This announcement by expressing my deep gratitude and apleeshation, and of course our congratulations to our host, secretary of state, john kerry, and to you, the government and people of the United States, for this timely invitation to attend the summit. On an urgent issue focused on our oceans. As the secretary of state has said, it is our shared hope and the only one we have. Ladies and gentlemen, for far too long, human activities in the name of development and our single minded pursuit for shortterm gains and profits have had severe impacts on the health of our environment. Ese include illegal fishing, dumping of waste in the ocean, industrial activity which have caused excessive Carbon Dioxide emissions and of course the list goes on. In combination, these activities have greatly affected the health of our oceans and our planet and of course the ecosystems. These have results in what we see now. Completion of fishery stocks, acidification, Sea Level Rise, increased Ocean Temperatures and a change to our climate system. Never in Human History has the health of our oceans and our planet have been so challenged. My country, kiribati, referred to as a small island developing state, but in reality we are a very large ocean state and my people have been custodians over centuries of the surrounding ocean. Around 3. 5 million square kilometers, more than twice the size of the u. S. State of alaska. When i say the ocean is very much a part of our lives, our culture and our heritage, i do, of course, include not only my fellow Pacific Island nations but also the United States of mark. Kiribati and the u. S. A. Share maritime boundaries with kiribati waters, located as the u. S. Is part of the pacific. Furthermore, our ocean territory hosts part of the largest remaining tuna fisheries, through commercial supply chain islands to the United States businesses and consumers. In essence, through the oceans, kiribati and the pacific has not only direct linkage with the United States but also linked with the u. S. National security. Dies and gentlemen, for my country, this very same ocean and indeed the same case would apply to my colleagues in the pacific, this very same ocean has now raised a new major survival challenge. Our people are now facing major challenges never faced before from the rising sea levels. Over the recent past, at the beginning weve seen erosion of our shorelines caused by unusually high tides. In some parts of the country, our villages have had to be relocated due to erosion. Food crops have been destroyed, and the fresh water lakes contaminated by the rising sea levels. These are alarming new experiences for us and not part of the normal cycle. My friend from the Marshall Islands declared a state of emergency. The science and our experience on the ground have given us ample proof if we do not change direction it will be to our detriment. More so for our children and their childrens children. Very sadly, the face of Global Action in response to this major calamity nowhere measures the degree of severity of the survival challenges that Sea Level Rise poses for our peoples and countries. Climate change, as ive said time and time again, poses the greatest moral challenge of our time. It is about the survival of people, the survival of women, the survival of children, all communities, cities and nations. It is not just about economics. Not anymore. It is not a political football. It is not about the cause of who is responsible anymore. It is now about what we must do together as responsible global citizens. No one country can do anything on its own to affect the kind of changes required to deal or to address the challenge. It is our shared ocean and our planet and we need to Work Together to address these enormous challenges. The Early Warning the changing of the climate now facing the Global Community. We will fall but when we fall others will follow to be on the i line and they, too am advised that more than 70 of the cities and human settlements around the world are on coastal areas. They will be next on the front line. Ladies and gentlemen, one of our major hopes of responding to Climate Change lies also in the very ocean which is threatening us from Sea Level Rise. We are we host the vast fishery resources within our exclusive Economic Zones in the various countries in the pacific. Within our waters alone in kiribati, our fishery resources is valued around 500 million a value. The but this is no value to us because at the moment we are receiving around 8 of this amount. But given the amount of the value of the resources ailable to us, if we could have the value of that resource, it would provide us with the opportunity and capacity to become more climate resilient and to be able to adapt in the way that we need to adapt in order to address the challenge. I believe that there should be more equity and justice in the Business Partnership within the fishing industry. Custodians of such resources should be allowed greater participation in the industry for we believe that it realizing the resource to us that we can provide the muchneeded Financial Resources for adaptation to the change in climate. Ladies