Environment
Mainstreaming Conservation Issues
Let's stop talking and start acting
The 7th Pacific Islands Conference held recently in the Cook Islands was touted as the most significant environmental gathering in the region. The event was coordinated by the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme, (SPREP). Hundreds of scientists, politicians, activists and bureaucrats from the Pacific and beyond convened in Rarotonga to discuss the most pressing environmental challenges facing the islands.
Eyeing up the assembled group on Day 1, one delegate nodded approvingly: 'All the right people are here.'
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And so on a bright warm Monday morning 'the right people' came together in the Cook Islands National Auditorium to wait for the opening ceremonies to begin. The usual contingent of notable guests and government representatives paraded to the front of the room. After an official welcome, conference attendees were treated to a cultural performance by youngsters from the Avarua Primary school. Even at a young age it is easy to see why Cook Islands dancers are reputed to be among the best in the Pacific.
The keynote speaker for the morning is United States Congressman, Faleomavaega Eni Hunkin. The congressman from American Samoa takes to the stage with all the comfort and ease of a polished politician. He is a passionate and engaging speaker. His main message however, is a familiar one: "We need to stop talking and start acting," he tells the assembled crowd. It's a sentiment that many in the audience seem to share. But talking, after all, is what conferences are about.
The theme of this conference is 'Mainstreaming Nature Conservation'. In an early session, Cedric Schuster, of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), takes on the task of explaining the concept of mainstreaming to the audience.
Mainstreaming, we are told, occurs when conservation and sustainable use of nature is integrated into different levels of government legislation, policies, and plans and relevant actions are taken at the national and sectoral levels to support their implementation. Governments must make environmental concerns a top priority, on par with economic concerns.
At first it looks like Schuster is preaching to the converted. The conference is made up of fellow travellers, people who on some level see themselves as environmentalists. Still those who expect a week of consensus are to be disappointed.
As the days pass, small battles erupt across the conference. One attendee wonders why the private sector isn't better represented. Another feels NGOs are not given enough credit for the leadership they have shown in environmental areas. Others believe community organizations and not NGOs deserve greater recognition.
The World Bank representative ruffles feathers when she suggests that if environmentalists want to succeed they will need to 'walk the walk and talk the talk' of politicians and business leaders.
Despite the creative tension, by week's end, facilitators emerge with a lengthy list of draft resolutions. The resolutions cover areas of critical concern to Pacific Islands countries. Issues including climate change, traditional knowledge, invasive species, locally managed marine areas, bird conservation and whale sanctuaries; are all targeted for further action. However, in the waning hours of the final day, the wording of the resolutions is still being debated. Should the word 'urged' be used, or should 'encouraged' be put in its place? It appears as though the conference, which opened with a call for less talk, might be held hostage by word warriors.
But outside the main auditorium on the fringes of the conference, something interesting is happening. People are talking excitedly about people they had met and fresh ideas they'd heard.
One delegate shares his success in getting a night watchman from a local resort to police a marine protected area. Another delegate suggests using the untapped tourist resource to send out the message of conservation to the world. Smart ideas are being shared. Business cards are being exchanged.
As delegates are loaded onto buses, there is a real buzz in the air as people say their good-byes and promises to follow up on plans hatched at the conference. This is what a successful conference is about.
It seems 'mainstreaming conservation' may be more likely to take shape through these individual champions of the environment than through any resolutions passed, no matter how carefully worded they might be.
