Greenpeace backs Pacific islands over Oceans support

By Evan Wasuka, One Television, Solomon Islands

14 June 2012, Rio de Janeiro - Environmental group Greenpeace says Pacific Island countries must hold out against pressure from the United States and other industrial countries to push for oceans to be included in the outcomes document at the Rio+ 20 Conference in Brazil.

As negotiations on the draft document, which will presented to world leaders next week, heads towards closure Greenpeace says this week’s UN meeting is critical in saving the world’s oceans.

Greenpeace backs Pacific Islands over oceans support from Wasuka Media on Vimeo.

Pacific NGO's step up Oceans campaign at Rio+20

By Ms. Makereta Komai, Editor, PACNEWS

Maureen Penjueli, PANG

14 June 2012, Rio de Janeiro - A Fiji based regional non-governmental organisation has used the global platform at the Rio+20 conference to call for urgent action on the sustainable management of ocean resources.

Speaking at the Major Groups press briefing here in Rio de Janeiro, Maureen Penjueli, co-ordinator of the Pacific Network on Globalization (PANG) said the ocean is part of the identity and culture of every Pacific Islander.”

“We are extremely concerned with how slow negotiations have progressed with many parts of the text still bracketed.

“We urge officials to approach negotiations with a sense of urgency given the complexities of threats faced by our oceans including impact of climate change, overfishing, pollution, ocean acidification and emerging new threats from experimental seabed mining. The impacts of which include threatens our food sovereignty, livelihoods which disproportionately affect women and children in the Pacific," said Penjueli.

She urged negotiators to address structural changes needed for implementation.

“To that end we support government’s efforts to push for the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to be given more power to respond to the complexities and challengers faced with the management of our Oceans. We owe it to the next generation to leave behind a healthier ocean.

“We are in a state of interconnected crises - financial and economic crises, food and energy crises, the ecological crises including the climate change crises and the resultant impact of growing inequality within and between states which continues to disproportionately affect women and children. It is clear that root cause of the crises is clearly linked to an endless growth model.

Penjueli said there needs to be a clear acknowledgement in Rio of the root causes of the crises.

"Unfortunately there seems to be no political will to confront the endless growth model. The business as usual model is no longer an option if we are to avert imminent disaster.”

Partners with Melanesians Inc. featured at Rio+20

Story by Ms. Kathleen Leewai


Mr. Rufus Mahuru, Project Manager for Partners with Melanesians

14 June 2012 – The voice of Partners with Melanesians Inc. was heard at Rio+20 in an event organised by the United Nations Environment Programme. 

Papua New Guinea was the only Pacific Island nation represented at the “Driving innovation towards a green economy: Lessons learned and recommendations from the field in Asia and the Pacific” event alongside South-East Asian countries Indonesia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Singapore.

Mr. Rufus Mahuru is the Project Manager for Partners with Melanesians, a local national NGO that focuses on conservation and community development.

“We work with local communities to facilitate conservation efforts and sustainable community development,” said Mr. Mahuru.

“In this way we encourage more effort in protecting their natural rainforest and discourage communities from going into large-scale logging, mining, palm oil, etc, which is detrimental to the environment.”

Partners with Melanesians are currently working on four projects in various areas of conservation and community development, the Ona Keto Community Project was the feature of his presentation at the Rio+20.



The Ona Keto Community Reforestation and Sustainable Livelihood Alternatives Project is coordinated with two tribes (Ona and Keto) in the Daulo District, Eastern Highlands Province in Papua New Guinea and aims to rejuvenate the forest and inform community members of ways to live off the forest sustainably.

“Much of the work that we do begins with requests from the local communities who ask for our help to get things going when it comes to conservation work. At the inception of our projects there was 70 – 80% involvement from the local communities that drive the initiatives, now it’s 100%.”



Since is inception in 2003, the project has seen greater community mobilisation and engagement with conservation efforts, a return of previously lost flora and fauna, engagement with schools, as well as the recognition of the Global Energy International Award

.

The other three projects consist of the Managalas Plateau Conservation Area in the Oro Province; Mt Karimui in the Simbu Province; and the Inaina Wildlife Management Area in the Central Province.

The event was held at the UNEP Pavilion at Athletes Park and was a showcase for the Asia-Pacific Forum for Environment and Development (APFED) featuring success stories from five project countries.

Rio+20 for everyone

Story by Ms. Brianna Fruean, 14 years, Samoa

L - R Humberto Fernandes, Brianna Fruean

14 June 202, Rio de Janeiro - Accessibility is a key concern for the United Nations at the Rio+20 in Brazil this week.

For the first time, the conference proceedings will not only be translated into the official UN languages, but they will also be translated into sign language and closed captions for Deaf people.

