2005-IGM-SPG 10.pdf - Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change ...

IGM/10/10
SPG/10/10
broad thematic areas matching the programmatic approach to sustainable
development activities, gaining prominence in the Pacific region.
14-16 April 2004. Preparatory Meeting for the Ten-Year Review of the
Barbados Programme of Action (BPOA+10). United Nations Headquarters,
New York, USA
Director of the START, Oceania Secretariat, Prof. Kanayathu Koshy was among the
delegation which participated in this meeting. Prof. Koshy gave a presentation on
‘Capacity Building for Sustainable Development’ in one of the side events. Pacific
SIDS emphasised that causes beyond their direct control impede full and effective
implementation of the BPOA. These included: overall decline in overseas
development assistance, decline in commodity prices, loss of preferential trade
arrangements, global pressure to reduce the size of the public sector, increase in the
cost of imported fossil fuels and, instigation of some donor driven projects that may
be inconsistent with the BPOA. On top of this, there was deep concern with regards
to the impacts of climate change, climate variability, sea-level rise and extreme
weather events as an impediment to sustainable development, and called on
countries that had not done so, to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, and urged the
international community to support implementation of the Regional Framework for
Climate Change, Climate Variability and Sea-Level Rise.
26-27 May, 2004. AIACC Stakeholders Meeting. Suva, Fiji
The meeting, held at the University of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji, was attended by
stakeholders in the AIACC project: Integrated Methods and Models for Assessing
Coastal Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change in Pacific Island Countries.
It was organised by the Pacific Centre for Environment and Sustainable
Development (PACE-SD) and was attended by project implementers, which included
representatives of PACE-SD, South Pacific Regional Environment Programme and the
International Global Change Institute (IGCI) of the University of Waikato. Health,
environment workers and NGOs from Fiji, Cook Islands and Vanuatu, also attended
and country reports were presented.
28 June–9 July 2004. National Summit for Sustainable Development.
Funafuti, Tuvalu
Prof. Kanayathu Koshy attended this meeting, as a facilitator on behalf of the
University of the South Pacific (USP). Representatives from the Forum Secretariat,
SOPAC, SPC, SPREP and USP, also participated as facilitators. Since the expiry of the
‘Kakeega o Tuvalu 1995-1998,’ Tuvalu has been without an up-to-date set of agreed
national development priorities and strategies, or a prioritised public sector
investment programme. The NSSD intended to correct this situation and to provide
a clear set of national priorities and guidelines, policies and a strategic framework
for the future development of Tuvalu over the period 2005-2015. At the summit,
plenary sessions were held each day on seven thematic areas. An average of about
250 people, from a broad spectrum of sectors, participated. The plenary sessions
were followed by working group discussions. With the exception of two evenings,
side events were held on each evening covering a number of cross-cutting themes.
Prof. Koshy, together with Mr. John Low, from the Forum Secretariat, and Mr.
Bhaskaran Nair, from SOPAC, made a formal presentation during one of these sideevents
on the theme of ‘Capacity Building for Sustainable Development,’ placing
special emphasis on the development challenges identified during the Summit. A
detailed summary matrix, highlighting the key challenges in each of the thematic
areas, key policy outputs and key performance indicators, will be one of the major
outputs of the Summit. In addition, there will be a National Sustainable Development
Framework, containing a 10-year performance based vision.
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