Pacific Islands Environment Outlook - UNEP

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POLICY RESPONSES
Economic instruments
It is clear that the key to sustainability of resource use
and the achievement of environmental conservation is
the integration of environmental safeguards in
economic decision-making. This is a complex task,
which needs to be addressed at all levels, from the
national policy level to the local level. To achieve longterm
economic and environmental viability, some
comprehensive institutional and legal changes need to
be made. These include the introduction of integrated
mechanisms for the generation of economic and
environmental policy, and the enactment of legislation
at national and provincial (or state) level to ensure that
policies can be carried out within a consistent and
enforceable legal framework.
Techniques of environmental accounting and
economics have evolved in recent years to take greater
account of the sustainability of welfare and to provide
improved guidance for environmental policy. These may
be of particular interest to small island states, given their
heavy dependence on the natural environment. Initial
work on environmental accounting and economics in the
region (Fairbairn and Tisdell 1994) identified an
underlying need to better quantify natural stocks and
environmental assets for the successful introduction of
these techniques. Many examples of economic
instruments are being used globally but there is no
explicit country or regional effort to examine their
applicability to PICs. Examples of the use of economic
instruments in island communities have been shown to
produce benefits (SPREP 1998e). There has been little
concerted effort towards the use of economic policy
instruments, in spite of their encouragement in country
NEMS produced in the early 1990s.
Examples of economic instruments currently used
in the PICs include:
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access fees and licensing of foreign fishing vessels
(Preston 1997);
deposit-refund schemes for glass bottles
(GOWS 1994);
user fees for park, reserve or coastal access to
customarily owned land (SPREP 1993b).
The success of the instruments has not been formally
evaluated. Their overall impact on environmental
protection and enhancement needs to take into account
the large subsistence economy that still functions in the
region. Communal management of resources can be
relatively efficient and can provide social security at the
village level. However, titles of the local community need
to be definite and settled and there may be a need to
improve communal or village governance. Once the titles
of local communities become definite this should establish
a legal responsibility for the use of these resources. For
example, a village may be held to be liable for adverse
environmental spillovers on other villages caused by its
activities, and compensation or penalties may be imposed;
or, if favourable externality is created by the village, be
eligible for reward. Furthermore, within the village greater
consideration should be given to the rights and
responsibilities of resource owners.
In many cases, village leaders would benefit from
more accurate information about environmental
changes and risks in the local area, as well as their
possible impacts on other communities. Negotiated
intercommunity settlement of issues of mutual
concern, such as impacts of environmental spillovers,
should be encouraged.
Industry and new technologies
The countries of the South Pacific are small and in
general do not rely heavily on an industrial base. The
necessity for cleaner and innovative production
processes is therefore perceived to be less than in more
industrialized nations. As a result governments have not
given the imposition of strict controls over industry a
high priority, sometimes with adverse impacts.
Initiatives in the areas of cleaner production processes
and new technologies are at an embryonic stage within
the region.
The adoption of cleaner production processes has
not been given a high priority by manufacturers in the
region. The management of tailings waste at the BHP
Ok Tedi mine in Papua New Guinea is one example.
Due to cost considerations a tailings dam was not built
and maintained, with tailings instead being discharged
directly into the Ok Tedi river for many years. The
resulting environmental damage to the river is now
famous internationally as an example of inappropriate
waste disposal and has cost the company many
hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation.
The SPC Plant Protection Programme is providing
training on pesticide safety and the promotion,
facilitation, training and research of non-chemical means
of pest control: that is, biological control, integrated
pest management, use of protein bait sprays and
bagging of fruit to prevent infestation by fruit flies.