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| Hon. Wong - Suva Lagoon Symposium Mar 30, 2005, 11:00 |
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Hon. Minister for Local Government,
Housing, Squatter Settlement & Environment
Hon. Col.Pio Wong
Distinguished Participants
The Organising Committee of the Suva Lagoon Symposium,
Ladies and Gentleman.
I am pleased to be invited to deliver the opening address to this three-day Symposium on Science and Management of Suva Lagoon, and in doing so; I wish to say a few words on the importance of the Suva Lagoon to Fiji and the Region.
First, I would like to thank the organizers : the Suva Harbour Foundation, University of the South Pacific, Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Program, the Secretariat of the South Pacific Geosciences Commission, University of Wollongong, and Lake Illawarra Authority for organizing such an important symposium.
When the invitation came to my office, I was requested to do a 15-minute presentation to this forum. Frankly, I was not sure what that meant because I am not an expert on the environment, in fact far from it and my background is really in the military and now, politics, but I saw this as an opportunity to briefly share with you some thoughts that you may want to ponder on during this meeting.
At the outset, I believe it is fundamental that we take a trip back in history and look at how the capital city of Suva was established and located here in this part of Fiji, in the Suva Lagoon, but given the time constraints this morning, from historical records, basically, as economic and social developments particularly in trade, commerce and administrative services progressed from the early years in Fiji’s history, huge sailing ships from abroad plying our waters in search of trading opportunities found the Suva Lagoon as an ideal harbour for anchoring of ships, trading and other purposes.
The Suva Lagoon is generally taken to encompass both the Suva Harbour and part of the Laucala Bay area. This broad expense of coastal area is made up of various ecosystems including mangroves, mudflats, seagrass beds, lagoonal waters between barrier reefs and the shoreline and coral reef areas. The rich and pristine coastal areas with its deep waters and backdrop of lush mountains contributed to the shifting of the capital from Levuka to Suva towards the end of the 19th Century.
Let me share this soliloquy with you. On 8th January 1952, after twilight, the Fiji Battalion left the Suva Lagoon after boarding the 22,444 tonnes TROOPER SHIP, AUSTRIUS for Malaya to help fight the Communists during the Malayan Campaign.
The TROOPER ship was escorted by a RAGETTA of various ships/boats towards the main entrance of the Suva Harbour. The TROOPS from Laucala Bay continuously sang that famous farewell song “SA VAKARAU MEU TAKALI” or simply translated “FAREWELL I AM ABOUT TO GO.” WITH A HEAVY HEART GOING TO BATTLE far away in MALAYA, the thought of never returning was solemnly understood.
Looking towards the Lami side there, the troops would see the OLD LIGHT HOUSE WITH REGULATED FLASHES.
LAYING ON THE DECK, THE TROOPS WOULD SEE UP ABOVE THE CLEAR, MAGNIFICENT SKIES WITH MILLIONS OF STARS AND A FULL MOON. A BEAUTIFUL FINE EVENING. THE SINGING HAD STOPPED! THERE WAS DEAD QUIET! BUT EYES OPEN! THE SOUND OF THE WAVES BEATING THE TROOPER SHIP – UNTIL I SAW ONLY THE HORIZON WITH WASHINGTON LIGHT HOUSE PASSING BY. WITH A HEAVY HEART, I REALIZED I MAY NOT RETURN.
Today, the Suva Lagoon plays a very important part, as Suva, the centre of economic and social development for Fiji and the hub of the Pacific, accommodates our seat of government, the main commercial and business center,and various regional institutions such as the USP, the FSM, SOPAC and the Forum Secretariat.
In addition, the Port of Suva is on the crossroad for regional and international shipping routes and provides shipping services for berthing needs and various other amenities associated with ports facilities for local and international vessels.
In development terms, although urbanization has shown to bring positive changes, and we see societies modernize and progress, we also observe that unchecked urbanization has often had adverse impacts on the environment and poverty, such as the proliferation of squatter settlements, discharge of untreated waste into streams and waterways that flow directly into the lagoon, destruction of mangrove ecosystems, soil degradation, siltation and etc.
