NEWSPAGE 21 October
2011

(Photo: Kolokesa Mahina-Tuai)

(Photo: Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme)

SAMOA: Samoa UNCCD COP 10 delegation field questions on land degradation
Source: Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme Press Release
 
The official delegation of Samoa at the 10th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification is Ms. Filisita Heather and Ms. Fa’ainoino Laulala of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. In the absence of the Minister and Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Heather is the Head of delegation in her capacity as the Acting Chief Executive Officer of Land Management.

Ms. Laulala is the Principal Land Policy and Development Officer of the Ministry and is Samoa’s official correspondent of the UNCCD Committee on Science and Technology, she has been responsible for implementing the Convention at the national level.

Ms. Fa’ainoino Laulala

Q. What is the key issue for Samoa at the UNCCD COP 10?

Land degradation is important for us in Samoa, and we are encountering drought as well this month. I think this convention is a good way for us to look forward for long term solutions and activities to help address these issues.

Q. Why is it important for Samoa to be part of the UNCCD?

The convention has parties from all around the world, for Samoa it’s important as it is through implementing the requirements of this convention that we have activities on the ground to bring about sustainable land management. By being part of this convention we can also have access to funds or financial support to improve our land quality.

Q. How important do you think the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification is, on the global scale?

Desertification for Samoa can be clearly understood in the context of land degradation and drought, it is the main issue of consideration for us in this Convention. Our thanks goes out to the UNCCD for trying to make ‘Land’ clearly visible as the most basic natural resource which essentially connects us to all other parts of our natural ecosystems upon which humans can survive.

If we don’t ‘care for land, for land is life’ everything we do to address climate change and restore the loss of biodiversity, fails.

We must be mindful that land physically houses all other environmental natural resources such as water, forests, biodiversity and soil, only then can we fully understand the intrinsic value of our land in the context of the sustainable development framework especially aswe approach the Rio+20 meeting come June 2012 which we hope will further highlight the need for synergetic efforts of the three Rio Conventions to address the global environmental problems.

We all need to place ‘land’ as an important issue of the highest priority on the national agenda through mainstreaming sustainable land management practices into national plans and effective implementation of these plans through law enforcement. We small island states are relatively small in size and are vulnerable to climate change and have a fragile resource base, so we rely on our land for survival. I call on all to give Land and this convention the priority and support it deserves.

Photo Caption: (L-R) Ms. Fa'ainoino Laulala, Ms. Filisita Heather.
 

AUSTRALIA: Foreign Minister voices thoughts on small states and climate change

Australia's Foreign Minister, the Hon Kevin Rudd

Small is beautiful - but it can also be fragile.

As a neighbour to many small island developing states, Australia knows well their vulnerability to climate change. The very existence of countries like Kiribati, the Maldives and the Marshall Islands could be threatened by rising sea levels and more extreme storm surges resulting from global warming.

Yet these and other small developing states are the least responsible for climate change. Small developing states together account for less than one percent of global emissions, and produce an average of 3.3 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per capita compared to the world average of 4.6 tonnes.

Many small island and coastal states depend on the oceans for their food and livelihoods. Yet marine ecosystems and coral reefs worldwide are in decline due to overfishing and other destructive fishing practices. Ocean acidification and the impacts of climate change also threaten the long term survival of marine species.

Small developing states are especially exposed to natural disasters such as hurricanes, cyclones and droughts, some so severe that entire populations and economies are affected. The tsunami that hit Samoa in 2009 cost that country 22 per cent of its annual GDP.

The international community, over the next several months, has a chance to change the course of sustainable development.

The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Durban at the end of this year provides another opportunity to take concrete steps toward a global climate regime which includes legally binding mitigation commitments by all major emitters.

The international community will meet again just six months later in Rio de Janeiro for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, also known as the Rio+20 Summit. The Rio+20 Summit presents a further opportunity for the international community to set the world on a more sustainable course and to decide on practical outcomes that integrate the three pillars of sustainable development - the economic, social and environmental.

It is important that the global community makes the most of these opportunities.

The world’s population is projected to reach 9 billion by 2050. Coupled with current economic trends, this could bring with it a tripling in consumption of basic natural resources.

Carbon emissions in 2010 were the highest in history, according to the International Energy Agency. And world primary energy demand is estimated to increase by 36 per cent between 2008 and 2035.

Australia knows well that the future prosperity of small developing states depends on global progress towards a more sustainable future.

