Environment
Talking Around The Table
By the nature of the work we try to do here at SPREP, we have opted for an approach of partnership and leadership with our communities, and an open door policy for those who are kind enough to walk through, and offer us the right kind of assistance and expertise. One such group is the Pacific Islands Roundtable for Nature, who after first coming together in 1998, just held a seventh meeting in Samoa.
Over the past five years, this interesting collection of regional and international non-government organisations, intergovernmental agencies and donors, have been a real plus for regional conservation work. Backed by SPREP members, the roundtable has proven to be a valuable resource for us all.
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It is unlikely anyone could have foreseen a more challenging time to carry out our endeavours, given the state of turmoil characterising parts of the Pacific today. Be it the struggle to pay our children's school fees, political instability and strife, or just finding clean water, I would suspect a tangible sense of burden is being widely felt.
This scenario goes some way in explaining why we environmentalists, are facing some real dilemmas. Human and economic resources are scarce, often leaving the environment to fend for itself. There are also institutional problems, and with the budgets many islands governments operate under, this means a minus mark for safeguarding primary and other natural resources, or marine and terrestrial species.
To find the responses to this, the roundtable spent time on the new 2003-2007 Action Strategy for Nature Conservation in the Pacific Islands from the Nature Conservation Conference in the Cook Islands last year. Developed by Pacific stakeholders, it details the priorities for nature conservation at all levels in the region and incorporates the notion of mainstreaming conservation. In layman's language, mainstreaming is about making conservation a part of all our activities.
It is a variation of a holistic approach that our forefathers used naturally, an extension of their lifestyle from days gone by. Chasing broad 30-year goals, the Action Strategy reflects a paradigm shift for conservation in the region, incorporating environment issues and conservation, with economic and social issues.
What is needed, is for this approach to be employed with reasonable consistency from those involved. There are encouraging signs. At this year's Finance and Economic Ministers Meeting (FEMM) that I was invited to attend, the financial wizards highlighted the need to take practical steps to synthesize social, economic and environmental policy.
Nurturing these links and engaging wider concerns is a priority to economic prosperity, that goes to the heartbeat of mainstreaming. The proponents of this deserve applause for their vision and courage. Too often now, we have witnessed countries opting to sell off natural assets in an unsustainable, carte blanche fashion, with profit for a privileged few, having precedence over consultation, and the well being of the whole community.
This practice needs to stop.
It is pleasing to note that following their week long session, that also focused on bridging gaps, the roundtable identified how sustainable financing of conservation, capacity building, training and communicating conservation could all be properly locked down, while also asking local communities and institutions to step up their decision-making activities for sustainable development.
These representatives not only signed on to the action strategy, they arrived at measures that will assist FEMM's own recently concluded recommendations. There are also some strong indications of a greater involvement by regional church groups and national level organisations, who have an interest in conservation issues.
I believe these potential partnerships are timely and good for all Pacific island peoples. I must congratulate the outgoing roundtable chairman from Tonga, and the Pacific branch of the World Council of Churches, Mr Taholo Kami, for his contribution to this effort. I also bid a warm welcome to Mr Andrew Bignell, of the New Zealand Department of Conservation as the new chairperson until 2006.
All those involved with the Roundtable for Nature Conservation, have a passion and commitment to the regional environment that is not dissimilar to our own. Without such support and inspiration, the work of SPREP would be even more of a challenge than what we already face. For this we are thankful.
Asterio Takesy is the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme Director, based in Apia, Samoa.
