Pacific Islands Environment Outlook - UNEP

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POLICY RESPONSES
sector reform programmes through the Forum Economic
Ministers’ Meeting (FEMM), and the South Pacific
Organizations Coordinating Committee (SPOCC)
Regional Development Strategy and working groups on
marine resources and tourism.
Global Programme of Action for the Protection
of the Marine Environment from Land-Based
Activities
The international community adopted the Global
Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine
Environment from Land Based Activities in Washington
DC in 1995. While a range of national and regional
initiatives have attempted to address the issues of source
categories covered by the GPA, no specific initiative has
been taken to implement the GPA in the Pacific region
(SPREP 1999a). The first steps to develop a
complementary Regional Programme of Action are
expected to take place in 1999.
REGIONAL
A number of non-binding environmental agreements
operate in the Pacific. Most of these agreements have
translated into specific programmes and are consistent
with the objectives of Agenda 21.
The principal agreement for environmental
protection is the SPREP Action Plan 1997–2000. This is
a requirement of the Agreement Establishing SPREP
Figure 2.1: Change in staffing levels of environment units in
selected PICs
1990
5
4
3
3
3
1
1
Source: after Miles (1994)
Kiribati
Fiji
Palau
Solomon Islands
Tokelau
Tuvalu
Vanuatu
Western Samoa
1
2
1995
5
5
6
7
includes 3 atoll co-ordinators
8
includes 3 project staff
12
(1995), which gave the South Pacific Regional
Environment Programme (SPREP) new legal status and a
framework for members to improve co-ordination on
environmental matters and to protect and improve the
shared environment of Pacific island states. The
programmes contained in the Action Plan cover a wide
range of detailed environmental issues. The five
priorities identified in the Action Plan are:
1. Biodiversity and Natural Resource Conservation
2. Climate Change and Integrated Coastal Management
3. Waste Management, Pollution Prevention and
Emergencies
4. Environmental Management, Planning and
Institutional Strengthening
5. Environmental Education, Information and Training
Related to the implementation of the Action Plan,
governments and NGOs have agreed to an Action
Strategy for the Conservation of Nature and Natural
Resources. This was revised in 1998 and is now the
focus for a series of donor/institution/NGO round-tables
to promote its implementation.
Laws and institutions
Institutional and legal frameworks at
national level
While it may be difficult to demonstrate categorically
where there has been progress to protect the
environment at the national level, some of the policy
and institutional foundations for progress towards
sustainable development are being put in place. These
include the strengthening of environment units and the
adoption of National Environmental Management
Strategies (NEMS).
The capacity of countries to undertake activities to
protect the environment and to integrate environmental
objectives into national planning and decision-making is a
useful measure of progress. Any increase in the number
of staff in environment units, particularly at a time when
the public sector is under pressure to downsize, is an
indication that governments are making some
commitment towards the implementation of Agenda 21.
Not all positions are financed solely from government
funds but those that are financed through official
development assistance result from government requests
for assistance and are normally linked to the provision of
counterparts and logistic support. As shown in Figure 2.1
there has been a discernible increase in the region.