The world needs to hear the concerns of small developing states to understand fully the challenges we all face. And the world needs to act to help small developing states build their resilience to the threats they face.

Next week, Australia will host the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Perth, with the themes “Building National Resilience, Building Global Resilience.” CHOGM will turn the international community’s attention to the importance of building resilience, particularly that of small states, to global crises.

In the lead-up to CHOGM, I will host a meeting of Commonwealth and Developing Small States Foreign Ministers bringing together a diverse range of states from every continent. The meeting will focus on the challenges particular to developing small states in combating climate change and achieving sustainable development, and identify how the Commonwealth can advance these priorities through national and international cooperation.

We will look to pass this message to CHOGM, to the G20 Summit in France in November, to the Durban climate change conference and to Rio+20.

As the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon made clear in his address to the United Nations General Assembly last month, sustainable development is the imperative of our century.

Through our role in CHOGM and the G20, at Durban and Rio, Australia will be supporting small developing states to ensure that their voices are heard loud and clear.
 

(Photo: World Bank)

TONGA: Tonga ranked top performer in Pacific for ease of doing business
Source: World Bank Press Release

Tonga’s global ranking improved by four places between 2010 and 2011 in a new report from IFC and the World Bank that measures the ease of doing business. Jumping to 58th out of 183 economies, Tonga was ranked highest among all countries - excluding Australia and New Zealand - in the Pacific region.

Released yesterday, Doing Business 2012: Doing Business in a More Transparent World assesses regulations affecting domestic firms in 183 economies and ranks the economies in 10 areas of business regulation, such as starting a business, resolving insolvency, and trading across borders. This year, the rankings on ease of doing business have expanded to include indicators on getting electricity.

As well as Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, Tonga was among just four countries in East Asia and the Pacific which improved in three or more areas measured by the report. According to the report, Tonga made starting a business easier by implementing electronic systems for registrations; made getting electricity faster and made it easier to access credit.

“This is a mark of success for Tonga and it shows the commitment the government is making towards implementing critical reforms, which are helping promote a more positive business environment for local entrepreneurs,” said Jonathon Kirkby, Pacific Program Manager for IFC. “As part of ongoing efforts and commitment, these steps will make it easier to start and run businesses for the people of Tonga.”

Fourteen of East Asia and the Pacific’s 24 economies improved business regulations in the past year. This year, Singapore led on the overall ease of doing business for the sixth straight year, followed by Hong Kong SAR, China; New Zealand; the United States; and Denmark.

New data show that improving access to information on business regulations can aid entrepreneurs. “Effective use of information technology can make things easier for entrepreneurs,” said Sylvia Solf, lead author of the report. Tonga is among several countries that have used new technologies to simplify business start-up.

Over the past six years, a new measure shows that 22 economies in East Asia and the Pacific have made their regulatory environment more business-friendly. “Making business regulation more transparent and efficient increases opportunities for economic growth,” said Augusto Lopez-Claros, Director, Global Indicators and Analysis, World Bank Group. “In East Asia and the Pacific, businesses have benefited from the region’s broad and sustained regulatory reforms.”


About the Doing Business report series

Doing Business analyzes regulations that apply to an economy’s businesses during their life cycle, including start-up and operations, trading across borders, paying taxes, and resolving insolvency. The aggregate ease of doing business rankings are based on 10 indicators and cover 183 economies. Previous year’s rankings are back-calculated to account for the addition of new indicator(s), data corrections, and methodology changes in existing indicators so as to provide a meaningful comparison with the new rankings. Doing Business does not measure all aspects of the business environment that matter to firms and investors. For example, it does not measure security, macroeconomic stability, corruption, the level of skills, or the strength of financial systems. Its findings have stimulated policy debates in more than 80 economies and enabled a growing body of research on how firm-level regulation relates to economic outcomes across economies.


About the World Bank Group

The World Bank Group is one of the world’s largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries. It comprises five closely associated institutions: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA), which together form the World Bank; the International Finance Corporation (IFC); the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA); and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). Each institution plays a distinct role in the mission to fight poverty and improve living standards for people in the developing world. For more information, please visit www.worldbank.org, www.miga.org, and www.ifc.org
 

USA: Medical conference focuses on region
Source: Pacific Daily News
 

The Pacific Regional Medical Conference, which started yesterday at the Hyatt Regency Guam, brings together hundreds of health-care providers and medical professionals to discuss health-care disparities in the Pacific.

