{"id":403962,"date":"2024-01-29T00:26:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-29T00:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=403962"},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-29T14:00:00","slug":"Palacios-signs-EO-establishing-CNMI-Green-Growth-Initiative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/Palacios-signs-EO-establishing-CNMI-Green-Growth-Initiative\/","title":{"rendered":"Palacios signs EO establishing CNMI Green Growth Initiative"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gov. Arnold I. Palacios signed on Friday an executive order establishing the CNMI Green Growth Initiative that he co-chairs with Northern Marianas College president Dr. Galvin Deleon Guerrero.<\/p>\n

Palacios\u2019 signing of Executive Order No. 2024-225 officially launched the CNMI Green Growth Initiative at the NMC-Cooperative Research, Extension, and Education Services (CREES) Agriculture Research Station in As Perdido.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo today we will announce the official launching of the CNMI\u2019s Green Growth Initiative and embarked on a new journey to achieve a sustainable and regenerative future for our Commonwealth,\u201d Palacios said.<\/p>\n

Palacios announced that he and co-chair NMC President Dr. Deleon Guerrero will establish a working group to create and implement the Green Growth Strategies for action.<\/p>\n

Deleon Guerrero appointed NMC-CREES interim dean Patricia Coleman to be NMC\u2019s lead for the working group, while Palacios appointed former lawmaker Christina Marie E. Sablan, who is the specialist assistant for climate policy and planning, to co-lead the working group.<\/p>\n

Palacios said Green Growth Initiative is not just about changing the world development, it is also changing the way people think about development.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re changing our mindset. In everything we do, we must think how can we do better for the next generation and the next generation thereafter,\u201d the governor said.<\/p>\n

He said since 2015, nations around the world have committed to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and 17 Sustainable Development Goals to mobilize global efforts to end poverty, improve health and education, protect systems, tackle the climate crisis, and create an equitable, peaceful, and resilient, and prosperous nature.<\/p>\n

Palacios said the CNMI had embraced those global Sustainable Development goals and applied them on own island context through the Comprehensive Sustainable Development Plan 2021-2030.<\/p>\n

He said the Green Growth Initiative is about translating the plan and aspirations into action and bringing tangible results to the people and the community.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s about committing ourselves to assume achieving global sustainable development goals through locally different solutions,\u201d Palacios said.<\/p>\n

He said the Office of the Governor and the NMC will lead this Initiative, with NMC will be the CNMI\u2019s Green Growth Hub.<\/p>\n

Palacios said in line with the launching of the Green Growth Initiative he is proud to announce the CNMI\u2019s intent to officially join the Local2030 Islands Network as a government partner and island member.<\/p>\n

Through this initiative, the governor said, they will connect with other island communities around the world in setting local sustainable growth goals in strengthening the partnership, tracking progress and implementing concrete solutions.<\/p>\n

Dr. Deleon Guerrero said in his speech that \u201chelpless\u201d was how he felt over five years ago when Super Typhoon Yutu was breaking down the front door of their tiny apartment in Garapan.<\/p>\n

Deleon Guerrero said he kept watching and hearing that door pounding and pounding as if it were just about to fly through the air.<\/p>\n

He said in the middle of all of that, he\u2019ll never forget his eight-year old daughter crying, asking if they were going to be okay.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn’t know what to tell her because I didn’t know if we were going to be okay,\u201d the NMC president recalled.<\/p>\n

He said he wanted so hard to protect his little girl and his family and for so much fear and uncertainty, he felt absolutely hopeless for a moment–at least.<\/p>\n

Deleon Guerrero said he moved her daughter and everyone into one secured room and did everything he could to help his family make it through the night.<\/p>\n

\u201cI placed towels at the foot of the door to keep water from leaking in. I opened up some snacks to distract us a bit, and I lit a few more candles to brighten the mood. Then I sang to my princess to comfort her, to comfort my wife, to comfort myself. And in that moment, I didn’t feel so helpless,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Deleon Guerrero said neither all the people after the typhoon despite all the buildings that had been leveled, vital infrastructure that had been destroyed, and lives that had been ended, the people did not succumb to the worst nature.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn’t fight for gas. We did not turn on each other. Instead, we came together to recover, to rebuild and to regenerate,\u201d Deleon Guerrero said.<\/p>\n

He said from that moment to this day, the people proved that they are not helpless.<\/p>\n

The president said the official launch of the CNMI\u2019s Green Growth Initiative is a testament to the people\u2019s legacy as a community.<\/p>\n

He said by committing to the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the people in the Northern Marianas tell the world that they are stepping up in a big way to help solve those problems.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe tell the world that we are co- stewards and we will do everything we can to save our planet and save each other,\u201d Deleon Guerrero said.<\/p>\n

He said at NMC, they whole heartedly embrace this mindset with their mission that was approved by the Board of Regents.<\/p>\n

The president said they are carrying out all these stewardship initiatives as they continue to rebuild their campus, meet the workforce needs of the economy and help the people live meaningful and productive lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe, the NMC Proa Tribe are proving once again that we are not helpless. We are agents of change. We are stewards of a better tomorrow,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

NMC-CREES Interim Dean Coleman in her remarks pointed to the location of their regenerative agriculture demonstration site that contains plants for food, plants for medicinal use and ornamental plants.<\/p>\n

Coleman said it was planted largely by volunteers who are willing to relearn and shift their paradigm about how to plant food based on regenerative principles.<\/p>\n

She said regenerative agriculture expert Dr. Craig Elevitch has worked and almost everything planted at the demonstration site.<\/p>\n

Coleman said this regenerative agriculture plot doesn’t just represent optimize ecologically sound ways of producing food, but also represents connecting people with nature and with each other.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause that is really the heart of our work. Regenerating our island to the people who love and care for it. Our vision for the Green Growth Initiative is that it will transcend political divisions and divisiveness and bring about vitality,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Coleman noted that one of the heads of Federal Emergency Management Agency commented and stated after Typhoon Yutu that in his 30 plus year career, he has never seen a community so willing to give and help despite how much they\u2019d lost.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are the community that took care of each other and took action during the pandemic, resulting in having one of the lowest death rates in the world and definitely in the nation,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Former lawmaker Sablan echoed Dr. Deleon Guerrero that there is a lot of work ahead.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe good news is that it’s hopeful work and joyful work. The kind of work that feeds the soul,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Sablan said it is so fitting that this NMC Agriculture Research Station is the setting for the Green Growth launch because \u201cthis is a joyful place.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said a few months ago, she participated in one of NMC-CREES regenerative agroforestry workshops with Dr. Elevitch, in which she experienced first hand the joy and the pride that comes from learning how to grow food in a way that gives back to the earth.<\/p>\n

Sablan said Dr. Elevitch promised that they would work with nature to transform that plot into a diverse and abundant food forest.<\/p>\n

She said she was skeptical, but they were enthusiastic.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I’m so pleased to see that the saplings and seeds that we planted just a few months ago, they’re in that far right corner of the forest. They are growing and thriving today. And I’ve already signed up for the next workshop,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Gov. Arnold I. Palacios signs an executive order establishing the CNMI Green Growth Initiative as Northern Marianas College president Dr. Galvin Deleon Guerrero (to his side) looks on at the NMC-CREES Agriculture Research Station in As Perdido on Friday morning. Also in the photo are some lawmakers, NMC and government officials, business representatives, and community members.<\/p>\n

FERDIE DE LA TORRE<\/p>\n

-By Ferdie de la Torre
\n
\nReporter
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