NEWSROOM 27 April
2009

(Photos: Lockwood Press Ltd)

NEW ZEALAND: NZ lauds Pacific Islanders' labour efforts

(Photo: Samoa Rugby Union)

SAMOA: Le Vai Ltd sponsors 2009 Pacific Rugby Cup
Source: Samoa Rugby Union Press Release

The Samoa Rugby Union has secured a new sponsor for the 2009 Pacific Rugby Cup. Le Vai Ltd. has come on board to assist the Samoa Rugby Union with staging this year’s Pacific Rugby Cup. Whilst Digicel has secured the teams’ Jersey branding rights, Le Vai’s Sponsorship entitles them to the naming rights of the Upolu Samoa and Savaii Samoa teams plus a host of benefits from the event.

Managing Director Fatima Strickland signed the agreement on behalf of Le Vai Water and stated the ‘Le Vai is pleased to assist SRU in hosting international rugby tournaments such as the IRB Pacific Rugby Cup”. Our people are passionate about their rugby, and this is part of our service to the people of Samoa.” The SRU and Le Vai share similar goals. To produce products of international standards and value.

In this financially stringent climate, the Samoa Rugby Union CEO, Su’a Peter Schuster is grateful to Le Vai Ltd. for their support by becoming one of the Major Sponsor of the Pacific Rugby Cup for 2009. “Playing in these tournaments are key to pushing Samoan rugby up the international pecking order and to maintain consistency of performances. This is one of the core focus of our 2008-2011 Strategic Plan for all our national teams-and that requires depth of our local talent pool”. The PRC offers players the opportunity to play international level rugby, as well as giving our coaching and management staff the chance to assess tactics and test out combinations.

Le Vai is no stranger to sponsoring international sporting events. In 2007, Le Vai Ltd assisted Samoa in hosting the best games ever with the sponsorship of the 2007 South Pacific Games, through the provision of quality drinking water for 7,000 athletes, officials, volunteers and organizing committee on a daily basis for 14 days. Established in 1995 to cater to the demand for purified drinking water, the company first opened its doors in November 1994 with seven staff members working to supply a handful of customers. Within three months of opening Le Vai had to triple its staff to cater to the demand. Today, Le Vai supplies over 1,000 customers in retail, government as well as private households.

Le Vai Ltd joins mobile operator Digicel as Event Sponsor for the 2009 Pacific Rugby Cup.

Photo Caption: Le Vai Ltd. Managing director Fatima Strickland signing sponsorship agreement for IRB 2009 PRC.
 

(Photo: American Samoa Community College)

AMERICAN SAMOA: ASCC Administrators Contribute to PPEC Summit
Source: American Samoa Community College Press Release

American Samoa Community College (ASCC) President Dr. Seth Galea’i and Office of Institutional Advancement and Effectiveness Director Rosevonne Pato returned in mid-April from a week-long meeting in Honolulu of the Pacific Postsecondary Education Council (PPEC), an organization consisting of Presidents and Institutional Researchers from across the American Pacific. Describing the meeting, Dr. Galea’i reflected, “Participating in the PPEC summit helped put the current accreditation status of ASCC in its proper perspective. The vast majority of the universities and community colleges in the American Pacific have recently faced challenges in meeting the standards set forth by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), but we share a great optimism that by pooling our knowledge and resources we can assist one another in resolving these challenges.”

As widely reported, following a visit this past October by a team representing the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC), a division of WASC, the accrediting body placed ASCC on sanction, pending the submission of two follow-up reports regarding areas that remain of concern to the Commission. This action by the ACCJC has understandably generated community concern and even a recent inquiry by the Fono. Dr. Galea’i has emphasized that the College currently maintains its dialogue with the Commission, that work on fulfilling the latter’s recommendations have already begun, and that he expects ASCC to make significant progress towards resolving its accreditation issues by the time of a scheduled ACCJC follow-up visit this coming October.

Over the course of the PPEC meeting earlier this month, Dr. Galea’i heard firsthand how a number of other institutions of higher education in the American Pacific have encountered their own challenges in meeting WASC standards, with some of these institutions having received even more severe reviews and ACCJC actions than ASCC. “Through sharing information,” said Dr. Galea’i, “we came to understand that as far back as the late 1990s, the US Department of Education (USDOE) had cautioned WASC over the issue of institutions that in any way fell short of national standards. The political climate fostered a concern over the amount of federal money going to education even while the United States by comparison trailed behind other countries in this area. This in turn prompted WASC to exercise a less lenient approach in its review process for colleges and universities across the United States, dating back to around 2002. It has taken longer for the
American Pacific institutions to experience this more stringent approach, but now our time has come to face it along with our national and counterparts.”