Close captions are the audio sound that happens but is not said, for example music. People who cannot hear the music will be notified of it with a message in brackets; (music playing). The audio is transformed into text by a trained accessibility member in a booth at the back of the conference room.

This member uses a program to talk into a computer and the program turns what he or she is saying into audio. The accessibility members train all week getting the computer to use to their voices.

Humberto Fernandes from Brazil is one of a team of 28 people working on accessibility that carries out this work at Rio+20.

“I repeat simultaneously what is being said at the conference so a software program can create subtitles through my voice.”

As well as repeating what is being said, Humberto also announces what people are doing for example; “the Prime Minister has raised his hand”, for people who are blind.

“I love doing this work, I love helping people”

The Rio+20 is the first UN Conference to start this program with plans for it to be continued at other UN meetings.

Vibrant village at Athletes Park, 14 June, 2012

One of the many amazing sights at Athletes Park

From Fiji to Papua New Guinea to Samoa then on to Rio! Ms. Kathleen Leewai, the Publications and Communications Intern at SPREP is attending her first international environment conference - the Rio+20, this has been made possible with support from PACMAS, SPREP and Conservation International Pacific Island Program. Born and raised in Fiji, Kathleen has lived in Papua New Guinea, Australia and now in Samoa at SPREP where she works as the Publications and Communications Intern. This is Kathleens first time outside of the Pacfic region, read about her experiences!

"(Written on Day 3, 3 June) As day 3 in Rio rolled by, the battle for accreditation continued as some of our delegation managed to receive their credentials but we were told once again to come back the next day. Fortunately the day was salvaged and we kept our spirits up as we decided to use the day to check out the venue of some of the off-site Rio+20 side events and exhibits.

Athletes Park is the first venue built by the municipal government of Rio de Janeiro for the next Olympic Games which will be held here in Rio in 2016. It was finished in 2011 and will be used as an area for rest, leisure and relaxation by the athletes competing in the games.

During Rio+20, Athletes Park is housing exhibits from industries and countries, as well as pavilions set up by UN agencies and the main Brazilian pavilion for the conference.

An Island Hub exhibit has been organised by UNDESA, with support from the Government of Italy, at Athletes Park and will showcase Small Island Developing States (SIDS). One of the ways we are showcasing the Pacific at this global conference is by being a part of this exhibit, which we will be populating with publications and material from SPREP and regional partners.

Athletes Park is an exciting, vibrant venue with so many exhibits ranging from electric vehicles to the culture of the Amazon states, from the Island Hub to the socio-biodiversity market that is a part of the Brazilian pavilion. With so much on show I hope there’ll be time to see it all!

(Written on day 4, 14 June) I was lucky to have the chance to go back on our fourth day here as, after receiving our credentials and heading inside, we were invited to a side event at Athletes Park that featured an NGO from PNG and I got to go talk to him. There is still so much to see here, though, so I will look out for more opportunities to return to Athletes Park."

Pacific at Rio+20: Q and A

Story by Makereta Komai, Editor of PACNEWS Agency

13 June 2012, Rio de Janeiro - Officials from 190 countries are in Rio de Janeiro this week for the PrepCom meeting ahead of next week’s High Level meeting of world leaders to adopt clear and focused practical global measures for implementing sustainable development. Negotiators from the Pacific are also here to finalise the text of what will become the outcomes from Rio that will form the new global commitment to achieving sustainable development. Sefanaia Nawardra, the Director of Environmental Monitoring and Governance at the Secretariat of the Pacifc Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) explains to Makereta Komai some of the major issues being pursued by the Pacific negotiators here at Rio+20 meeting

Nawadra: There are four key issues that Pacific Island countries and their partners are going to be pushing for in Rio. The first involves ocean and good oceans management and the equitable sharing of benefits that accrue from the development and use of ocean resources. This is being coined the ‘blue economy’ by the Pacific Islands missions in New York in the green economy debate. The second is to try and keep the special case of Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Over the years there have been challenges to the special case for SIDS. A number of other negotiating groups are arguing that they also have special case. It’s a real challenge for SIDS to continue to keep the ‘special case’ that was agreed to at the initial Rio Earth Summit.

MK: How different is our ‘special case’ to the other regions that are also staking their claims?

Nawadra: I think that’s one of the major arguments – you can’t really argue vulnerability to climate change any more because it’s not special to the Pacific. There are other areas like low lying coastal states, mountains states that are also vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. What we are pushing now is in the area of capacity, an area that differentiates our region from the rest of the world – we are small in size, have small administrations and small population, the capacity to address issues is a lot smaller and difficult compared to countries in these regions also claiming vulnerabilities.

MK: Is it almost like an ‘uphill battle’ trying to justify our special case?

