In our second session of the day, ‘Pristine Paradise Palau’, His Excellency the President of Palau Surangel S. Whipps, Jr. spoke to Misfits Media CEO David Hovenden about the Palau Pledge.
Upon entry to the country, visitors need to sign a passport pledge to act in an ecologically and culturally responsible way on the island, for the sake of Palau’s children and future generations of Palauans.
The Palau Pledge was developed in collaboration with the Australian advertising agency Host/Havas.
“It’s something that comes out of our partnership with Australia,” said President Whipps, before thanking Host/Havas for making the pledge a success.
Palau is the first nation on earth to change its immigration laws for the cause of environmental protection. However, as President Whipps pointed out, New Zealand and Hawaii have since come up with a similar pledge. The difference is that these pledges are voluntary, whereas Palau’s pledge is compulsory. Visitors have to sign when they arrive in the country.
“We want commitment from our visitors that you’ll come, you’ll enjoy Palau, but you’ll treat it with respect,” President Whipps said. “Our culture, our nature. And it’s about all of us enjoying and ensuring that we continue to ensure we pass it onto our children.”
“You make the pledge to the children,” he added.
The nation of Palau stands on the precipice of climate change. Rising sea levels endanger the communities living on land and increased water temperatures have wiped out the country’s premier tourist attraction, Jellyfish Lake.
“As a country that’s impacted by climate change, we should lead by example,” President Whipps said.
The President has been very vocal about the effects of climate change and the lack of global action that’s happened thus far to combat it. Although Palau are trying to do their part, they can’t do it alone.
“It’s the reality that we live in and we have to help the world understand that,” he said. “That’s why it’s important that we have a Pacific COP and bring that emphasis to the Pacific.” President Whipps has strongly backed Australia’s bid to host a UN climate conference in 2025, to help bring awareness of these issues to this side of the Pacific.
One of Palau’s main concerns is the rising sea temperatures. “Healthy ocean, healthy planet,” President Whipps said. Palau is focussed on protecting its waters. The entire country is a shark sanctuary and they are currently running several projects to fight the effects of climate change on their waters.
Palau is a huge advocate of sustainable and responsible tourism, encouraging tourists to leave only footprints.
“Climate change is all our responsibility,” President Whipps said. “We continue to do all that we can in our own sphere.”