In addition to ASCC, participants in the PPEC include the College of the Marshall Islands, Northern Marianas College, the College of Micronesia-FSM, the University of Guam and Guam Community College, Palau Community College, the University of Hawaii Community Colleges, and the University of Hawaii at Hilo. Besides the Presidents of these institutions, the PPEC also consists of the designated Institutional Researcher at each school. At ASCC, Institutional Research falls under the Office of Institutional Advancement and Effectiveness (IE/A), which works in collaboration with other divisions to collect and analyze data pertaining to the College’s overall performance.

IE/A Director Rosevonne Pato accompanied Dr. Galea’i to the PPEC meeting, and says that the organization has made its top priority the creation of a Factbook on institutions of higher education in the American Pacific, designed to address the areas of concern and present the relevant data most frequently of concern to the USDOE and WASC. “The American Pacific has some obvious factors which make the circumstances of our schools far different from those in the rest of the country,” she explained, “such as our size, our distance from the mainland, and our indigenous cultures. WASC and its commissions have gotten to know us quite well over many years, but even they have a hard time explaining our circumstances to their own higher-ups in the USDOE. Hopefully, this fact book will make their job easier by presenting the relevant information about ourselves in terms easily understood even as far away as Washington DC.”

Dr. Galea’i stressed further the importance of collaboration between ASCC and the rest of the American Pacific. “I hope the Factbook project marks the beginning of a culture of cooperation between ASCC and the institutions facing similar challenges,” he said. “While we may not have identical circumstances, we do share a background as Pacific people. As we’ve seen time and time again, Pacific people can succeed in overcoming any hurdle when they work together.”

Photo Caption: ASCC President Dr. Seth Galea'i (back row, left) joins community college and university presidents from across the American Pacific during the April meeting of the Pacific Postsecondary Education Council. The Council has pooled its knowledge and resources to assist its members in meeting standards set by WASC.
 

(Photo: Commonwealth Secretariat)

COOK ISLANDS: Submission lodged to secure access to additional areas of seabed
Source: Commonwealth Secretariat

Potentially lucrative seabed resources include oil and gas reserves, mineral deposits and living marine organisms

The Cook Islands has lodged a submission with the United Nations to secure access to additional areas of seabed for the benefit of present and future generations. It is the first Pacific Island country to do so.

Securing exclusive access and jurisdictional certainty to the potentially lucrative resources of the seabed is considered by many coastal states to be crucial for their future development.

The benefits of these resources - which include oil and gas reserves, mineral deposits and living marine organisms - are potentially enormous, particularly for small island nations and developing coastal states.

These potential resources led the Government of Cook Islands to lodge a submission with the UN concerning the outer limits of the continental shelf. In the submission, made on 16 April 2009, Cook Islands reaffirmed its rights to half-a-million square kilometres of continental shelf beyond the traditional 200 nautical mile limit.

“This is a major achievement for the Cook Islands,” said Joshua Brien, Legal Adviser at the Commonwealth Secretariat. “The Cook Islands has shown that the obstacles posed by geographical isolation and financial and technical capacity constraints can be overcome with dedication and commitment.”

The Secretariat worked closely with agencies and organisations active in the region, including SOPAC (which is the Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission), the United Nations Environment Programme, Geoscience Australia and Geolimits, to deliver focused and co-ordinated legal and technical assistance to the Cook Islands.

“This regional approach has also underpinned work with other Pacific Island countries, which we expect to lodge submissions in the coming weeks,” added Mr Brien. He will be assisting Cook Islands in formally presenting the submission before the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf at its next meeting in August 2009.

The submission by the Cook Islands, made under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is the twenty-second submission to be made. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea is a multilateral treaty that establishes a framework of rules and principles to govern all ocean space. The Convention has been ratified by more than 157 countries, including some 47 Commonwealth member states.

The submission was prepared by teams of scientific, technical and legal officials who collaborated through a series of intensive joint working sessions. The Secretariat provided assistance during the development of the submission in the form of in-house legal expertise and the engagement of scientific and technical experts to provide advice to the government teams as required. The Secretariat also assumed a ‘good offices’ role in assisting in the co-ordination of the joint working sessions.

“The submission by the Cook Islands is a significant achievement, and is a powerful testimony to the Commonwealth, which supports its smallest and most vulnerable states in seeking to address matters of international and national significance,” said Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma.

Photo Caption: Securing exclusive access and jurisdictional certainty to the potentially lucrative resources of the seabed is considered by many coastal states to be crucial for their future development.
 