The three-day conference will provide research on health issues such as congestive heart failure, diabetic kidney disease, how to decrease tobacco use, cancer, obesity and the cost of health disparities in the region.

"The goal is to raise awareness of the health-care disparities, because the health-care lack in all the territories," Dr. Thomas Shieh, president of the Guam Medical Association, said. "But Guam, especially, because we're so far away from the states."

The conference has been in the works for about a year, but Shieh said he was particularly motivated to organize it after reading a report released earlier this year detailing health-care disparities in the U.S. territories.

Published in June in the Archives of Internal Medicine, the report found that more residents of U.S. territories die or are readmitted to hospitals after experiencing a heart attack, heart failure or pneumonia when compared to those with the same illnesses in U.S. states.

The report also found that overall quality of care in territories falls below that in the states, and that higher death rates are not the results of "a few outlier institutions." The study found that "virtually all" territorial hospitals performed below U.S. national averages for quality of care.

Shieh said he expected 300 to 400 attendees to the conference, which is open to everyone. He said he expects the primary audience to be doctors and health-care providers.

Conference chairman Dr. Saied Safa, a member of the University of Guam Endowment Foundation's board, said the conference's goal is not only to spread knowledge among health-care professionals and the community, but to raise awareness among the local and federal government that there is a true health-care disparity in Guam. The third goal of the conference, he said, is to provide a platform for future research collaborations on health-care disparity, to increase the data needed to lessen the gaps in local health care.

Keynote speaker Dr. William Knowler, who studies Type 2 diabetes at the National Institutes of Health in Arizona, will discuss the risk of diabetes and its complications in different parts of the world, and what role race and ethnicity may play in that.

While there is very little data on diabetes risk on Guam, Knowler said he would be presenting studies from Hawaii and other parts of the United States.
 

(Photos: New Zealand Defence Force)

WORLDWIDE: British Army, Australian Defence Force do battle for IDRC Championship
Source: New Zealand Defence Force Press Release

Twelve Defence and Police Force teams from nine nations wrapped up the pool and quarter final games in Australia with the top four flying to New Zealand for their Final matches. The North Shore Rugby Football Club in Auckland hosted the Semi Finals on Tuesday between the Tonga Defence Services challenging the British Army and the Australian Defence Force playing the Samoa Police.

The vocal crowd were treated to some excellent rugby in both Semi Final matches and the finalists have been found.

The British Army took on a spirited Tonga Defence Services team in a see-saw battle in the first semi. On a wet and windy day on the North Shore, the British Army opened the scoring with a well scored try from a powerful forward pack and lead 5 - 3 at the break. Tonga came out strong in the second half scoring the try of the game from deep and lead 10 - 5. The British Army showed patience as they worked their way towards the Tongan try line a closed the gap with a well taken penalty kick to trail 10 - 8. With ten minutes to go the British scored a crucial try off a solid scrum and kicked the conversion to win the game 15 - 10 and book their place in the IDRC final.

The second Semi Final brought together the Australian Services Rugby Union against the Samoan Police. The ADF took the early lead with a penalty kick with the Samoans equalising shortly after. The game was marred by the sin-binning of three players (2 from ADF and 1 from Samoa) for constant infringing around the ruck area. ADF went on the attack and after another infringement by the Samoans were awarded a controversial penalty try which was converted to lead 10 - 3 at the break.

A well executed backline move from the Samoans saw their centre break through the ADF defences and the Samoan winger scored in the corner. A successful conversion from the sideline levelled the scores at 10 all. The ADF attacked from the base of the scrum on half way with some polished support play which saw them score and convert in the corner. Some excellent kicking from the ADF saw them run out eventual winners 23 - 10 where they will meet the British Army.

The Finals will be played at Auckland University Rugby Football Club on Saturday 22 October and you can follow the lives scores on the NZDF Rugby International Defence Rugby Competition Facebook page.

Saturday 22 Oct Auckland University Rugby Football Club

Bronze Final 1pm kick off
Tonga Defence Service vs Samoa Police

IDRC Final 3pm kick off
Australian Service Rugby Union vs British Army

Photo Captions:

Photos 1 & 2 - British Army vs. Tonga Defence Service during the Semi Finals.

Photos 3 & 4 - Australian Defence Force vs. Samoa Police during the Semi Finals.