NEWSPAGE 18 August
2010

(Photos: Expo 2010 Shanghai China / Samoa Tourism Authority)

SAMOA: Samoa Tourism Authority Updates
Source: Samoa Tourism Authority Press Release
 

Samoa Expo team update: Free trip for 6 millionth visitor to Samoa Pavilion

The 6 millionth visitor to the Samoa Pavilion will win a return trip to Samoa, said Samoan Prime Minister Tuilaepa L. Sailele Malielegaoi at a press conference held at the Expo Site last Thursday (August 12, 2010).

Only 3,000-plus Chinese visit Samoa each year due to a lack of direct flight between the two countries. Chinese tourists have to transfer at airports in Australia, New Zealand and Fiji.

Malielegaoi said he believed the figure would gradually rise with joint efforts by the two governments in boosting cooperation in tourism.

Samoa is a beautiful archipelago republic in the Pacific and a popular tourist destination. Its people are known for their hospitality, said the prime minister.

SOURCE: Expo 2010 Shanghai China Official Website, Editor: Hu Min


Ausiva Samoana World Expo, Shanghai China Trip

The Ausiva Samoana Trip to China was a great success. The Ausiva had the pleasure and honor of dancing for thousands of people at the Pacific Pavilion as well as for millions of television viewers worldwide over a period of 10 days.

The World Expo 2010 spectators were able to watch the Ausiva Samoana perform daily at 11am, 6pm, 7pm and 8pm. The shows consisted of powerful and fast faataupati and mauluulu by the alii o le ausiva, balanced by the slow graceful siva by the tamaitai and also combined items such as the siva ofe, sasa, siva ipu popo and ava ceremony. The Final show of each evening was ended with the Taualuga completed by the Miss Samoa, during which the aiuli would invite the Chinese audience to join in with the siva. It was an utmost joy to perform for the Chinese viewers.

The Samoa National Day was also a tremendous occasion where the Ausiva was fortunate to perform for the Hon. Prime Minister Tuilaepa Lupesoli’ai Sa’ilele Malielegaoi and his good lady as well as other Samoan and Chinese dignitaries.

"The Ausiva Samoana had a wonderful time in China, seeing the World Expo 2010 and experiencing its magnitude was amazing. The ausiva would like to thank Mr Ricky Wong for his kind donation of $2000 RMB towards the celebratory dinner and also all the Chinese people. To the Samoan delegation in China, a big Faamalo, you are doing a great job. I am sure Samoa is very proud of the work that you have done to portray Samoa to the world. Last but not the least, a big Faafetai tele to the Government and People of Samoa for the support given to Ausiva Samoana. To God be the Glory." (Miss Samoa, Tavalea Nilon)

Photo Captions:

Photo 1 - Hon. Prime Minister, Tuilaepa L. Sailele Malielegaoi with Samoa’s delegation to attend Samoa National Day together with STA Chief Executive Officer/Commissioner General for Samoa, Matatamalii Sonja Hunter at the Expo 2010 Shanghai China.

Photo 2 - The Ausiva Samoana Dance Group performing at Expo 2010 Shanghai China.
 

(Photos: Pacific Islands Trade and Invest)

AUSTRALIA: Pacific Trade and Invest work to increase investment in PICs
Source: Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat Press Release

Last week’s successful Pacific Investment Summit in Sydney, Australia, has been applauded for its work to secure new investment for Pacific island countries.

The Summit is an initiative of Pacific Islands Trade and Invest (PT&I), the trade and investment promotion agency of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat.

Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, Tuiloma Neroni Slade, said that the Summit was “a great opportunity for investors to interact with policy makers from the region to review the state of investment and private sector development in the islands, establish opportunities for match-making and explore openings for increasing foreign investment flows to the Pacific Island Countries.”

PT&I’s Sydney office was the driving force behind the conference, which attracted 150 private sector entrepreneurs and policy makers from around the region.

Caleb Jarvis, Trade Commissioner (Australia) for Pacific Islands Trade and Invest, said “The idea to host the summit came about two years ago when we met with Business Advantage, our co-host of the Summit. We recognized that there are more significant large scale investment opportunities in the pacific islands region now than ever before.”

Mr Jarvis told those attending the Summit that, as investors and leaders of business in the region, they had a crucial role in the development of Pacific island countries as they had the opportunity to create employment that would lead to economic growth and prosperity.

“Our job at Pacific Islands Trade and Invest is to help business and investors in Pacific island countries grow and be profitable. We have great contacts through the region and we understand the needs and motivations of investors and business. If you have the appetite and seek solid returns then I urge you to contact us and we will connect you to the right people and partners,” said Mr Jarvis.

