NEWSPAGE 02 December
2011

(Photo:  Flickr)

SAMOA: Samoa urges country leadership in climate change financing
Source: Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat
 
Samoa’s Minister of Finance, Hon. Faumuina Faaolatane Tiatia Liuga told the plenary session on climate change and development effectiveness that “climate change and development are inseparable.”

“Pacific island countries are among those most vulnerable to climate change impacts and the least able to respond. These impacts have the potential to erode many gains in development,” said Hon. Liuga.

The Samoan Minister of Finance said there is growing interest in what will be a central challenge for the next decade, making effective use of scaled up climate finance. He questioned how will countries strengthen the effectiveness of climate change.

“One way is to build the necessary conditions for countries to be able to lead decision making over the prioritization of climate related investments wherever the finance comes from - whether they be external or domestic sources.”

Hon. Liuga added: “We will need to build at the country level to ensure that the management of climate finance is truly country led. We will need to consider how some external sources of climate change can be included in government planning and budgeting process, how climate related projects and programmes can be delivered now in ways that also build capacities, and for putting more and more external sources of climate finance through government financial management systems.”

“We need to ensure aid effectiveness through reviewing climate change public expenditure and institutional architecture to strengthen its efficiencies,” Minister Liuga said.

Hon. Liuga said that the lessons from any years of ODA management show that there is one fundamental foundation upon which to build the effectiveness of external sources of climate finance - country leadership.

Samoa has developed a National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA), Samoa Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan, a National Disaster Management Plan, and a National Sustainable Development Strategy.

“In the development of its new development strategy, Samoa will focus on integrating climate change and environmental issues in its medium and long term plan to ensure ownership of the programe,” said Minister Liuga.

Samoa’s Finance Minister also told the high level forum that climate change adaptation allocations for Pacific countries should not be diverted to other developing countries, but instead accrue in funding modalities that allow them to draw down in a sustainable and predictable manner accordingly with their institutional human capacity. Consideration should also be given to setting up trust funds.
 

(Photos: Australia-Pacific Technical College)

AUSTRALIA: Painting Training Moving Ahead with Strategic Partner FNU

Fiji National University's NTPC (formally TPAF) with assistance from APTC has begun facilitating programs in painting and decorating that map back to Australian Qualifications. The FNU program for existing workers is a fulltime six month program facilitated by FNU trainer Mere Rokoqica. Mere has over 9 years' experience in the trade and graduated APTC in 2009 with a certificate III in Painting & Decorating. A shortened program from APTC can be undertaken at the end of this program to get the full Australian qualification from APTC for those interested in doing so.

It has taken some time for FNU and APTC to work together to develop a program that meets the needs of industry and maps back to the Australian Certificate III Qualification. This was achieved through the cooperation of Pramesh Chand a senior training officer for FNU and Michael Farrugia the trainer for the APTC painting & decorating program.

Mavuku Tokona the APTC local trainer for painting and decorating stated, "Many contractors had expressed concern over the lack of skilled painters, we needed to see FNU have their own program in order for the industry to truly grow."

The training will be delivered at the same location that APTC facilitates its own program allowing for the two teams to in effect work as one.

Mere the FNU painting trainer mentioned "it is not us and them, we are working like one team and I am learning so much from Michael and Mavuku. Michael assisted in developing my assessment tools and Mavuku has really helped me get my student enrolments."

Mavuku Tokona assisted Mere in securing an agreement with PWD that FNU will now undertake the training for all its painters initially, followed by a shortened program with APTC for the full qualification. This will allow the PWD to take advantage of some of the Fijian government initiatives for financial assistance for training.

Photo Caption: Mesulane Ratumaiyale the PWD Construction Engineer; Mere Rokoqica FNU trainer; Mavuku Tokona APTC painting & decorating trainer.
 

(Photos: SPREP)

AROUND THE WORLD: Pacific stands firm with AOSIS
Source: SPREP Press Release

Pacific delegations present at the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP17, currently underway in Durban are standing firm with the Alliance of Small Island States on key positions under negotiation.

"We must be solid in what we do and continue to advocate that on climate change issues we should remain together," urged the President of Kiribati from his island home at the forefront of the impacts of climate change in the Pacific.

Fourteen Pacific island countries are represented at COP17 under the banner of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS). They are the Cook Islands, Fiji, Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

The Kyoto Protocol must live on

In collaboration with other island nation members of AOSIS from Africa, Caribbean, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean and South China Sea, the Pacific joined the grouping in consolidating the call for strong decisions around the Kyoto Protocol.

"We must adopt a decision that establishes a 5-year second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol, to run from 2013 to 2017, with a single, legally-binding, base year of 1990, as part of a two-track outcome," said a statement from AOSIS.

"This two track outcome must include the adoption of a mandate to negotiate a legally-binding instrument under the Ad hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action under the Convention (AWG-LCA) with negotiations to be concluded by December 2012.

"This timeframe is needed to ensure legally-binding commitments and actions from all major emitters commencing on January 1, 2013."

