NEWSPAGE 09 April
2010

(Photo: Commonwealth Secretariat)

(Photos: Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme)

SAMOA: Samoa rat eradication project showing signs of success
Source: Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme Press Release

Six months after a rat eradication project began for the Aleipata Islands group in Samoa, a follow up visit after the operation reports no sign of the Pacific rat on Nu’utele Island.

The valuable native wildlife of Nu’utele and Nu’ulua Islands was considered to be severely affected by the Pacific rat, hence the rat eradication project budgeted at just over USD 200,000 was developed to help Samoa’s natural heritage thrive.

In August last year, a helicopter from New Zealand was deployed to drop brodifacoum rat bait on the two islands in the Aleipata group.

During this follow up visit in March, a team of five from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Government of Samoa and SPREP visited Nu’utele Island taking a full boatload of gear. They divided into two groups to cover key areas, setting a variety of traps, baits, lures and tunnels and searching for rats, their feeding signs or footprints. Encouragingly no sign of the rat was discovered.

“This was very promising, although it’s too early to be sure that the rat has been eradicated as six months isn’t a long time and there could be a pocket of animals somewhere that we didn’t detect. It will need another visit in another six months or so to be more certain,” said Dr David Butler, the project adviser.

“I’m very optimistic as there were lots of fruit visible on the ground which the rats would normally have eaten and lots of ground doves.”

In 2009 just before the rat eradication operation, over 20 friendly ground doves, one of Samoa’s rarest birds, were captured on Nu’utele and held in captivity in a temporary aviary. They were returned to the island once it was determined that the rat baits were no longer a risk to them on the island. The doves in captivity had leg bands placed on them to assist with future survey results.

“With this visit we could count how many birds we saw with and without bands, which gave us an idea that there are now over 100 doves on the island. They have also been breeding since the rat eradication operation as we saw one very young bird so it is looking good for them.”

Due to rough seas, the review team was unable to visit Nu’ulua Island this time however a visit is planned in a few months when a lizard survey will take place to discover the effects of the rat eradication on the lizard population.

“The rat eradication is a significant project with two key aims - firstly to show that we can safely remove rats from islands and secondly to show the response of wildlife and the forest to the absence of rats in the environment” said Dr Butler.

“People often say there are not a lot of rats and not much damage is done by them, but it isn’t until they are gone that you see the dramatic increase in the birdlife, lizards and tree seedlings in the forest. Rats have a big impact and they need to be addressed.”

Photo Captions:

Photo 1 - Team members from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Government of Samoa and SPREP laying a rat trap on Nu’utele Island.

Photo 2 - A friendly ground dove.

(Photos: University of Queensland / Youth Challenge Australia)

AUSTRALIA: University of Queensland student helps build classroom in Vanuatu
Source: University of Queensland

UQ education and Indigenous Studies student Selena Uibo has learnt a valuable lesson from a recent trip to Vanuatu: learning from other cultures can teach you a lot about yourself.

During the summer break Ms Uibo was one of only five students selected from around the country to participate in the first Youth Challenge Australia: Indigenous Youth Leadership Program (IYLP), and will share her experiences at the “No East, No West” conference in Malaysia.

The Youth Challenge Australia project brings together young Australian Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islanders to volunteer for community development projects.

The group spent six weeks building a classroom in the rural village Ekipe on the island of Efate and also facilitated workshops on health, education, public speaking and fundraising for the local community.

“It was important to let the young people there know that they are a major part of their community and they can contribute in many ways,” Ms Uibo said.

For the duration of their placement, the volunteers were set up with host families who welcomed them into their homes and community, teaching them the basics of the local language, Ni Vanuatu traditions and customs.

“They didn't have much in the sense of material things, but they had a lot to give and a really strong sense of community. After six weeks we picked up the language really well,” she said.

Since 1992, Youth Challenge Australia has sent more than 2500 young adults around the world on service projects lasting five to twelve weeks.

Following graduation, Ms Uibo plans to return to the Northern Territory to teach history and social studies in the area she grew up. She said she would eventually like to be involved in the political process to help fuse better relationships with Indigenous people and the government.

Her experience as a volunteer in Vanuatu has furthered her commitment to the cause and given her the perspective to work effectively with rural communities.

“When you are away from everything you know, and you live and work with the same people everyday, it gives you a chance to see what's important and what you can learn about yourself,” she said.

