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Archipelagic and Island States Forum: Indonesia’s pivotal role
On Nov. 1 in Manado, North Sulawesi, ministers and senior officials from 20 Archipelagic and Island States (AIS) adopted the declaration of the establishment of the AIS Forum.
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The picturesque view of Bolilanga Island, a part of Togean Islands, an archipelago in the gulf of Tomini in Central Sulawesi. (Shutterstock/File)
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n Nov. 1 in Manado, North Sulawesi, ministers and senior officials from 20 Archipelagic and Island States (AIS) adopted the declaration of the establishment of the AIS Forum. This landmark “Manado Declaration” expresses the commitment of participating countries to work together to address the challenges of climate change mitigation and adaptation, including disaster preparedness, to promote the development of a sustainable blue economy, to take firm actions against marine plastic debris and to promote good maritime governance.
As the world’s largest archipelago and as a friend of other archipelagic and island countries, Indonesia in partnership with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has been playing a leading role in the establishment of the AIS Forum. Since the idea was first voiced in 2017, the expressions of interest and support that we have received from many countries have encouraged us to intensify consultations and to develop the concept, principles and objectives of the forum that were endorsed by the Manado Declaration.
The declaration came out at an opportune time. Only a few weeks ago, the report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reminded us of how real and serious the threat of climate change is to our planet and that failure to protect our oceans and address climate change will have catastrophic social and economic effects. Archipelagic and island states are those experiencing the most dramatic changes that fundamentally impact their development path and for some of them, threaten their very survival. And often it is the most marginalized and poorest communities with no coping mechanism for natural shocks who are bearing the heaviest costs.
From the large island of Madagascar to the small ones in the Pacific, traditional communities are highly vulnerable to the tiniest shifts in global temperature that can lead to rising sea water and a dramatic cut in fish stocks, cutting livelihoods.