Nawadra: For us, it’s not so much arguing our case, but making sure that our case is given the emphasis it deserves because of the competing interests from other regions. It’s really trying to argue our position to make us stand out from the rest.

MK: What are the other issues for the Pacific?

Nawadra: Another major issue is to convince developed countries to honour their commitments before they enter into new commitments that may come out of Rio. The other is the issue of energy which is a major concern for us in the Pacific, especially for maritime transportation, the high cost of getting energy in and trying to promote renewable energy. Health is another issue, especially the linkages between non communicable diseases (NCDs) with sustainable development. It is something that needs to be argued – not in health per say but as an issue of economic development and risks it poses to the work force.

MK: What are we specifically asking for on the issue of NCDs from this two weeks of negotiations and the high level session, where a number of Pacific Leaders are expected to attend?

Nawadra: We are trying to signal the impact of the high level of NCD rates in the region, not only on health but also its roll on effect on the economies of the region, if it’s not addressed properly.

MK: Your would have had seen the draft text to be negotiated in the coming days here in Rio – these four key issues for the Pacific you’ve identified – are you seeing any reflection of these issues in the draft text?

Nawadra: Most of them are reflected in some way. But in the negotiation process, we need to put in a lot of effort to keep the language that is already there and try and add on and strengthen areas where it may not be as strong as we like it to be. I think oceans issue has received quiet a lot of support because there are a lot of countries and partners also interested in it. One area that we might want to look at a bit more is in the areas outside national jurisdictions or the high seas, especially in light of the number of initiatives we have undertaken in the region related to the good management of our Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).We also need to look at how we can strengthen areas outside the EEZ and that can only be done through an international global process because the areas don’t belong to any countries of the region. We are hoping that Rio can be the beginning of that process.

MK: In terms of the support in getting the kind of language that the Pacific would like to see, what kind of support are we looking at a major global conference like this?

Nawadra: Our missions in New York have been doing a very good job. As I said earlier, they coined the term ‘blue economy’ in order to put a label to the concerns about the inclusiveness of green economy to also include ocean and coastal issues. The issue has become part of the consolidated position issue for negotiating groups like the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) and G77. It’s good that the Nauru is current chair of AOSIS and that helps put our issues up on the agenda of AOSIS. Also, some of our major partners like Australia and New Zealand, the European Union, UK are supporting our position.

MK: You earlier alluded to the need for commitments here in Rio. How much more can the Pacific push for ‘real’ global commitments?

Nawadra: The more urgent concern is for countries to make the commitments they’ve already made, meet those first before we go into talking about new commitments that may be required.

MK: What if anything is to be expected from Rio that we can take back to the Pacific at the end of two weeks of conference?

Nawadra: One is the recognition of oceans issues. We live in the Pacific and are responsible for large areas of ocean and we’ve tried to organise ourselves through national and regional initiatives like the Pacific Oceanscape, the Nauru Agreement on fisheries and moves to large marine protected areas in Kiribati and Cook Islands, the locally managed marine area networks that are there throughout the Pacific. What we are saying is that we are doing things from our side and we need global support for managing these resources because we are not doing this for ourselves but for the future survival of the global community. If we get that sort of support here in Rio, then I think that will be a major step forward. The second one is the continuing recognition of special case for SIDS. I think that has already started to happen because there is already talk of having a follow up to Barbados in 2014 and that signals some acceptance of special case for SIDS.

The energy at Athletes Park

Story by Ms. Kathleen Leewai

13 June 2012, Rio de Janeiro - An increasingly familiar sight at the Rio+20 Conference venues are electric vehicles of all shapes and sizes.

The Athlete’s Park exhibition site has electric vehicles from several energy companies and vehicle manufacturers, including the Veículo Elétrico from Itaipu Binacional, a bi-national government-owned electricity generating company.

 

The company is jointly owned by the governments of Brazil and Paraguay and runs the Itaipu Dam, a hydroelectric dam located on the Paraná River, which supplies 19% of the electricity used in Brazil and 90% of the same in Paraguay.

The manufacturers have partnered with a major Brazilian utility company to power the cars which boasts zero emissions and better performance than gasoline-powered vehicles.

 

Energy companies have flocked to Athlete’s Park to exhibit innovations in renewable energy and zero emissions vehicles as energy is one of the seven priority areas of the Rio+20 Conference.

 

Pacific Island countries will also have a chance to showcase recent initiatives undertaken in the area of climate change mitigation, in particular renewable energy, at the Pacific side event held on 19th June 2012.

“We’ll be looking at energy issues in the Pacific in particular,” said Mr. Sefanaia Nawadra, Director of Environmental Monitoring and Governance Division at the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).

“Issues such as remoteness, small economies, transportation costs, limited types of renewable energy technologies that can be used, as well as related issues like waste management of those energy issues.”

