NEWSPAGE 18 December
2009

(Photo: Duco Events)

NEW ZEALAND: David Tua vs Friday the 13th

(Photos: Cherelle Jackson)

SAMOA: Time to change the climate of our dealings with each other
Source: Government Press Secretariat Press Release

Samoa Prime Minister Tuilaepa L. S. Malielegaoi's national statement at COP15:

Madam President,
Distinguished delegates,
Ladies and gentlemen,

"Survival is not negotiable", "No island left behind", "Respect our right to survive", and "Seal a Deal for a new climate agreement" are the calls made repeatedly over the past weeks and here in Copenhagen.

Madam President,
For Samoa, the planet is our common heritage, the earth our birthright and our home. Changes to the climate should never divide us, instead they should unite us. We share the same environment and we will be affected by the impacts of climate change irrespective or whether we contribute d or not to its causes and whether we believe in the phenomenon or are denial of its reality.

Climate change is a global menace. Its adverse effects, in human and financial costs will continue to be borne disproportionately by vulnerable small island countries.

Yet it is not their fault that their islands are small, low lying and resources-constrained.

As a global community, our interests, though divergent and many, are inextricably linked. Our fates moreover are deeply intertwined. No nation however large or small, rich or poor, a major emitter of greenhouse gases or not will be spared from the impact of climate change. Importantly, no one nation alone can tackle climate change on its own.

That is why we have come to Copenhagen so that we can be part of the solution not an obstacle to consensus building. We will come out of this process the biggest losers if no comprehensive and substantive deal is brokered and delivered before we depart Copenhagen. While we try to negotiate for the ideal agreement, let's not lose sight of the reality that the impacts of climate change are getting worse by the day.

It is a grave mistake and disservice to our peoples, if this great gathering of world leaders goes away from Copenhagen with nothing to show.

Climate change is an issue of survival for Samoa and other low-lying islands - hence our support for a legally binding instrument to reflect the science under the two tracks with an effective and equitable compliance regime. This is not a political slogan to win over support or a campaign gimmick to enlist sympathy.

Climate change is real. It has already happened and continues to happen in our Pacific region. We see and experience it everyday. Our coastlines have been eroded, our corals bleached, and salt water intrusion is affecting fresh water resources and crop cultivation along coastal areas. We have been forced to relocate populations and necessary infrastructure to higher grounds at very high costs, both financially and socially. Simply put, it is no longer a question of when, but rather the severity of the magnitude and frequency of climate change impacts, and their enormous cost to society.

Madam President,
Samoa has experienced first hand what natural catastrophes and the impact of climate change are capable of.

From devastating cyclones since the early 1990s, strong winds and heavy flooding yearly, to the deadly tsunami that struck Samoa two months ago, causing massive destruction and the loss of many lives.

These disasters also resulted in major setbacks in the development progress of our country, and incurred heavy unanticipated financial commitments, but also accelerated our adaptation responses to the adverse impacts of climate change.

I highlight this to underscore both the magnitude and cost of climate change and the fad that small island states like Samoa are right up there with the rest doing our share, often at great expenses, to mitigate emissions and adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change with limited resources.

On our own, as an individual country, we cannot make much of an impact.

The magnitude of the climate change challenge requires a "total solution" possible only with the world working together.

Madam President,
To ensure that small island developing states continue to undertake adaptation and mitigation activities, new and grant-based resources should be made available immediately, today!! Such resources should be fast-tracked through simplified procedures and expedited access to dedicated funding earmarked for Pacific Small Island developing states which, after all have contributed the least to climate change but face extreme exposure and vulnerability to its impacts.

Madam President,
A comprehensive solution requires a new brand of leadership, one with vision and actions that transcend the narrow pursuit of self interest and places the good of mankind ahead of ones own domestic agenda. A new brand of leadership that places a premium on equity and survivability of Small Island states ahead of political and economic expediencies.

A brand of leadership with the strength of conviction to lead by doing, because it is morally correct and proper to do so, not because it is conditional on actions by others. Otherwise, we are effectively assigning those small islands least responsible for the causes of climate change and without the means to mitigate and adapt to its impacts to an uncertain and unsustainable future.

In retrospect the ineffective mitigation reduction actions then and now by
nations in leadership positions, the posturing and rhetoric in negotiations that are short on sincere intentions and tangible solutions, the preoccupation of some in the blame and shame game to shift responsibilities and to avoid assuming greater role in solving the problem at hand, have all contributed to the atmosphere of mistrust and suspicion that at times have taken a toll on those islands with everything to lose and who have been negotiating from the outset in good faith.

Let Copenhagen be the city where we agree to change the climate of our dealings with each other. Let us trust each other and build bridges to reach out to all parties to seek understanding and to make accommodations. We must not allow ourselves to leave Copenhagen without sealing a deal for a new legally binding climate change agreement for our present world and for the future of our children.

Thank you.
Soifua. 