Mr Jarvis said he expects some significant new investments to result from the Summit. “We are now following up with several serious investors,” said Mr Jarvis. “The Summit has been very successful in raising the profile of the Pacific among Australian investors and we’ll be working with investors in the coming months to ensure they can make the most of the opportunities they have identified.”

Pacific Islands Trade and Invest (PT&I) is the trade and investment promotion agency of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat. With offices in Australia, China, Japan and New Zealand, PT&I helps Pacific island countries to attract investment and export goods and services in key markets. PT&I was formerly known as the Pacific Islands Trade and Investment Commission.

Photo Caption: Trade Commissioner (Australia) for Pacific Islands Trade and Invest, Caleb Jarvis.
 

(Photo: Peggy Greb / U.S. Department of Agriculture)

HAWAII: USDA Research Center in Hawaii hosts ground blessing ceremony
Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today celebrated the start of construction of the second phase of its research center here with a ground blessing ceremony.

Edward B. Knipling, administrator of USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS), hosted the event at the ARS Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center (PBARC). He was joined by keynote speaker and featured guest Jennifer Sabas, chief of staff to U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye; Hawaii State Legislature Representative Clift Tsuji, a representative for County of Hawaii Mayor William P. Kenoi, ARS Pacific West Area Director Andrew Hammond, and PBARC Director Dennis Gonsalves. ARS is USDA's principal intramural scientific research agency.

"The completion of Phase 2 will allow our scientists to continue their pioneering research on Hawaii's exotic tropical crops," Knipling said. "These state-of-the-art facilities will ensure that we continue to provide essential research results that benefit growers, consumers and industry."

The first phase of the new PBARC facility—a $19 million, 35,000-square-foot office and laboratory building—officially opened in 2007. Phase 2 will involve completion of more office space, screen houses and head houses. Construction of PBARC, which is operated by ARS, will be completed in three phases.

The ground blessing was conducted by Kumu Kimo Awai, a Hawaiian cultural advisor. A program including presentations and speeches by growers, industry representatives and the community emphasized the impact and value of ARS research in Hawaii.

Dating back more than 100 years, ARS research in the Hawaiian Islands has helped open new markets for Hawaii-grown fresh produce, including exports to the U.S. mainland and to Pacific Rim countries. ARS research has helped ensure that the exported products are free of hitchhiking insects, and also has helped reduce the amount of pesticides used in farming and helped growers manage attacks from disease and insects. Scientists are also working with state and university collaborators in combating some of Hawaii's most invasive species.

Recent initiatives include development of alternative energy sources and development of sustainable agriculture systems using the concept of "zero waste," a philosophy that encourages deriving the maximum use from all resources utilized.

Photo Caption: One of 43 macadamia accessions maintained as field plantings at the U.S. Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center, in Hilo, Hawaii.
 

(Photo: Cleo Paskal / Toronto Star)

TONGA: One man’s passion for nature creates a sight to behold in Tonga
Source: Toronto Star

You don’t mess with gardeners. They have patience and persistence.

A case in point in Haniteli Fa’anunu. When he was eight, Haniteli was given land near his village on the lush island of Vava’u, in the Kingdom of Tonga, in the South Pacific. The land was mostly used for growing crops. But Haniteli wanted to do something different. He wanted a garden.

Haniteli went off to school, followed by further studies in agriculture in Fiji and then Hawaii. And all the while he thought about his land. When he came back to Vava’u in 1971, he planted.

Haniteli’s garden is a reflection of his life. Even when he became director of agriculture and forestry for Tonga, the garden was never far from his thoughts. For decades, he used half his salary, and all his heart, to keep it growing.

Today, that garden is 22 acres of verdant passion — one of the most exceptional private gardens in the Pacific, if not the world. Opened to the public since 2006, the organic garden has almost every species of plant in Tonga, alongside hundreds of others, including tamarind, star fruit, jasmine, mahogany, almond trees, lemon grass, cashew, sisal, vanilla, kauri, hibiscus, pine, orchids, coconut, ginger and lots more.

This oasis has become a de facto bird sanctuary, adding a constant song to the beauty of the garden.

In Tonga, where everyone knows a farmer, a traditional medicine person, and their folklore, plants still mean something. There are medicinal plants; culturally important plants.

And every plant has a story. Some, like coconut, hold in them the history of entire economies that went boom and bust. Copra, from which coconut oil is extracted, used to be an economic mainstay of Tonga, then questions were raised (some say by manufacturers of competing oils), about its cholesterol content. And the price crashed, taking the economy with it.

