The Pacific Ocean is the largest ocean on our small planet. Although often depicted on planispheres as a huge empty area, the Pacific is an inhabited, living and cradle of a civilization that conquered this immense maritime space many centuries ago, when Europeans were just beginning to away from continental shores.
For a long time, and especially during the 2020s, the Pacific has (re)become an important area of economic, political, ecological exchanges (from a negative point of view unfortunately, notably because of these “plastic oceans”, see our article on this subject).
And, in the light of the political debates and issues of the time, it seemed that, once again, the Pacific was this empty area of life, cities, communities ... The populist or authoritarian giants (USA, India and China at the head ) caring about the people of the Pacific Islands only to get (through local governments, often corrupt) votes at UN general assemblies or other purely political interest, to put it more politely, “geopolitical” interests.
But the Pacific has learned its lesson.
In recent years, the international community has been the subject of a heated debate on the management of atmospheric, stratospheric and higher spaces. Faced with the development of the private space industry and the revival of the space colonies project as a sign of terrestrial political power, the question quickly arose of who, how and what to manage nationally, internationally ...
Because of this craze for space have followed suit as a result: the problems of atmospheric pollution (electric rockets are not for tomorrow!), of space waste (in orbit or falling back into the atmosphere with the related pollution problems), issues related to satellite surveillance…
In short, space had become this new Far West (or High Seas) in which the world powers imposed their rules. Whether with threats, big-arm shows (many remember the parades of Chinese stratospheric missiles and other American “Space Force” during large nationalist parades in which the two nations competed against each other as one game of “who p… the furthest”), the voice of “small” States had a hard time being heard.
And as often, the Pacific has paid the price: impact zone for space waste (and the “failed” crashes on some island communities began to do a lot of damage), exploitation of a space as large as the ocean without no economic spinoff for the islands…
The Forum therefore decided to strike at the UN. Recalling the traditional rules of space management, the Pacific Islands have just tabled a draft resolution at the general assembly.
Indeed, before the time of colonization, the management of land and sea areas took into account the interactions between ecosystems. Thus, each community (family, clan, tribe) had the space from the top of the mountain to the fringing limit of the lagoon reef. The communities were only custodians of the space and not the owner.
Building on this tradition, brought up to date in some islands, the Forum proposed to extend this logic to the state of the world today. Today's canoes go far beyond the oceans and today's browsers literally sail to the stars and not only with the stars.
And since the great Nations are so fond of space development and the atmospheric Pacific represents a large playground, the Forum wishes to take immediate advantage of it by claiming shares of the economic development which results from it.
The big states have already clearly shown their opposition to the project, believing that the aid they give to all these states more than compensates for the so-called estimated losses. But this is only to be considered as a donor to needy relationship and not of partners.
Hopes are slim for the success of such a resolution but it is appreciable to see the Forum posing as an international intermediary and in solidarity with the challenges of each island and we can only hope that despite the foreseeable failure, this will not be as the first step in a strong regional approach that benefits the populations.