UN General Assembly
1999

worldwide catastrophe. I would sincerely hope that by now a great majority of people, not only in the United Nations system but from all across the globe, have a strong mental picture of the helpless situation of low-lying islands and coastlines in the face of rising seas. We are very grateful for the considerable extent to which our pleas have been taken into account, but while we may flatter ourselves that we have served, in a way, as a voice of conscience for the Framework Convention on Climate Change, we wish also to make positive contributions to its implementation. Thus, the emphasis of all Forum members now is to assure that we do our part to participate in and to advance the considerable amount of work that must be done. The South Pacific Regional Environmental Programme continues to serve our governments as a useful focal point and to provide valuable expertise. Forum countries have long been active in working to understand the potential of the Clean Development Mechanism for the region. The Republic of the Marshall Islands recently hosted an