Premier of Temotu meets with Torba President as they discuss key issues

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The Premier of Stanley Tehiahua was hosted by the Provincial Government of TORBA, Vanuatu over the weekend, discussing shared commonalities, history, the present situation and our future.

In a joint statement by the two leaders, “We, both the President of Torba and the Premier of Temotu, have taken the urgent initiative to meet face to face this past weekend, here in Port Vila, to discuss our common challenges and future opportunities.”

They recalled that when the Vanuatu and Solomon Maritime Boundary talks started, the negotiations took 33 years.

“Finally in 2016, our two countries decided to resolve our Maritime Boundaries using our kastom, and we signed a historic agreement in Motalava. We together decided that our border was to not be seen as a fence but as a bridge, our Melanesian Corridor,” the two leaders said.

In 2024, they signed the Tirvau Bilateral Agreement in Honiara. This agreement was primarily established to manage the shared ocean space between the two countries. The two provinces of Torba and Temotu are located on the most remote edges of our countries, two Melanesian archipelagos with limited economic bases and facing food insecurity.

The premier of Temotu, Tehiahua said: “We both have agreed that the greatest threat to the present and future peoples of our remote islands are within our shared ocean space. Climate Change, Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, population growth, ocean warming and ocean acidification are leading to food insecurity and severe decline in income.”

He added: “Science has shown us that our reefs are dying. Our fish stocks are less and less. Our top predators and resource fish are disappearing. We will stop this. We can regenerate our solwara. It is within our power and ability to reverse these alarming threats through full protection for the total recovery of our ocean space. We will do this.”

The premier said: “Today together we are making a momentous commitment to a massive transboundary MPA within our shared ocean space.”

“We, as Provincial Leaders, recalling the success of the Motalava Treaty, are now also approaching the Melanesian Spearhead Group to use the MSG platform to support our initiative,” they said.

The formal announcement of the legal declaration of this MPA will take place in Honiara at the PIF Leaders Summit in September of this year.

The leaders said: “In recognition of the commitment by the people of our remote provinces to legally designate protection of large contiguous waters as National Marine Protected Areas to preserve our ocean, we commit to support our people to diversify their livelihoods, to develop alternative sources of income that support self determination, land sovereignty, food and nutrition security and climate resilience through regenerative practices.”

Today Torba and Temotu are on the Tirvau road, in the Melanesian Corridor, committed to allowing their shared ocean space to regenerate for the benefit of our people, our countries, our Pacific Region and our planet.