

Encouragingly, they’ve acted upon their duties as stewards of our huge ocean by means of the institution of marine protected areas in addition to the UN Academic, Scientific and Cultural Group (UNESCO) World Heritage Websites and Biosphere Reserves and extra.

Stewards of the ocean

Nonetheless, Micronesians are extremely dispersed, with lower than half one million in quantity, all on small islands with small populations, who neither have the economies of scale nor the talents and sources that we discover in nations or subregions with an analogous geographical expanse.

Nonetheless, as stewards of an unlimited expanse of our ocean and the ocean flooring, we can not afford for them to be susceptible, and I’m glad that the UN is stepping up its engagement in Micronesia to make sure that nobody is left behind and to make sure that we assist construct a greater future for all.

‘Increasing our UN footprint’

We rapidly discovered that our islands had been small, with our subregional host, Pohnpei, having solely about 30,000 folks on island with many having left for schooling or work in the USA.

But, we persevered and had been capable of set up a completely functioning UN MCO Micronesia inside two years after arrival in Pohnpei in late 2021. Proper now, nation coordination places of work are in place for Palau, Marshall Islands, Nauru and Kiribati, and a completely functioning Resident Coordinator Workplace has been established.

The brand new workplace has enabled UN organisations to provoke the decentralisation of their work from Fiji and Samoa to Pohnpei. That resulted in increasing our UN footprint in Pohnpei from 5 in 2021 to 13 today.

‘Being on the bottom makes an enormous distinction’

In parallel, I’ve labored carefully with the governments of Micronesia and Pohnpei in setting the stage for the design and building of the carbon-neutral One UN Micronesia Home that comes with Micronesian historical past and tradition into its design and landscaping.

An enterprise that can embody a convention facility will assist us in bringing extra UN-convened occasions to Micronesia and permit Micronesian leaders to interact with worldwide leaders and consultants on their house floor. We’ve got made good progress with land already allotted by Pohnpei State Legislature, and a launch ceremony for the ultimate design and building will quickly be held.

Not surprisingly, being on the bottom makes an enormous distinction in appreciating and understanding the developmental and humanitarian challenges and alternatives inside every of the 5 Micronesian nations and 4 states of Micronesia. With a purpose to convey this successfully inside our UN workforce, I journey incessantly and interact with authorities counterparts, embassies, improvement companions, civil society, religion based mostly leaders, chambers of commerce and communities.

Collectively, we aspire transformational change that leaves nobody behind and helps a greater future for all, one by which our planet with its finite pure sources and distinctive biodiversity is a key stakeholder.”