Shania Shayal Prasad 
[File Photo]
There is a need for traditional wisdom in line with modern scientific advancements, research, and development for innovative solutions to help tackle the challenges of climate change.
Speaking at the opening of the Pacific Ocean Climate Crisis Assessment in Nadi today, Minister for Finance Professor Biman Prasad highlights that climate change can no longer be considered a distant threat as it is happening right now in the Pacific Northwest.
Professor Prasad stressed that in the Pacific, traditional science, customary knowledge, and practices have been sustained for generations, and now they hold the key to the future.
“The National Oceans Policy also has a dedicated goal for knowledge, stressing the importance of integrating traditional environmental knowledge with the best available science. The innate knowledge of the symbiosis of the ocean and our people of the Pacific since time immemorial is owned by our people, and science is only now catching up. It is critical that we invest our energy in the protection and storage of this knowledge.”
The POCCA is a research partnership between the University of Canterbury and the University of South Pacific and is funded by the New Zealand government to provide a comprehensive, interdisciplinary, and integrated assessment of the climate crisis and oceans covering 16 countries.
