The South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) was originally established as a result of a decision taken at the Conference on the Human Environment in the South Pacific held in Rarotonga in 1982. It was established as a separate entity within the South Pacific Commission (SPC - now the Secretariat of the Pacific Community) based in Noumea, New Caledonia; and formed part of the UNEP Regional Seas Programme.
This report presents the results of a strategic environmental assessment of the development projects that have been proposed for the town of Neiafu, on the island of 'Uta Vava'u, Tonga, as part of the Vava'u Development Programme. The various project proposals have been described in the Neiafu Master Plan, accordingly, no details of the individual proposals are given in this assessment.
Available online|See also VF 1689|Prepared for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kingdom of Tonga|3 copies
Call Number: 333.7109612 ONO [EL],VF 1689,341.762 SPR vf,STR
The guide is a tool to understanding Pacific communities' vulnerability to climate change, variability and sea level change; and to determining what action needs to be carried out in order to adapt to these changes. In the CV&A process, the focus of data collection is the community that constitutes elders, men, women, youths and children. Their experience in relation to climate variability, change over time, and extreme events become very important. The assessment focuses on current
Most legislation governing natural resources in Fiji is very old and outdated, and very little attention is given to environmental issues in these statutes. The absence of a legislative environmental policy results in an absence of statutes with an express or implied environmental mandate, while laws governing resource development fail to recognise the environmental basis of natural resources. As a result, legislation provides little in the way of capacity to protect the environment from the impacts of development activities.
The Kingdom of Tonga has previously indicated to SPREP that specialised short term training in reef ecology and the development of coral reef survey and monitoring skills is a priority for their country (Thistlethwaite et al. 1993, SPREP 1995, SPREP 1996). In recognition of the ongoing need for regional capacity building in coral reef survey and monitoring techniques, and to accommodate the particular requests of the Kingdom of Tonga. SPREP sought and received funding from AusAID to run a sub-regional course in Vava'u. Kingdom of Tonga.
Adaptation activities in the Pacific. Lessons learned and best practices identified. Costs of extreme events to Small. Emerging risks and trends identified by climate change scientists
Islands
Kept in vertical file collection|Powerpoint presentation
Call Number: VF 6744 ,[EL]
Physical Description: 24 p. ; 29 cm
This workshop on environmental law was the first of its kind in the Pacific region It was a natural follow-on from the work that has been carried out by the Regional Environment Technical Assistance Project and the National Environmental Management Strategy Project, both of which are producing National Environmental Management Strategies and Legal Reviews of a dozen countries in the Pacific. The workshop also followed hard
All South Pacific countries have a need to monitor the weather conditions within the region especially during the cyclone season. An important tool to assist in monitoring and
forecasting weather conditions is the weather
satellite image.
3 copies
Call Number: 551.6354 SCH [EL]
ISBN/ISSN: 982-04-0112-7
Physical Description: iv, 16 p. ; 29 cm
Traditional natural-resource management systems of the indigenous, communities of the Pacific islands, based on communal-property concepts, continue to function in the face of many changes in the circumstances in which they operate. All have been weakened by changes accompanying economic development - yet they have adapted, and persist.
The National Environment Pollution Awareness Workshop conducted at Funafuti in Tuvalu on 11 - 13 May 1993 came about as a result of the assembling of environmental priorities within countries of the South Pacific under the National Environment Management Strategy (NEMS) Programme. The identification of the lack of proper waste management and pollution control measures were regarded as priorities that had to be addressed.
2 copies|Also available online
Call Number: 363.73 NAT [EL],341.762
ISBN/ISSN: 982-04-0005-8
The environmental needs of small island developing countries were given special attention at the United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992 as was the need to determine "how the new global framework for sustainable development can be put into action in island countries" (Miles, 1993, p. 34). The environment is a vital resource for all island developing states. Its special
Human needs and desires demand economic development.
Natural resources provide the physical basis for that
development. But ever more evidence accumulates to show that
human actions, whether through carelessness or through the
necessity for development, are causing environmental
degradation and resource depletion. This deterioration makes
continued economic development more difficult both because
damage to resources makes them less productive of economic
goods and because funding and human effort must be diverted
Economic development activities in the South Pacific island countries have increased in momentum in recent years, often with
significant environmental effects on the limited resource base of island ecosystems.
Available in e-copy
Call Number: 363.707155 ONO [EL]
ISBN/ISSN: 982-04-0081-3
Physical Description: iv, p.10 . ; 29 cm
The Maori language of the Cook Islands is derived from those of Eastern Polynesia, except for Pukapuka which has a Samoa-related language. Despite the Eastern Polynesia origin of plant and
A report for the Government of Niue|1 copy and also available online
Call Number: 333.715 ONO [EL]
Physical Description: 19 p. : ill. ; 29 cm
Environmental Impact Assessment is the assessment of the impact that a development project will have on the environment.
EIA is a management activity, like architecture, engineering design, economic assessment, and market, research. The goal of an EIA is to predict how a development project will effect the natural and human environment, and to minimize the effects.
Available online
Call Number: 333.714 SOU [EL]
Physical Description: 38 p. : ill. ; 29 cm
The Regional Seas Programme was initiated by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in 1974 in response to the selection of the oceans as a priority area by the UNEP Governing Council. It is a global programme implemented through regional
components under the guidance of the Oceans and Coastal Areas Programme Activity Centre at UNEP headquarters in Nairobi.
Each regional action plan is formulated by the Governments concerned to respond to the needs of the region for a comprehensive approach to controlling both the consequences
The paramount policy objective of the Niuean Government is to work for the maintenance of a 'living community'. The promotion of economic development in Niue is essential to the maintenance of a living community because it provides a sense of purpose which can no longer be derived from traditional subsistence activities, or even from Public Service employment, unless there is a wider community to serve. This sense of purpose becomes
The Republic of Nauru is a single raised limestone island or makatea with a total area of only 22 km2 (Figure 1), but with jurisdiction over 320,000 km2 of ocean surrounding the island under the United Nations Law of the Sea convention. The island consists mainly of a flat plateau that descends to a narrow coastal fringe where most of the population dwell. The plateau interior contains extensive deposits of phosphate bearing rock which have been mined since the beginning of the twentieth century.
Until recently, pollution of the environment was considered a
serious problem only in the highly industralised and heavily
populated areas of the world. However, with the steady
increase in population, urban migration and an increase in
industrial development, the need to reduce pollution of the
air, water resources (both fresh and estuarine) and in some
cases of land in developing countries is becoming quite
critical. This, is particularly important in the South Pacific
in view of the geographical isolation and the ecological