Vanuatu, a chain of islands in the South Pacific, has some of the lowest standards of living in the world.

Ms Uibo will take the knowledge from her experiences with the people of Vanuatu people to the “No East, No West” International Conference on Intercultural Dialogue being held from April 26-30 in Malaysia.

The conference will involve young people, religious leaders, professionals and politicians to facilitate the dialogue and understanding of other cultures.

Ms Uibo will put together a report of her experience from the conference and her time in Vanuatu to assist future Youth Challenge Australia volunteers.

Photo Captions:  Ms Selena Uibo is one of only five students selected from around the country to participate in the first Youth Challenge Australia: Indigenous Youth Leadership Program (IYLP).
 

(Photos: eTravel Blackboard)

KIRIBATI: Christmas Island welcomes back regular flights
Source: Fiji Times

Fiji's national airline - Air Pacific - will be spreading its wings to Christmas Island (Kiritimati) from next month.

Announcing the re-introduction of the service, airline managing director and chief executive John Campbell said the flight would be from Nadi, to Kiritimati and onto Honolulu.

"Air Pacific is very pleased to bring commercial airline services back to Kiritimati Island," the departing chief executive said.

Mr Campbell added that the Republic of Kiribati played a unique role in tourism and business in the Pacific and that linking up Kiritimati Island to both Fiji and Honolulu in Hawaii would be a positive step for many stakeholders.

"It is an exciting boutique addition to our route network, which will be popular among fishing, dive and bird watching enthusiasts the world over."

The proposed recommencement of services into Kiritimati Island have also been welcomed by the Government of Kiribati.

Secretary for Communications, Transport and Tourism Development Teekoa Ietaake has called this announcement "a major step in supporting the growth and development of Kiribati".

Kiritimati Island is Kiribati's major tourism destination and with the recommencement of air services to the island, this will bring a major boost to the local and national economies.

"We are very pleased to partner with Air Pacific in this venture to bring air services to Kiritimati," said Mrs Ietaake.

"And to tell the world that we are very keen for salt water fly fishermen, surfers and birdwatchers from around the world to come to Kiritimati."

Visas are no longer required for entry into Kiritimati for most countries around the world, although immigration charges for departure will be applied.

The flight will operate with a Boeing 737-700 aircraft with eight seats in Tabua Business Class and 110 in Pacific Voyager Economy Class.

The new flights will add a third weekly Nadi-Honolulu service to make travel throughout the South Pacific region even easier.

The northbound schedule for the new flight provides connections from Sydney, Brisbane, Auckland, Tarawa, Tonga and Suva.

The southbound flights will provide easy connections back to Suva and next day connections to Tarawa, thereby linking the two principal islands of Kiribati.

The new Kiritimati Island service complements Air Pacific's other Honolulu flights.

Honolulu can now be accessed three times weekly with non-stop flights on Sundays, the new Kiritimati Island flights on Tuesdays and a flight via Apia on Fridays.

Air Pacific also operates non-stop flights from Nadi to Apia on Sundays and Tuesdays.

Air Pacific's network throughout the South Pacific is the most extensive of any airline and provides the necessary air services for many government, business and student travellers.

Photo Captions:  Saltwater fly fishing and bird watching are two of the major tourist attractions on Kiritimati.
 

(Photos: J. Kneubuhl)

USA: WASC Team Indicates Positive Preliminary Results for ASCC
Source: American Samoa Community College Press Release

The administration, faculty and students at the American Samoa Community College received some welcome news this past Thursday from two team members representing the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), who visited the Territory last week to review the College’s progress towards fulfilling recommendations previously issued by the WASC Commission. Speaking before a general assembly last Thursday, team leader Dr. Mark Zacovic announced, “Based on our findings, ASCC has successfully fulfilled the three team recommendations and the one commission recommendation within the time period allotted by the Commission.” Dr. Zacovic also noted that ASCC had made significant progress on the other recommendations, ahead of the October 2010 deadline.