 

“The idea of the Pacific side event is to bring forward these issues and allow for some discussion, not only amongst Pacific Island Countries and Territories but also with our partners.”

 

He also mentioned that, although not a UN member, Tokelau is attending Rio+20 to showcase their initiatives in renewable energy after being given the opportunity by SPREP, of which they are a member country.

Tokelau has a target to be 100% renewable energy efficient by September 2013, this total project is costing 8.5 million dollars resulting in 93% photovoltaic system with a coconut oil hybrid as a reserve.

Commonwealth and regional bodies bring voice of small states to Rio+20 Earth Conference

SPREP/Commonwealth Secretariat Release

13 June 2012, Rio de Janeiro - Three different regions, home to Small Islands Developing states will come together during a side event at the Rio+20 Conference next week in Rio de Janeiro.

The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre and the Indian Ocean Commission will be part of a high level panel discussion facilitated by the Commonwealth Secretariat.

‘Across the Regions: SIDS Solutions for Sustainable Development’ is the title of the event.

This high-level panel discussion will highlight to world leaders and other stakeholders the unique development challenges that small island developing states face, and explore ways of working together between the regions ensuring that the next wave of development efforts considers, supports and fully addresses them.

“There is no denying the challenges of Small Islands Developing States are unique, we have to battle economic barriers, that of isolated, small island populations and administrations and the effects of climate change that makes life harder for some Pacific communities,” said Mr. David Sheppard, the Director-General of SPREP.

“Despite this, our island nations across the Pacific are working together under different initiatives to find solutions to these challenges. With support towards our efforts, we could achieve much more.”

There are several Pacific initiatives underway to ensure sustainable development such as the Pacific Oceanscape Initiative as a way to conserve and sustainably develop ocean resources and the Micronesia Challenge a shared commitment to conserve at least 30% of the near shore resources and 20% of the terrestrial resources across Micronesia by 2020.

The Commonwealth Secretariat, in partnership with the three SIDS institutions, will also launch a joint initiative to explore new ways to support climate resilient and low carbon economies across their memberships, through the signing of a memorandum of understanding.

Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General Ransford Smith said: “The global economic downturn has impeded the means to achieving the development goals of reducing poverty and accomplishing green growth in small and small island developing states. The task is made even more complex by their relatively small size, remoteness, vulnerability to external shocks and the effects of climate change.”

Mr. Smith, who will lead the Commonwealth delegation to the Rio+20 Earth Conference, added: “These countries also face challenges of securing funds for building resilient green economies to halt biodiversity loss, address food and water security, and invest in new sources of energy for sustainable, competitive growth. We are delighted that together with our partners, we shall commence a new chapter of supporting these countries to achieve more resilient and inclusive green growth.”

Participants are expected to call for high ambitions to be realised at the Rio+20 Earth Conference and future UN climate change negotiations to ensure that outcomes from these processes concretely address challenges of small island and other developing small states

Note to Editors

The panel discussion will take place from 17:00 to 18:30 in Room T-8 at the Riocentro Convention Centre in Rio de Janeiro. It is open to journalists accredited to cover the Rio+20 Earth Conference. Representatives from the four organisations will also be available for interviews.

Rio Conventions Pavilion: Linking biodiversity, climate change and sustainable land management

Story by Ms. Brianna Fruean, 14 years, Samoa

13 June 2012, Rio de Janeiro - At international UN environment conferences, the Rio Conventions Pavilion has become a key feature as a platform for people to come together and talk about three topics; biodiversity conservation, climate change and land sustainability.

It’s a forum for people to come and discuss issues and solutions for earth’s sustainable development.

Rio Conventions Pavilion based at the Athletes Park

“We can solve these problems together and figure out sustainable development in a synergistic fashion,” said David Ainsworth, the Information Officer at CBD Secretariat.

This initiative started at the 10th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Nagoya Japan in 2010, it was featured at the 16th & 17th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework on the Convention on Climate Change in Cancun Mexico and Durban, South Africa; and was also present at the 10th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification in Changwon, Korea.

Now in Rio de Janeiro for Rio+20, the Pavilion is a special event. It is very inviting and can be found at Athletes Park which is open to the locals. Hoping to appeal to the local audience in Rio, one of the videos to be shown at the Pavilion will be in Portugese.

“Here in Rio, we want the pavilion to bring people together and discuss the different ways people have come about with these three main topics and so in the future we can look back and see the ways we’ve gotten to that future position. “

Throughout the conference, they have an active timetable lined up with different events such as the Coastal Climate Change Solutions event at 5pm to 7pm on Friday 15th June.

