Dying oceans ‘life and death issue’: Indonesia
The destruction of the world’s oceans due to climate change and
overuse is a “life and death issue” for humanity, Indonesian President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Thursday.
“We must come to the rescue of the oceans. We must save them from the
ravages of abuse and over-exploitation by humankind, from the havoc due
to pollution and dire effects of climate change,” Yudhoyono said at a
global conference on oceans.
“This is a life and death issue for the community of nations,
including Indonesia, who prides itself on being the world’s largest
archipelago.”
Ministers and officials from more than 70 countries are meeting in
the Indonesian city of Manado for the World Ocean Conference, the first
global meeting on the relationship between oceans and climate change.
Nations aim to pass a joint-declaration aimed at influencing the
direction of talks in the Danish capital Copenhagen in December, which
will discuss a new global climate change agreement to replace the
expiring Kyoto Protocol.
AFP |