The positive results announced by Dr. Zacovic mark the latest step in a process begun in March of last year, when the College learned that the WASC Commission had placed ASCC on Probation pending the submission of two follow-up reports regarding areas of concern to the
Commission. The Probation did not affect the College’s status as an accredited institution, but WASC stated that it would not renew the accreditation of ASCC until it addressed ten recommendations made by a team who carried out an accreditation review October 2008 along with one additional recommendation made subsequently by the Commission itself.
Since the WASC action a year ago, ASCC has made steady progress in addressing the WASC recommendations. WASC established a timetable wherein ASCC needed to address three particular recommendations within a year’s time, and the others within two years. Under the leadership of President Dr. Seth Galea’i, some of the College’s most knowledgeable administration and faculty members formed special committees that focused on specific recommendations. “The WASC team who just visited had instructions to review our progress on just those first three recommendations specified the Commission, as well as the Commission’s own single recommendation, but in fact our committees have worked for the better part of a year on our response to all eleven recommendations,” explained the College’s Vice President of Academic Affairs and Student Services Dr. Kathleen Kolhoff.

“While Dr. Mark Zacovic and Dr. Fred Trapp could only issue their findings on those first four recommendations officially,” she continued, “they graciously took the time to review our work on the remaining recommendations and offer their insights on how we might strengthen our means of addressing them. In all, they concluded that ASCC has fulfilled seven of the recommendations, and made major progress on two more. Dr. Zacovic and Dr. Trapp also gave some valuable suggestions to help us improve our data collection efforts on tutoring and transfer.” President Galea’i added that the two remaining recommendations, dealing with total cost of ownership of capital improvements and further definition of the faculty and committee roles in governance, will be addressed by ASCC in the coming months.

During their four day visit, Dr. Zacovic and Dr. Trapp conducted extensive interviews with administrators, faculty staff and students at ASCC. They also enjoyed a cordial meeting with Governor Togiola Tulafono, who clarified the College’s status as a semi-autonomous institution funded by the government, and also expressed his vision of someday seeing ASCC become a four-year institution. “Given the economic conditions we’re facing, it makes more sense to establish a four-year institution locally, rather than fund a limited amount of scholarships for students travelling off-island,” said the Governor. The WASC team also met with House of Representatives Education Committee Chairman Lemapu Talo.

With Dr. Zacovic and Dr. Trapp having returned home, they will report their findings to the WASC Commission. “At their next meeting in June, the Commission will decide what the next step is for us,” said Dr. Kolhoff. “We do not know if sanctions will be lifted or if another visit will be necessary in October. My hope is that we can address the final recommendations with a report, but we do not know what the Commission will decide.”

The ASCC Vice President credited the staff and faculty who served on the recommendation committees with ensuring that the College had its data well prepared for this visit from WASC. “We have made remarkable progress over the last year, and we are a stronger and better institution for this. Let me echo our President Dr. Seth's proverb: We are always friends, but in times of adversity we are brothers and sisters. Words cannot express my gratitude for all the work that has brought us to this point.”

Photo Captions:

Photo 1 - Governor Togiola Tulafono hosts WASC visiting representatives Dr. Mark Zacovic on his left and Dr. Fred Trapp on his right. Also pictured here are (far left) Board of Higher Education member Sapini Siatu'u and Chairman Uta Dr. Laloulu Tagoilelagi, and (far right) ASCC Vice President of Academic Affairs and Student Services Dr. Kathleen Kolhoff and President Dr. Seth Galea'i.

Photo 2 - Dr. Fred Trapp (left) and Dr. Mark Zacovic of WASC receive their going away gifts from the administration, faculty and students of ASCC. The WASC representatives spent four days at the College last week reviewing progress made towards recommendations by the WASC Commission.

Photo 3 - ASCC Student Government Association member Saisamoa Grey Price (center) holds the tanoa given as a gift to visiting WASC representatives Dr. Fred Trapp on her left and Dr. Mark Zacovic, who are joined by members of the ASCC administration and faculty for this photo.

Photo 4 - Visiting WASC representatives Dr. Fred Trapp (center left) and Dr. Mark Zacovic (center right) display their going away gifts whle joined by (l-r) ASCC President Dr. Seth Galea'i, Board of Higher Education (BHE) member Tauiliili Lauifi and Chairman Uta Dr. Laloulu Tagoilelagi, ASCC Vice President of Academic Affairs and Student Services Dr. Kathleen Kolhoff, BHE memer Sapini Siatu'u and Vice Chairman Pemerika Tauiliili.
 

