[Photo: SUPPLIED]

Fiji has issued a strong warning to the international community, declaring that the Pacific is no longer a distant victim of climate change but a frontline indicator of global environmental failure.

Speaking at the 3rd Bali Ocean Days Conference and Showcase, Minister for Fisheries and Forestry Alitia Bainivalu told global policymakers, innovators, and coastal leaders that the crisis facing Pacific island nations is a diagnostic signal of planetary distress that demands urgent, regenerative action.

The conference, held from January 30 to 31 at the InterContinental Bali Resort, marked a shift from broad ocean ambitions to measurable and results-driven implementation. Under the theme “Navigating Solutions for a Regenerative Ocean Future,” leaders from archipelagic and island states addressed the escalating threats posed by a warming and acidifying ocean system.

Minister Bainivalu stressed that for Fiji, climate change is not a future risk but a present reality reshaping national sovereignty, food security, and cultural survival.

She highlighted that more than 90 percent of Fiji’s population lives along narrow coastal zones, making accelerated sea-level rise an immediate threat to infrastructure, livelihoods, and identity.

The Minister outlined Fiji’s response through nature-based and science-backed solutions, including large-scale mangrove and seagrass restoration to function as blue carbon sinks and living coastal infrastructure.

She also pointed to investments in climate-smart aquaculture to strengthen food security while easing pressure on wild fish stocks.

The summit also featured a results-focused Eco Showcase, where companies and non-government organisations presented practical technologies ranging from water filtration and waste-to-fuel systems to community-led coral reef restoration.

As the conference concluded, Fiji joined regional partners in calling for ethical accountability, equitable climate finance, and global solidarity, stressing that ocean-based solutions must be recognised as central to climate action.

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