The Rio pavilion opened on Wednesday 13th of June and the last day scheduled is Sunday 24th of June.  For more information on the Rio Convention Pavilion please visit: http://www.riopavilion.org/

Transport issues in Rio, 13 June 2012

L - R Kathleen Leewai, Brianna Fruean, Pauline Fruean....on their way to the Youth Blast Summit

From Fiji to Papua New Guinea to Samoa then on to Rio!  Ms. Kathleen Leewai, the Publications and Communications Intern at SPREP is attending her first international environment conference - the Rio+20, this has been made possible with support from PACMAS, SPREP and Conservation International Pacific Island Program.  Born and raised in Fiji, Kathleen has lived in Papua New Guinea, Australia and now in Samoa at SPREP where she works as the Publications and Communications Intern.  This is Kathleens first time outside of the Pacfic region, read about her experiences!

"I have always lived in big cities in the Pacific; first Suva, then Port Moresby, and, largest of all, Melbourne.

But not even Melbourne can compare to the size of Rio de Janeiro. The second largest city in Brazil, Rio is spread over 1,260 km2 (approximately 486 square miles) and has a population of approximately 6.3 million people living in the city itself.

And driving is not recommended if you are not a local.

Driving fast in Rio

The locals drive fast. Really fast. And they have their own set of road rules that only they seem to understand. At one point we were in a taxi and paused in four lanes of traffic but the road was only painted with two lanes. I’m not sure how that is even physically possible, but it seems to be standard practice here.

The city is so big, and it takes a while to get pretty much anywhere. We went from Riocentro Convention Centre (venue for Rio+20) to the SulAmerica Convention Centre (venue for Youth Blast Conference of Youth for Rio+20) in the centre of the city and the trip took close to an hour with almost no traffic.

The trip back was a whole ‘nother story. Going from the Convention Centre to the edge of the main city centre, a journey of about 15 km, took the better part of two hours and then took another half an hour to get to the shopping centre close by our apartment where we stopped to get supplies.

We were only there for a few minutes and knew the trip home took less than 5 minutes, but we ended up having to wait another two hours just trying to find transport. The only thing we could do was find a place to sit and wait, but at least we managed to fill the time by writing.

For a one hour trip down, it took us four times as long to get back. It was certainly not an experience I’m willing to repeat any time soon, but with the influx of officials and participants for Rio+20, it looks very likely to be a regular occurrence.

"Why do you think Rio+20 is so important?"

Opinion poll conducted by Ms. Brianna Fruean, 14 years of age, Samoa

Aysel Asgarova, Azerbaijan, 24 years of age

Answer: "Rio+20 is a Once-In-A-Generation milestone event which will shape the future we want".
Question: What kind of future young people want?
Answer: "I, as a young person involved in promotion of non-formal peer-to-peer education, I am advocating here for the future that will ensure access of young youth to be friendly, productive health services for the future that will ensure opportunity for everyone and diversity in society."

Eva Chin-Jung Li, Taiwan, 19 years of age


Answer: "Rio+20 is the way of reforming the future we want and then constructing the new systems of green economy."
Question: Why do we have to care?
Answer: "Because we are the next generation and we bear the consequences of these decisions made by the adults here at Rio+20. We care because 20 years later we have to implement what they have come to decide at this meeting. It’s our responsibility to make the earth sustainable now for the benefit of the next generation to come."

Gracia Lee , Brazil, 18 years of age


Answer: "The world has changed a lot in many ways, the environment is not good and animals are endangered. After the Rio meeting in 1992, we were waiting but not many things have been done. I think it’s important to come again and discuss what they want for the world and think again because the world really needs these meetings on decisions."

Chola Simwanza, Zambia, 25 years of age, Commonwealth Youth Climate Network


Answer: I"t’s important because it creates a platform for youth. I was in Durban and now here trying to find solutions. I would say it’s important because we are the future. There are so many aspects that are here and I hope that in the end of the Summut, some resolutions will be made. Resolutions that are concrete and that are binding."

Pacific Island countries appeal exclusion from Rio+20

Article combines a news release in the CI News http://www.cinews.co.ck/ / Kathleen Leewai

To read the article in the CI News online, please visit: Cook Islands fights for voice at Rio+20

Rio prepares to host the Rio+20 Conference

12 June 2012, Rio de Janeiro - The Cook Islands and Niue will continue to battle for speaking rights at the United Nations Rio+20 Conference to be held in Brazil this month despite moves to exclude these Pacific Small Island Developing States (SIDS) from doing so. The removal of speaking rights for the Cook Islands follows a UN General Assembly Resolution 66/197 in December 2011 limiting participation at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) to state members of the UN.

While delivering a speech on behalf of the Cook Islands Prime Minister Henry Puna to the Rio+20 Informal Ministerial Meeting held in Barbados recently, chief policy advisor Liz Wright-Koteka said the Cook Islands had attended both the 1992 Rio and 2002 Johannesburg Conferences as a state.