WOLDWIDE: Ma requests meeting to discuss relations with the US and Pacific Islands
Source: Office of Congressman Faleomavaega Press Release

The Chairman of the Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and the Global Environment, Rep. Eni F.H. Faleomavaega, announced today that on Wednesday, March 31, he met with President Ma Ying-jeou of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to discuss relations with the United States and Pacific Island nations. President Ma made the request to meet with Faleomavaega upon learning that the Chairman would be traveling on assignment in Asia.

Two meetings were held between the leaders - one official and one private. President Ma thanked Chairman Faleomavaega for his support for Taiwan, and especially for the recent $6.4 billion arms sale by the United States.

In turn, Faleomavaega reaffirmed the United States’ long-standing one-China policy and noted that, for some time, past administrations had flip-flopped about the sale, but President Obama went forward despite China's highly critical stance.

“The sale is strictly for defense purposes,” Faleomavaega said, “to provide Taiwan with defense capabilities in accordance with the Taiwan Relations Act.”

With Taiwan-Beijing trade totaling more than $100 billion annually, both leaders agreed that promoting peaceful relations across the Straits is important to Taiwan and Beijing, as well as in the interest of the United States.

Regarding U.S.-Taiwan relations, President Ma asked for Faleomavaega’s assistance in advancing trade, extradition, and visa waiver issues.

On the subject of Taiwan’s growing presence in the Pacific Islands, President Ma said, “Last week I visited Taiwan's diplomatic allies in the Pacific Islands and I experienced the warmth of the people there. I would like to once again extend a warm welcome to you as you have been a friend of Taiwan's for many, many years.” President Ma also thanked Faleomavaega for rescheduling his trip to accept Taiwan's invitation to visit.

The two leaders talked about climate change and its impact on vulnerable and marginalized societies such as Tuvalu and Kiribati. Faleomavaega called upon Taiwan to assume a more prominent role in the region by providing expertise and assistance to help Pacific Island nations address the serious environmental and economic challenges they face.

President Ma referred to Taiwan's 6-3-0 program - 6 types of vegetables, 3 years and zero imports - Taiwan's new initiative to encourage Pacific islanders to change their daily diets and adopt a healthier lifestyle.

Faleomavaega informed President Ma that one of his primary reasons for accepting Taiwan's invitation to visit was to discuss the future of the tuna industry in American Samoa and among Pacific Island nations.

“I previously visited southern Taiwan, which is home to one of the biggest fisheries in the world,” Faleomavaega said. “Today’s tuna industry totals about $4 billion annually, yet Pacific Island nations and American Samoa are not getting their fair share of revenue even though the resources are being taken from our waters. It is my hope that Taiwan will work closely with us in rebuilding and reshaping the tuna industry in a way that makes American Samoa the hub for the U.S. market while at the same time partnering with Pacific Island nations to develop their fishing fleets, given that Taiwan's technology is unparalleled.”

President Ma agreed that Taiwan would lend its support and especially would do all it could to help American Samoa. In a show of good-faith, President Ma's administration arranged high-level meetings between Faleomavaega and top industry leaders, including FCF, the largest fish trading company in the world, which Faleomavaega had previously met through the late Dave Burney, former President and CEO of the U.S. Tuna Foundation.

At a separate meeting hosted by the Deputy Foreign Minister, Faleomavaega exchanged ideas with FCF and other fishery executives. Taiwan's Director General for North America in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the cannery in American Samoa is vital to Taiwan's economy.

FCF plainly stated that American Samoa is core to its plans for growth and that no matter what happens, “we are supporting American Samoa.”

FCF also stated that it had bid on the StarKist facility prior to its purchase by Dongwon, and that FCF was the second highest bidder. FCF said that, under the right circumstances, it might have an interest in the COS facility, but that it had not entered into discussions at this time and that it has had no contact with ASG.

“FCF is supportive of the revised version of ASPIRE, and FCF has asked to work closely with my office on federal matters relating to the tuna fishing and processing industries in American Samoa,” Faleomavaega said. “I am very encouraged by our talks and also by my discussions with Chairman Kim in South Korea regarding the future of our local tuna industry.”

“I have every reason to believe that American Samoa can adapt with the times and carve out a niche of its own, even though the tuna industry has undergone a tremendous transformation. But our success, as always, will require patience, hard work and the full support and prayers of our people,” Faleomavaega concluded.