and gentlemen, we recognize the importance of our ocean and the resources within for the future of our people and accordingly, with the assistance of our partners, conservation international, and new england aquarium, we established in 2008 one of the largest marine protected areas in our part of the world. The Phoenix Islands protected area. Pipa was part of the World Heritage site in 2010. And its not only the largest Living Laboratory where scientists can study the ecosystem in the pristine stages, but its also a major spawning ground fortunea. Major ill have a conservation and for us it is an investment in the future. It is also our contribution to humanity, to the conservation and preservation of marine life. Not only for us but for the Global Community and for the generations to come. More importantly, it indicates our strong conviction to the Global Community that addressing the challenges of Climate Change calls for very serious commitment sand sacrifice. The establishment of pipa has not been done without sacrifices, and as a small economy, the projected initial loss in revenue weighs very significantly in our a ideration, but we made cision to persist with the sustainable strategies. Im very happy today to announce that at this conference that we have taken the position to fully close all commercial fishing activities within the Phoenix Island protected area with the effect from the first of january, 2015. [applause] we have not stopped there. We have also recently taken an initial step to declare the 12mile northern coast zone surrounding each of the islands group closed off from all from all commercial fishing activities to allow for the marine environments surrounding these islands remain in their current pristine condition. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, these efforts of conservation and Sustainable Management of our ocean and marine life is not kirbiton. Ned to at the Pacific Islands forum unanimously adopted the Pacific Oceans cape, a framework for targeted directions needed for our region to safeguard the health of our oceans. As a region, we take our obligations as stewards of one of the greatest National Endowments in the world very seriously. Our obligation to ensure that the Pacific Ocean sustains life on this planet not only now but for the days to come. Our continued commitment as a region will be reflected is reflected in the theme of the upcoming Pacific Islands Forum Meeting to be held in palau which is the ocean, our life, our future. Following endorsement of the Pacific Oceans escape, other Pacific Islands also declared designated marine protected areas. The cook islands declared 4. 4 million square kilometers. My friend from palau, the president declared all of palau exclusively closed. Other countries have done the same. And so this is the momentum that we want to carry on. Within the pacific, we have a number of arrangements in place to ensure that we do the job that needs to be done. The Pacific Region therefore has some of the more stringent and most elaborate conservation and management arrangements. Including through the Pacific Islands forum, the forest fisheries agency, the pacific community, the south Pacific Regional environment program, the western and Central Pacific tuna fisheries commission, the u. S. Multilateral treaty as well as a coastal Fisheries Resource, is subregional grouping of coastal Fisheries Resource owners and an agreement. Ladies and gentlemen, let me say that conservation and Sustainable Management efforts at the national and regional levels will be few tile if such if ts are not futile such efforts are not supported. Ensuring the to ensure they are sustainable will be will ultimately result in the loss of the entire ecosystem. Declaring closing for marine protected areas will have no meaning if the closure of these p. M. A. s cannot be enforced. The technology to ensure protection of the oceans is not something new but it has yet to be put into effective use. Such technology will implement and enhance several agreements necessary to ensure that our oceans covering some 2 3 of the earths surface is monitored and protected. Ladies and gentlemen, we, the Global Community, our partners, our distant fishing water partners, private businesses, individuals and those who can and who share the vision to also make similar sacrifices, including making contributions to the supporting marine protected areas, it makes good Financial Sense to do so. Ur presence here today is part of the necessary steps to which joint Global Action, joint global commitment and joint global obligation to preserve and save our home, our one and only home. Our presence here, this acknowledgment of our shared responsibility to ensure the health of our ocean and our environment. Let us not allow this momentum, let us not slow this momentum but lets continue forward, islands pcoming support in samoa as well as the Climate Change summit later this year. The preservation of our oceans and actions against Climate Change, our global obligations towards the future survival and security of our peoples, and i speak on behalf of my fellow pacific leaders in saying