“Chair, it saddens the Prime Minister Henry Puna personally, that 20 years on, a declaration that held so much hope for all people and which the participation and commitment of all states is a underpinning principle, will take a big step backwards by not allowing states such as the Cook Islands to be part of deciding its progression,” she said.

“We were under the impression that the Rio Declaration was a global agreement and what was commonly known as the ‘all states formula’ for attendance at these conferences applied. It appears now that Rio+20 will not be an ‘all states’ or a global conference. This is a most unfortunate outcome as sustainable development is critically important to the Cook Islands and other nations that are muffled as a result of this.”

Wright-Koteka advised the meeting that Puna would assume the role of chairman of the Pacific Islands Forum in August and as incoming chair it was vital that the Cook Islands region be permitted to participate fully at Rio+20.

“The Cook Islands supports the theme of a green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication, but wishes to also stress that as a Small Island Developing State, this is the only viable means of achieving sustainable development in today’s global context.

“Given the Cook Islands may not be accorded the opportunity to speak as a state in Rio, we urge our fellow SIDS to highlight that SIDS are already undertaking actions and have made some strong commitments to pursue the pathways towards transformation to a green economy.

“The Cook Islands also strongly aligns itself with the position advocated by the Pacific SIDS to add the colour blue to the green economy debate – synthesised as a ‘green economy in a blue world’ to ensure that issues related to ocean and islands are given prominence in the Rio+20 agenda.

“The Cook Islands fears that this approach has not yet gained enough global traction and that outcomes important to small island states from Rio+20 for ocean, island and climate change issues cannot be said to be secure.”

As there are many other regional groupings competing for international support, Wright-Koteka stressed that SIDS should continue to strongly urge for a renewed political commitment and reaffirmation of the special case of SIDS and their acknowledged vulnerabilities.

“SIDS should encourage the international community to meet existing commitments and agree to new commitments that will facilitate the transformation towards greener economies globally, with the necessary institutional structures to assist these efforts.

“The Cook Islands feels that funds that have been channelled through global funding structures do not take into account the capacity constraints of SIDS. Therefore as result, the Cook Islands, as I am sure other SIDS have not been able to access these funds effectively. Furthermore, access to these funds has been accompanied by onerous reporting obligations.

“The Cook Islands urges that SIDS advocate at Rio+20 for an agreement by the international community to improve access to funds for the transformation to green economies and to ease the reporting burden faced by small islands administration in line with the special case for SIDS.”

At the conclusion of the meeting Wright-Koteka said the chair of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) and Special Envoy of the President of Nauru, Aloysius Amwano, highlighted the concerns expressed by the Cook Islands not being invited as speakers at the Rio+20 conference.

AOSIS representatives reiterated their support for a letter prepared by the chair of AOSIS conveying the group’s concern regarding the exclusion of the Cook Islands and Niue from the list of participating states consistent with the existing practice of ‘all states’ participation in global sustainable development.

Wright-Koteka on behalf of the Prime Minister expressed the Cook Islands deep appreciation for the efforts and the support by AOSIS in pushing the case for the Cook Islands to have a voice at the Rio+20 Conference.

As members of the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), delegates from Niue and the Cook Islands were expected to participate in the Pacific side event.

“All of the Pacific Islands countries and territories attending the side event are SPREP members,” said Mr. Sefanaia Nawadra, Director of Environmental Monitoring and Governance Division at SPREP.

“It is very unfortunate that due to their changed status according to the UN rules they will not be attending and won’t be represented at the Pacific side event.”

Youth Blast Conference of Youth for Rio+20

Story by Ms. Brianna Fruean, 14 years, Samoa

12 June, Rio de Janeiro - Youth Blast is an event organised by youth for youth. The main youth group organising this event is the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) major group of Children and Youth and Brazilian National Youth Secretary with the help of the government of Brazil.

The Youth Blast conference helps promote young people to be active, create networks with other people their age and voice what they want out of Rio+20. Thousands of future world leaders came together and shared their struggles and achievements of their projects and past events. The first two days, the 7th to the 8th of June, were for youth that spoke Portuguese and the last two days, the 10th to the 12th of June, were for English speakers.

It was a very productive event where the youth that were attending the main Rio+20 could collect messages from their fellow Youth Blast members.

It was a great initiative that hopefully will impact the main Rio+20 Conference.

