UN Food and Agriculture Organisation head José Graziano da Silva has said that efforts to end hunger and fight the effects of climate change will hinge on the success of sustainable development, including wise use of oceans and fisheries.

Speaking in the Samoan capital of Apia on Friday, the FAO Director-General told ministers from all over the Pacific that "There can be no green economy without a blue economy". The region is home to several major food importers.  Graziano da Silva called for "An economy… that makes the sustainable development of oceans and fishery resources a priority."

He talked about the need to make fishing activities, which provide local populations with essential protein and support millions of jobs, more sustainable, in order to preserve them and reduce vulnerability to the effects of climate change. Speaking from Samoa, which, along with many other South Pacific States, is at risk of being ravaged by a changing climate, he issued calls for wider considerations for the Earth's vital resources.

The South West Pacific area accounts for roughly 15 percent of the globe, and includes about two thousand islands and atolls, which are particularly vulnerable to storms and flooding, water scarcity, and stresses on fishery and forestry systems.

Graziano da Silva said FAO will continue to work with a variety of national and regional governments, as well as non-governmental partners, on issues like illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing; the management of tuna fishing; and the management of marine areas beyond national jurisdictions.

He also addressed the issue of nutrition; whilst hunger still affects some parts of the region, so too does the widespread consumption of unhealthy diets, meaning three-quarters of all adult deaths in the Pacific are linked to nutrition and lifestyle-related diseases of one kind or another. Many of the states are net importers of staple foods. Graziano da Silva said moves to diversify diets and recover the use of traditional, local crops produced by smallholders would help remedy the situation. 

He said, "Every region has a variety of non-commodity crops that were used in the past as food," said the FAO Director-General, citing  pandanus plants as an example from the Pacific. "Research shows that pandanus contains high levels of carotenoids, which protected many generations from Vitamin A deficiency."

FAO addresses food security, sustainability issues in Pacific

UN Food and Agriculture Organisation head José Graziano da Silva has said that efforts to end hunger and fight the effects of climate change will hinge on the success of sustainable development, including wise use of oceans and fisheries.

Speaking in the Samoan capital of Apia on Friday, the FAO Director-General told ministers from all over the Pacific that "There can be no green economy without a blue economy". The region is home to several major food importers.  Graziano da Silva called for "An economy… that makes the sustainable development of oceans and fishery resources a priority."

He talked about the need to make fishing activities, which provide local populations with essential protein and support millions of jobs, more sustainable, in order to preserve them and reduce vulnerability to the effects of climate change. Speaking from Samoa, which, along with many other South Pacific States, is at risk of being ravaged by a changing climate, he issued calls for wider considerations for the Earth's vital resources.

The South West Pacific area accounts for roughly 15 percent of the globe, and includes about two thousand islands and atolls, which are particularly vulnerable to storms and flooding, water scarcity, and stresses on fishery and forestry systems.

Graziano da Silva said FAO will continue to work with a variety of national and regional governments, as well as non-governmental partners, on issues like illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing; the management of tuna fishing; and the management of marine areas beyond national jurisdictions.

He also addressed the issue of nutrition; whilst hunger still affects some parts of the region, so too does the widespread consumption of unhealthy diets, meaning three-quarters of all adult deaths in the Pacific are linked to nutrition and lifestyle-related diseases of one kind or another. Many of the states are net importers of staple foods. Graziano da Silva said moves to diversify diets and recover the use of traditional, local crops produced by smallholders would help remedy the situation. 

He said, "Every region has a variety of non-commodity crops that were used in the past as food," said the FAO Director-General, citing  pandanus plants as an example from the Pacific. "Research shows that pandanus contains high levels of carotenoids, which protected many generations from Vitamin A deficiency."