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South Pacific: an introduction
Asterio Takesy, Director, South Pacific Regional Environment
Programme (SPREP)
The sea has always been an intrinsic part of life for the
people from the 21 island states and territories of the
Pacific. The Pacific Ocean provides food, transport, and
a source of pride and identity for its five million Pacific
Island inhabitants.
Melanesian, Micronesian and Polynesian cultures have all
traditionally emphasized wise resource use and environmental
stewardship. However, industrialization, urban drift and
rapid population growth threaten our many ecosystems that
were once largely unspoiled and sustainable. Habitats are
being destroyed at a rate of knots by logging and agriculture.
The marine environment is being polluted from both land
and sea based sources, fish and wildlife are being over-harvested,
invasive species are pushing out native biota, and climate-induced
sea level rise threatens to drown our low-lying islands
and coasts.
To confront these threats, the South Pacific Regional
Environment Programme (SPREP), a regional intergovernmental
organization now based in Apia, Samoa, was initially established
in 1982 as a programme of the South Pacific Commission.
SPREP is the primary regional organization concerned with
environmental management in the Pacific, and serves as the
Secretariat for three Conventions.
The Action Plan is reviewed by member countries and territories
every four years, and has identified four broad priorities
for the region: natural resources management, pollution
prevention, climate change and variability, and sustainable
economic development. The 1986 Convention for the Protection
of the Natural Resources and Environment of the South Pacific
region entered into force in 1990. The 1976 Convention on
the Conservation of Nature in the South Pacific called the
Apia Convention came into force in 1990. It deals with protected
areas, representative samples of natural ecosystems, geological
formations, and sites of aesthetic, historic cultural or
scientific value. The 1995 Convention to Ban the Importation
into Forum Island Countries of Hazardous and Radioactive
Wastes and to Control the Transboundary Movement and Management
of Hazardous Wastes within the South Pacific Region (Waigani
Convention) entered into force in 2001.
As we look ahead, our priorities remain broadly the same
as those identified four years ago, the maintenance of our
unique environment to support the sustainable development
of our islands for the benefit of our current and future
generations.
However, two challenges stand out. One is waste management.
Waste has an enormous impact on the region’s health
and tourism potential. With few options for disposal and
tiny landmasses, waste minimization and the proper disposal
of all types of waste – be it solid, household or
hazardous – will be critical. Countries need to have
programmes put in place or at least budgets allocated to
support or develop current infrastructure, and to look at
ways to overhaul many waste management practices now being
carried out. Unless waste management is given the priority
required the way of life for communities located mainly
on tiny landmasses will only become more difficult.
Climate change and sea-level rise is an even greater problem
that threatens not only sustainable development but possibly
the very survival of low-lying atolls. Our region is already
witnessing more frequent and intense extreme weather events.
The challenge for the region is to develop and implement
appropriate, affordable, and cost-effective adaptation measures
with very limited resources.
We also manage the International Waters Project (IWP) funded
by the GEF. The IWP is a five-year programme dedicated to
enhancing global environment benefits, through two components,
oceanic and coastal. Collectively the focus is on the management
and conservation of tuna stocks and Integrated Coastal Watershed
Management.
As SPREP continues the pursuit of environmentally sound
sustainable development throughout the region, we will pay
particular attention to the challenges of trade liberalization,
globalization, tourism development, population growth, the
impact of genetically modified organisms, urbanization and
settlement patterns.
We are still developing appropriate policy and legal frameworks
for action at national and regional levels, but are confident
that the international community through instruments such
as the 2005 Barbados Plan of Action review will be a reflection
of the needs and challenges facing all Pacific islanders
today.
We are working particularly hard to strengthen environmental
education and awareness raising, so that all our people,
who are both resilient and have fortitude, can be empowered
to safeguard their natural resources, lifestyles and economic
development.
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