Registering for Rio+20, 11 June

Registration

From Fiji to Papua New Guinea to Samoa then on to Rio!   Ms. Kathleen Leewai, the Publications and Communications Intern at SPREP is attending her first international environment conference - the Rio+20, this has been made possible with support from PACMAS, SPREP and Conservation International Pacific Island Program.  Born and raised in Fiji, Kathleen has lived in Papua New Guinea, Australia and now in Samoa at SPREP where she works as the Publications and Communications Intern.  This is Kathleens first time outside of the Pacfic region, read about her experiences.

 

11 June 2012 -- The first morning in Rio dawned sunny and cool, and I was up early, ready to head to the convention centre to register, receive an awesome conference badge, and stakeout the pavilions to see where I’ll be spending most of my time over the next two weeks.

Needless to say the excitement of the morning was severely dampened by being told that we weren’t in the system and couldn’t, therefore, register.

Apparently the process involved completing forms that needed official seals and signatures from the Ambassador and passport photos emailed to the organisers, both of which we hadn’t managed to do before leaving Apia.

So now we’ve been granted an extra day to prepare for our side event and our media work, that hasn’t been easy what with the internet going up and down and my body still trying to adjust to the new time zones and the jetlag!

Update 12 June 2012 -- Forms were signed, sealed, and delivered in record time thanks to the wonders of technology (email) but a further venture to the convention centre proved unsuccessful due to the delay of the system updating.

50,000+ registered participants will do that. We have been assured, though, that our registration will be completed tomorrow morning, so that’s definitely something to look forward to.

Arriving in Brazil, 10 June 2012

From Fiji to Papua New Guinea to Samoa then on to Rio!  Ms. Kathleen Leewai, the Publications and Communications Intern at SPREP is attending her first international environment conference - the Rio+20, this has been made possible with support from PACMAS, SPREP and Conservation International Pacific Island Program.  Born and raised in Fiji, Kathleen has lived in Papua New Guinea, Australia and now in Samoa at SPREP where she works as the Publications and Communications Intern.  This is Kathleens first time outside of the Pacfic region, read about her experiences!

From the time of arrival Rio de Janeiro has been an eye-opener. In some ways it is so much like the Pacific Islands, and in some ways it’s as far from island life as you can get.

The first culture shock was seeing fully armed policemen stationed outside the airport. That is definitely not something you see every day in the Pacific.

The people are friendly but it has been difficult understanding the language. The people of Brazil speak Portuguese, and they speak it very fast. But they are laid back and everyone wears flip-flops, so that’s been familiar. They also drive very fast and are crazy for their soccer (of course).

The view from our apartment is breathtaking; at night the city lights shine brightly with tall dark mountains as a backdrop. We’re staying next to a small lake and were able to take a short boat ride across to what we’ve been told is the biggest mall in Brazil. It was packed, and very busy considering it was a Sunday night.

All-in-all, my first night in Brazil was filled with lights and sounds of a bustling city. It’s exciting being here and knowing that tomorrow morning we are going to the convention centre (Riocentro) to register for the conference. But more on that tomorrow.

Solomon Islands delegation for Rio+20 Summit

By Evan Wasuka, One News Solomon Islands Television.

Solomon Islands will be represented by Prime Minister Gordon Darcy Lilo and a strong delegation of six ministers at the Rio+20 Summit in Brazil later this month. Among the big issues that Solomon Islands wants endorsed at the outcome of the Summit is climate change, oceans and special recognition for Small Islands Developing States.

Pacific voices at world conference on sustainable development

By Kathleen Leewai, SPREP

11 June 2012 - Messages from five Pacific Island Leaders will be the highlight of a Pacific Side Event at the Rio+20 Conference.

Jointly run by regional UN agencies based in the Pacific and Pacific island countries and territories, this side event at the Rio+20 Conference aims to highlight two main issues for the Pacific region; to ensure oceans are firmly on the agenda and to maintain the special case for Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

The special case for SIDS has been in force since the first Rio Earth Summit in 1992 and was reinforced in Johannesburg 10 years later in 2002.

This is an important issue for the Pacific to ensure this remains as it allows for the understanding that the challenges of sustainable development faced by SIDS remain the same as before, and in some cases have even grown bigger over time.

Oceans issues are being brought forward at the Pacific side event by highlighting the Pacific Oceanscape, the first regional initiative that looks at oceans governance and management.

“We recently appointed the first Pacific Islands Oceans Commissioner, Tuiloma Neroni Slade, Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat,” said Mr. Sefanaia Nawadra, Director of the Environmental Monitoring and Governance Division at Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).

“We really want to showcase this as an alternative approach that fits in with the green economy approach being brought forward in Rio.”

There will also be an opportunity for the Micronesian Challenge countries to showcase their initiatives that have been put in place over recent years to set up and manage marine protected areas, as well as initiatives from Melanesian countries, put together by the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG), in the areas of environment and climate change, particularly climate change mitigation and ecosystems-based adaptation.