The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement that sets binding targets for 37 industrialised countries and the European community for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions over the five-year period 2008-2012.

"Durban must deliver an ambitious outcome with three essential elements," said the AOSIS statement, including "certainty that there will be a second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol with an enhanced set of rules to strengthen its environmental integrity.

"We must have a "Durban Mandate" to capture the work of the AWG-LCA in the form of a new, legally binding protocol next year at COP18."

AOSIS called on the new instrument to complement the Kyoto Protocol with binding mitigation commitments for non-Kyoto Parties and mitigation actions for developing countries, as well as address all other elements of the Bali Action Plan.

Photo Caption: Pacific delegations present at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Durban South Africa.
 

USA: US moves to counter China in Pacific
Source: The Australian
 
BARACK Obama spent considerable effort at the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum summit and during his recent visit to Australia to put the "Pacific" into the Asian Century.

The concept of Asia-Pacific better incorporates American ambitions: it refocuses the locus of its strategic policy from the Middle East to East Asia.

China has previously expressed its reservations on the strengthening of American defence capacity on Guam and nearby Micronesian islands.

Now China questions the motives for a more visible US military presence along the southern flank of the Asia-Pacific.

But what has been missing from debate on whether these developments are intended to contain or at least balance the growth of Chinese power is the role of the central Pacific.

Washington has long regarded the Pacific Islands region as belonging to our sphere of influence. It made an exception, however, in deferring to Canberra late in the Cold War; the US feared Australia was unable to deal with the Soviet Union's growing interests in the region

But with rising Chinese influence in the South Pacific, Washington again feels Canberra has taken its eyes off the ball.

The Pacific Islands now have a higher profile in Washington than at any time in the past two decades. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton identified Papua New Guinea's resources as a source of rivalry between Beijing and Washington.

The new American ambassador to Fiji asserted in her confirmation hearings that the Pacific Islands were "our partners in fostering both regional and global stability".

Senior US delegations have recently toured the Pacific Islands to identify areas of common interest and establish America's national interests in the region.

Washington has just secured an entree into the Pacific Islands Forum for its dependent territories and revived educational programs on Pacific affairs in the region to strengthen links with island leaders. This year President Obama dispatched a delegation of 50 officials to Auckland to attend the post-forum dialogue consultations.

It was the largest and highest powered delegation sent to meet the forum leaders.

The US again appears to doubt that Australia can deliver on Pacific issues, particularly with regard to growing Chinese interests in the area.

China now has a large and extensive diplomatic presence in the region: it's the third largest aid donor and has a rapidly expanding trade relationship with many of the island states. It is also increasing military ties with Fiji.

Beijing has weakened key Australia regional policies such the Cairns Compact on aid co-ordination by declining to participate in its operation.

There are up to 20,000 illegal Chinese immigrants in PNG. Chinese organised crime is an increasing issue for the larger Pacific states.

Unsustainable loan indebtedness to China looms for some of the smaller ones.

The Pacific Island members of the UN now meet under the rubric of the Pacific Small Islands Developing States and not the Pacific Islands Forum banner. That's in large part because PSIDS excludes Australia, while the forum includes us. The PSIDS recently succeeded in changing the name of the Asia group at the UN to recognise the Pacific Islands' importance to the

Asia-Pacific. That has drawn the attention of the island countries to our odd attachment to membership of the Western European and Others Group voting block at the UN.

The Melanesian Spearhead Group, a sub-regional body made up of the largest and resource-richest of the South Pacific states, has backed fellow member Fiji against Australian sanctions.

The MSG doesn't include Australia. With Chinese backing, the group has grown in regional standing with an agenda increasingly focused on Asia. The leaders of the Polynesian nations, in reaction, have also just formed their own sub-regional grouping; also without Australian participation.

Australia should be in the vanguard of Pacific Islands regional policy. But we're losing influence over collective decision-making in the South Pacific.

Australia needs to find the means to regather the threads of regional leadership. Establishing closer ties with Melanesia, restoring effective relations with Fiji and finding a regional role for China may reinstate the balance between Canberra and Washington in the Pacific.
 

VANUATU: Vanuatu government attacks church council over WTO opposition
Source: Radio New Zealand International
 
The Vanuatu government has been strongly critical of the Council of Churches role’ in opposing the country joining the World Trade Organisation.

Parliament is in the process of ratifying membership.

Prime minister, Sato Kilman, accused the church body of bribery after it paid allowances to opposition MPs attending a workshop opposing WTO membership.

Mr Kilman says it would be interesting to learn where the VCC got the money to pay the allowances.

The minister of internal affairs, George Wells, who is also responsible for churches, swore about the church leaders and NGOs on one occasion but later withdrew the comment.

He says the churches and NGOs are wrong to claim that under WTO rules foreigners will end up owning land, saying under the constitution, land belongs to the custom owners.

The minister of public utilities, Harry Iauko, says the role of the churches is to prepare the souls of the people for the next world, not to preach against the WTO.