Other crops tried to replace it. Haniteli tells me that vanilla came to Tonga with French priests in the 1880s. When the King of Tonga brought back cuttings in the 1950s, and suggested growing it as a cash crop, locals in Vava’u told him it already grew wild. In recent years, attempts were made to grow it as a cash crop, but again prices crashed, and vanilla pods rotted on the vines.

Kava, a traditional relaxant, was doing well for a while on the international market, and then it was banned from several countries (Haniteli thinks perhaps because it competed too successfully with pharmaceutical antidepressants).

A current hope is noni, from which the foul-tasting but currently trendy health drink is made. Should it prove effective, look for it too to be banned.

But they will all still thrive in Haniteli’s garden. And traditional plants like kava and noni have a special pride of place.

Sometimes, Haniteli says, you can tell how deep a plant’s Tongan roots are by its name. Relatively recent arrivals have Tongan names that sound familiar to foreigners. Teak for example is tiiki in Tongan. Ones that have been there longer, have distinctly Tongan names, like mei puou (breadfruit).

Haniteli’s garden is very Tongan. But the Tongans are known for being great navigators and for conquering other nations — the Vikings of the Pacific. And Haniteli has incorporated those components in to the garden as well. As he travelled the world for conferences and meetings he visited botanical gardens for inspiration and brought back ideas, and sometimes more, to plant in Vava’u.

“I was in India with the prime minister on an agricultural trip,” he told me, standing in the shade of a teak tree, in the heart of his garden. “The Indian prime minister asked us how many varieties of mangoes we had. I proudly told him ‘over 20’. He told me India has over a thousand. And that night, he sent over a box of mangoes to our hotel. We spent the night cutting away the flesh of the mangoes and packing the seeds to take home.”

Pointing to a young mango tree, Haniteli says: “And that is the result.” The tree is about seven years old, and has yet to bear fruit.

But Haniteli is patient. He can wait for it. He is a gardener.

Photo Caption: Haniteli Fa’anunu started his garden in 1971 when he was a child. He's now a director of agriculture for Tonga.
 

WORLDWIDE: Pacific Regional Strategy on Disability implementation
Source: Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat Press Release

The Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat and other stakeholders have begun work towards the implementation of the Pacific Regional Strategy on Disability after it was endorsed at the 41st Pacific Islands Forum held in Port Vila, Vanuatu 3 - 6 August.

At the 40th Pacific Islands Forum held in Cairns, Australia last year, Forum Leaders reaffirmed the need for more attention to be directed to the region’s most disadvantaged group - persons with disabilities - who are among the poorest and most vulnerable in the world.

In October 2009, the Forum Secretariat organized the meeting of Ministers with responsibility for persons with disabilities in the Cook Islands during which the Pacific Regional Strategy on Disability was endorsed.

A report of this meeting was submitted to the Forum Leaders at their meeting in Port Vila and was well supported as reflected in the 41st Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ Communiqué issued on 5th August which states:

“Leaders reaffirmed their strong support for the Pacific Regional Strategy on Disability endorsed at the Forum Disability Ministers: to support Pacific Island Forum member countries to protect and promote the rights of persons with disabilities; to provide a framework for the coordination of development partners, governments and civil society in building a disability inclusive Pacific; and strengthen commitment of all stakeholders towards implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and other human rights instruments relating to disability.

Leaders recognised that the Pacific Regional Strategy on Disability: reflects the reality and needs of the Pacific and its unique social, economic and geographic context; represents a common agreement on how to proceed and a means for sharing experiences and practices. Leaders agreed the Strategy provides effective guidance to Forum members in advancing their work on disability issues and allows the Forum Secretariat and other regional organisations, development partners and civil society a platform for engaging with governments on disability-inclusive development and progress at the national and regional levels.”

“With the endorsement by Forum Leaders of the Pacific Regional Strategy on Disability, the Forum Secretariat and other stakeholders are now working together on a detailed action plan and a monitoring and evaluation framework which are to be finalised soon,” says Feleti Teo, Acting Secretary General of the Forum Secretariat.

Mr Teo added: “Consultations on the draft strategy were conducted widely with Disabled Persons Organisations at several regional meetings held since 2008 and 2009. Government focal points, which have been established in all of the Forum Island countries, will be consulted on the action plan for the strategy as well as regional and international organisations who deal with persons with disabilities.”

Two meetings of government focal points and Ministers responsible for persons with disabilities is being proposed to be held in 2012 and 2014 to review the implementation of the Strategy.

Work on the Disability Strategy is also being coordinated with the Ministries of Education in the Forum Island countries through the Forum Education Ministers’ Meeting and their officials meetings.