"The whole idea is to bring forward these issues and allow for some discussion, not only amongst Pacific Island Countrie and Territories but in particular with our partners, the NGO community, the donor partners and others,” says Mr. Nawadra.

The Rio+20 Pacific side event will be held on the 19th of June, 2012, at the RioCentro Convention Centre, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The Future we want

That’s the coin phrase of the World’s biggest environment summit held in Rio de Janeiro this month. The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, is also known as Rio+20, is taking place twenty years after the first Earth Summit in Rio, 1992.

This monumental conference has strong historic significance for the planet. Twenty years ago over 30,000 participants including more than 100 of the World’s Leaders adopted ‘Agenda 21‘, the blueprint of global principles and targets for sustainable development.

This was also the birthplace of three global conventions - the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change; the Convention on Biological Diversity; and the Convention to Combat Desertification [later expanded to include land degradation].

At the 10th anniversary of the first earth summit in 2002 another historical conference was held; the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg.

Now 10 years later, at the 20th anniversary in 2012, world leaders will come together again with the private sector, NGO’s and other stakeholders, in Rio to help bring about a Future we want. In order to ensure the voice of the Pacific will be heard as we prepare for this Future, there are four key messages the region will be sharing to the world;

1. Our Ocean is a vital resource; we need to manage this area for our national and regional needs as well as on the behalf of the entire global community. We have a number of regional initiatives including the Pacific Plan, the Pacific Oceanscape and the Nauru Agreement where the region needs the support of the global community through funding, resources and cooperation.

2. The Pacific will reinforce the special case for Small Island Developing States.

3. Climate change and biodiversity conservation are key issues of regional concern. Rio+20 is an opportunity to not only reaffirm global commitment but to encourage our developed partners to meet the existing commitments under the respective conventions.

4. We need to ensure that the institutional framework agreed at Rio+20 adequately addresses the needs of SIDS and includes the strengthening of our regional and national institutions for sustainable development.

The 3rd Preparatory Meeting Committee Meeting UN Conference on Sustainable Development is hld 13 - 5 June, the Sustainable Development Dialogues are held on 16 - 19 June and the UNCSD is held 20 - 22 June.

For more information please visit:  http://www.uncsd2012.org/index.html

Pacific reports from the Rio+20

A Pacific team will be providing media coverage of the World’s biggest sustainable development conference, known as Rio+20, in Rio de Janeiro this month. Keeping Pacific communities informed about events and activities that unfold at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development.

The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) is supported by the Pacific Media Assistance Scheme (PACMAS) for a new approach on sharing stories and news from different perspectives. This activity will help provide media coverage on the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio+20, as well as help develop the skills of young Pacific islanders that have proven potential.

Two experienced senior reporters from the Pacific, Ms. Makereta Komai, Editor of PACNEWS and Mr. Evan Wasuka of One Television Solomon Islands, will be providing regional coverage both in print and with video clips to be uploaded to the SPREP website available for download.

Two young Pacific islanders will also be providing news items from a different perspective as well as taking parts in events. A junior environmental advocate, Ms. Brianna Fruean at 14 years of age, will be participating in the ‘Youth blast’ and other events at Rio+20 and provide a daily journal and news items from a youth perspective. Ms. Kathleen Leewai, an intern at SPREP, will also be compiling news items for distribution, she is funded by both PACMAS and Conservation International Pacific Island Program.

A documentary will also be produced on the Rio+20 by the team.

“We’re really pleased with this support and guidance from PACMAS. Rio+20 is where environmental history will be created, it’s where the decisions will be made that will see actions trickle down to the community level over time ,” said Nanette Woonton, the Media and Public Relations Officer at SPREP.

“We’re trying for a new approach that will hopefully connect Pacific communities with what happens at this meeting, giving our Pacific youth a voice to share with all, along with our regular news items.”

The PACMAS Project Management Group and Programme Manager paid a courtesy visit to SPREP last month and with this initial project, intend to strengthen relations to help build the capacity of Pacific media to report on environmental issues.

PACMAS has provided guidance for SPREP with the Rio+20 media team in terms of selection, outcomes required as well as financially.

“Thank you PACMAS for making this possible,” said Woonton.

“This is an exciting project as the Rio+20 is the Forum where the world is to work together to help achieve a sustainable development and having this documented in media reports, a documentary and having a Pacific youth present who will help contribute to the Future we want, well as I said, it’s exciting. We are looking forward to it.”

There are two themes for the Conference; A green economy in the context of sustainable development poverty eradication; and the institutional framework for sustainable development.

The Pacific region will be hosting a side event in Rio – applying the green economy in a blue world. It will feature visionary and well-respected Pacific leaders and will focus on the reality of effectively managing the Pacific Ocean and the resources it has to offer.