FIJI: Bula Festival set to rock Nadi
Source: Fiji Daily Post

Vodafone Fiji has once again confirmed its major sponsorship of the 48th Bula Festival scheduled to be held at the Vodafone Prince Charles Park and Koroivolu Park in Nadi from July 11 - 18.

A major event in the western division calendar, Bula Festival has for the past forty-eight (48) years provided great entertainment and lots of fun for the people and visitors of Nadi and the greater western division.

It is also the only festival in Fiji which has never lapsed in between any given year.

“We are definitely going ahead with this years festivity,” confirmed Bula Festival Association president Mohammed Hafeez.

“Despite the devastating effects of the January floods, we have unanimously decided to go ahead with the Vodafone Bula Festival 2009 and keep the tradition intact.”

He said life in Nadi is slowly getting back to normal but there are still many people needing some form of assistance to bounce back to normalcy.

“As you all know that Bula Festival Association is a non-profit organisation so all profits from the festivals are channelled back into society,” Hafeez said.

Hafeez also confirmed that the association would focus on helping flood victims who were still finding it hard to get back on their feet.

“We have already helped a lot of flood victims from our last years proceeds and we will continue to do so this year,” said Hafeez.

Apart from providing assistance to flood victims, the association intends to provide support to the Nadi Hospital and work out various community projects together with the
Nadi Town Council.

Meanwhile, Vodafone Fiji’s manager sponsorship Ligavatu Gukisuva said they were delighted to join hands with the Bula Festival Association.

“We are very happy to be working closely with an organisation which supports the causes for the poor and needy people of our community,” Gukisuva said.
 

(Photo: Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme)

VANUATU: Assessing potential oil spills from WWII wrecks in FSM
Source: Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme Press Release

Oil, chemicals and unexploded ordinance from an estimated 800 World War II Wrecks throughout the exclusive economic zones of Pacific Island countries and territories pose imminent danger to people, environment and fisheries of the region.

Of this total, more than 50 World War II shipwrecks can be found in Chuuk lagoon alone. Chuuk, formerly Truk, is one of the four states of the Federated States of Micronesia requesting assistance from the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) to assess the environmental risk posed by these wrecks.

In April, SPREP’s Marine Pollution Adviser AnthonyTalouli visited Chuuk after an Earthwatch Report assessed the leaking wrecks in Chuuk, one of the World’s best dive spots, and found a number of areas of concern.

Talouli worked with members of the Chuuk Environment Protection Agency and other Government agencies to survey the coastal area and determine the extent of the present impact of the wrecks and determine the potential for from future oil spills and the resulting environmental damage.

“Part of the assistance SPREP provided was to assess what would happen to nearby coastal resources if the wrecks were to fail and the oil was to spill out catastrophically at once,” Talouli explained.

In 2001 a State of Emergency was declared in Yap, another of the FSM states, after oil began leaking from the USS Mississinewa, a sunken World War II-era US military oil tanker. SPREP conducted an independent study on the wreck and the estimated impacts of the oil spill found that somewhere between 18,000 gallons to 24,000 gallons of oil had been released into the lagoon over a two-month period, but that some 5,000,000 gallons of oil remained in the wreck. The US Navy was tasked with offloading the remaining oil cargo in 2003.

Eight of the wrecks in Chuuk are confirmed to be slowly leaking however the duration of the leaks is not known. Anecdotal evidence indicates the leaks may be slowing down.

Talouli also looked at the economic impact a dangerous oil spill could have upon the Chuukse economy. As a popular international dive destination, Chuuk’s main industry is tourism.

“We had four days of site surveys using the Shoreline Cleanup Assessment Technique (SCAT) where we visited wrecks, looked at currents and then determined the trajectory of a potential oil spillage. You could see oil slowly leaking and visible on the water. At this stage it is not dangerous however a typhoon could easily change that. Right now, I’d say it is a tier 1-2 oil spill, on a small scale,” Talouli said.

While in Chuuk, Talouli carried out a refresher course with the local oil spill response team using equipment purchased in 2006.

“They did very well and proved to be experienced with handling the equipment. They are capable to cope with a Tier 1 or Tier 2 oil spill.”

Talouli is now preparing an assessment report to present to the Chuuk State Government to assist them in developing a comprehensive strategy to deal with the wrecks.

For more details please contact SPREP’s Marine Pollution Adviser, Anthony Talouli:

Email: [email protected] Telephone: (685) 21929 Fax: (685) 20231 Website: www.sprep.org

Photo Caption: Carrying out the wreck oil spill assessment.