JIMBARAN, kanalbali.id – Leaders from island nations including Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Seychelles urged stronger international cooperation to confront the accelerating ocean and climate crisis on Friday, warning that rising seas and marine ecosystem collapse are already threatening their countries’ survival.
Speaking at Bali Ocean Days 2026, a regional forum bringing together policymakers, scientists and business leaders, officials from the three nations said small island states are on the frontline of climate change despite contributing only a fraction of global emissions.
“We are not talking about distant risks. For us, this is already reality,” said one of the speakers, describing coastal erosion, coral bleaching and more violent storms as daily challenges.
Fiji’s Minister for Fisheries and Forestry Alitia Bainivalu, Papua New Guinea’s Minister for Fisheries and Marine Resources Jelta Wong and Seychelles’ special envoy to ASEAN Nico Barito said the ocean crisis is not only an environmental issue but also a threat to food security, economic stability and social cohesion.
In Papua New Guinea, some coastal communities have already been relocated as rising seas and erosion make their land uninhabitable, while Seychelles and Fiji face growing pressure on marine tourism and fisheries, they said.
The officials called for greater access to climate finance, technology transfer and fairer global policies, arguing that island nations are bearing a disproportionate share of the costs of a crisis they did little to create.
Indonesia, the world’s largest archipelagic nation, faces similar risks, with thousands of kilometres of coastline exposed to climate impacts and marine degradation.
Bali Ocean Days 2026, held in Jimbaran, Bali, brings together more than 40 speakers from 11 countries under the theme “Navigating Solutions for a Regenerative Ocean Future.”
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