they should be given exclusive focus as we shape the post2015 development goal. We are one Global Community, and we have a collective responsibility to ensure that the planet, our home and our Childrens Home and their Childrens Home continues the sustained life as we know it today. We cannot afford to remain idle, to stand on the sideline. Let us pool our resources, our knowledge and our efforts to save this life source, this gift from mother nature. Inaction is no longer an option. Action is our obligation to our children and their childrens children. Ladies and gentlemen, let me conclude by sharing with you , may ditional blessings health, peace and prosperity be upon us all. Thank you. [applause] mr. President , secretary kerry, thank you very much for the inspirational remarks and for the amazing announcement that president tong has made. It shows very clearly the Critical Role our political leaders have in driving for an action to protect our ocean. Im now delighted to invite to the stage three leading Civil Society voices on ocean onservation, Philippe Cousteau enrique. T, and they will each present their thoughts on the theme exploring, understanding and conserving our oceans. And while they take the stage, the images you will see around the room are from one of the bestknown and most loved symbols of ocean science, the alvin submersible, which just turned 50 years old this year. [applause] lived a man who sailed the beach and he told his life in the land of submarines still we found and we lived beneath the waves in our Yellow Submarine we all live in a Yellow SubmarineYellow SubmarineYellow Submarine we all live in a Yellow SubmarineYellow SubmarineYellow Submarine and our friends are all aboard many more of them live next door nd the band begins to play we all live in a Yellow Submarine we all live in a Yellow SubmarineYellow Submarine full speed rine head aye, aye, sir, fire as we live a life of ease everyone of us has all we need sky of blue and sea of green n our Yellow Submarine submarine ha, ha we all live in a Yellow SubmarineYellow Submarine, Yellow Submarine we all live in a Yellow SubmarineYellow SubmarineYellow Submarine we all live in a Yellow Submarine it is now my blesh to introduce Philippe Cousteau. Hes an Award Winning television host, producer and an author. Hes also successful social entrepreneur. In 2004 he founded earth echointernational, an n. G. O. Aimed at equipping a new generation of youth to solve environmental challenges. Voyassey founded group to help corporations and n. G. O. s successfully implement their marketing and communications efforts. Philippe has taken his approach toward conservation to wall street where he partnered the global ecoexchange on the new york stock exchange. Philippe, the floor is yours. [applause] thank you, undersecretary, and of course, thank you to secretary kerry for working so hard to establish the ocean as central to global affairs. Now, i thought this morning it would be appropriate to open our conservation about exploration with a little trip down memory lane. A reminder of just how recently this journey began to explore and protect our ocean. So i brought here to share with you this morning a little clip, the first few minutes of the First Episode of the undersea world of Jacques Cousteau from 1968. Ets watch that. We will be having voyages and exploration and discovery in all the seas of the world. With endeavor to save magnificent creatures threatened with extinction. We will study the behavior of all forms of life in the sea. We will try to trace the history of the oceans from the rocks dating back millions of years. From cages made of plexiglas, we will film life that is sometimes serene, sometimes savage and always beautiful. We will explore the graveyards f the sea more precious than ship wrecks gold. Each time we enter the sea, we learn something new. We have never been better equipped to observe, to learn and to put our findings to scientific use. Over the years, our quests will lead us to confront the dangers and reveal the splendors of the sea. [applause] 1968 wasnt that long ago. And i always think its nice to think back and remember where things started to inspire us to go forward. But what many people dont realize is that this Iconic Television series was actually preceded by two decades of work. When my grandfather started his journey, exploring the oceans in the 1940s, it actually wasnt just about conservation. It was just about exploration. I remember i remember growing up with the stories from him about about how it took years for my father, philippe sr. , and my grandfather, as they watched from the 1940s to the 1960s the rapid postwar industrialization take its toll on the health of the oceans and the shift that they evolved from pure exploration to conservation. My grandfather said, for most of history man has had to fight nature to survive. In this century, hes beginning to realize that in order to survive he must protect it. Their personal journey from explorer to conservationists is the same journey that each and every single one of us has taken in this room. Each in our own unique way, and a journey that ha