For this reason, I believe that this symposium is not only timely to ensure that we take stock of the condition or state of the Suva Lagoon, but also that we hear from the various researchers and experts, some of whom are present here today, who have extensively studied the lagoon and will resources us with information that are vital to the objectives of the meeting.
It is alarming to hear the most of the research revealed that the water quality and other coastal resources are acutely disturbed, and some of the researchers have made efforts to present their data to the resource planners, decision makers and most importantly to the communities who utilize the coastal resources for their livelihood.
I am also told that other researchers are probably still planning on presenting their findings. I do hope they do share them at this meeting. But I must say that in many instances, scientific information has not been conveyed effectively or seriously noted and acted upon by decision makers and consequently, the communities, hence making it difficult or defeating the need for the proper dissemination and use of that vital information. I want to remind all of us here today that Scientific data for proper environmental management is crucial, as it will not only help determine the state of the natural environment, but also enable us to put in measures to sustain and protect our natural environment.
It is therefore imperative for all stakeholders and the nation as a whole to work together to address environmental degradation in Fiji. In other words, full participation of multiple stakeholders, which includes the Government, the University of the South Pacific, Non-Government Organizations, Private sector and the local communities are required to address the growing negative environmental impacts that affect our national assets such as the Suva lagoon.
For your information, the Environment Management Bill that has been in the pipeline for sometime has just been passed by Parliament on 17 February 2005. This is a great achievement for Government and the nation. With the enactment of the Bill any day now, the Government would be in a better position to manage the conservation and protection of our natural resources.
Apart from other things, this encompassing legislation will ensure that all discharge of untreated effluents that damage our coastal resources are reduced to acceptable levels.
The Government of Fiji is fully committed to promoting the concept of sustainable development and therefore had become Party to various environmental conventions such as the Convention on Biological Diversity, which includes the International Waters Program, the Convention on Climate Change, the Convention on Land Degradation, the Stockholm Convention and other environment related conventions.
To this end, the Department of Environment is responsible for implementing various environmental programmes and projects on coastal protection, waste management, public awareness and development control at the national level, for instance on EIAs on major capital projects, and at the local level, such as the community-based IWP projects in the villages of Vunisinu and Nalase, and the Wailea squatter settlement waste management project.
I should mention here that the Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) have also been very active in community education and awareness and I take this opportunity to sincerely thank them for their efforts and contributions to the environment.
I would also like to thank all the researchers who have worked tirelessly on the different aspects of the Suva Lagoon for the past 30 years or so for their persistent and diligent work.
We hope that the outcomes of this workshop will assist all those concerned with the protection of our natural assets including the Suva Lagoon. We also fully acknowledge and support the Suva Harbour Foundation in the quest to clean up the Suva Harbour and its surrounding areas.
In closing, may I conclude that soliloquy which I stated earlier. IN 1952, MANU KOROVULAVULA, THE SAME SOLDIER THAT DESCRIBED HIS EXIT ON 8TH JANUARY 1952, IN HIS KHAKI UNIFORM AND WITH HIS DUSTY .303 RIFLE STOOD ON THE DUSTY, UNSEALED QUEENS ROAD AROUND ABOUT THE SAME TIME IN THE EVENING A YEAR PLUS LATER AT THE TOP OF THE NABORO HILL WITH HIS COMRADES FOR A BREAK HAVING DONE THEIR BIT IN THE MALAYAN CAMPAIGN, WERE STRUCK BY THE LIGHTS OF THE SUVA HARBOUR AND IN COMPOSING THAT SONG “SUVA-SUVA-SUVA” DESCRIBED THE SUVA LAGOON AS “GLITTERING LIKE A TREASURE CHEST FULL OF JEWELS” – WAQA WAQA NA CINA E NA TOBA KO SUVA!
Maybe there is no gloom and doom, but hope for the future yet.
GOD BLESS YOU ALL, and thank you very much.
-End-
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