Photo Captions: Samoa Prime Minister Tuilaepa L. S. Malielegaoi gives the national statement during the COP15 High Level plenary.

(Photo: Caritas Internationalis Federation)

AUSTRALIA: Australia gives $1 million to Caritas Samoa for tsunami rebuilding
Source: Australian High Commission Press Release

Caritas Samoa, working in conjunction with Caritas Australia, today received
$1 million (A$500,000) from the Australian Government to assist with tsunami rebuilding and recovery efforts. This funding is matched by Caritas Internationalis Federation.

The combined funding will help communities from Poutasi, Salea’aumua and Satitoa villages rebuild homes and community centres, provide children with education support and train teachers and youth leaders in counselling to help affected communities.

Caritas Samoa has developed a dedicated rebuilding and rehabilitation program for the three villages, which includes:

• Building homes for 70 families
• Building five community centres
• Providing school bags, uniforms and shoes to 80 children, as well as transport to attend school in other locations
• Providing 100 youth group leaders and 50 teachers with training in basic counselling.

Caritas also provided relief supplies including food and water to more than 200 families immediately after the tsunami. Distribution of food supplies, donated by Independent Grocers’ Association of Australia (IGA) and delivered by the Australian Navy ship HMAS Tobruk last month, will be ongoing.

Patron of Caritas Samoa, Her Highness the Masiofo said the funding will help families to rebuild homes and communities and begin restoring shattered lives.

“This funding from Australia will go to where it’s needed most - to provide permanent shelter to those who lost everything in the tsunami, to get the children back to school and monitor their mental health,” Masiofo said.

“I am very grateful to the Australia Government for their continued support to help Samoans in their time of need.”

Australian High Commissioner to Samoa, Matt Anderson said that Australia’s support to Caritas reflects a genuine desire to help all Samoan families affected by the tsunami.

“While it was important for Australia to respond quickly to Samoa’s pressing medical and humanitarian needs in the days and weeks immediately following the tsunami, Australia is also committed to the longer term task of rebuilding. These funds for Caritas are an important part of that next phase of Australia’s support,” Mr Anderson said.

Mr Anderson said the funding also allowed Caritas to store emergency and non-food items at key sites on Upolo to assist already vulnerable communities in the event of a natural disaster, especially with the onset of the wet season.

Mr Anderson said Australia has provided A$12 million ($24 million) to help Samoa with tsunami relief efforts, initially focusing on the emergency response and now recovery and rebuilding. The funding includes:

• A$3 million for the immediate emergency response
• A$5 million in direct budget support to the Samoan Government
• A$2.5 million for recovery and reconstruction activities
• A$1 million to assist the Samoan Government’s own reconstruction planning and coordination
• A$500,000 to Caritas Samoa

“Australia’s assistance to Samoa is reflected by the warmth of our enduring friendship with the Samoan people and our determination to help them rebuild.”
 

USA: Faleomavaega urges Senator Kerry to double climate change assistance
Source: Office of Congressman Faleomavaega Press Release

The Chairman of the Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and the Global Environment, Rep. Eni Faleomavaega, along with seven other Members of the House today sent a letter to Sen. John Kerry, the Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee and leader on climate change legislation in the Senate, urging him to double assistance for developing countries in legislation Kerry is currently drafting.

As Faleomavaega said, “Developed countries must assist developing nations adjust to the impacts of global warming if we are to achieve a successful global climate change agreement, one that will prevent the most devastating effects of climate change. Ironically, the poorest and most vulnerable countries are the ones that will suffer the most from rising sea levels, severe weather events and other consequences of climate change - despite those nations having contributed only negligibly to the problem. U.S. leadership is vital if we are to prod other developed countries to step up to the plate and provide appropriate levels of assistance. And in the aftermath of House passage of the Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade legislation earlier this year, the Senate must now act. John Kerry is the point person in developing a Senate bill that both Houses of Congress can agree on, which in turn is a prerequisite for a successful international global warming agreement.”

“As my colleagues in the House - Raúl Grijalva, Emanuel Cleaver, Maxine Waters, Pete Stark, Dennis Moore, Donna Christensen and Michael Honda - noted in our letter, ‘the amount of funding developed countries are currently promising to developed countries is grossly insufficient to meet the need… Given the magnitude of the problem developing countries face, and given the responsibility of developed countries for the majority of historic greenhouse gas emissions, we believe that U.S. climate change legislation should double the emissions allowances currently dedicated in the House bill to international adaptation and mitigation in developing countries.’”

The letter noted Sen. Kerry’s previous efforts on addressing climate change, stating, “We particularly appreciate your introduction of S. 2835, which focuses on the countries most vulnerable to the impacts of global warming. We sincerely hope that with that measure as well as the recent pledges by China and India to curb their emissions relative to economic growth, and President Obama’s support for mobilizing developed countries to contribute $10 billion a year by 2012 and implementing longer-term mechanisms to assist developing countries with adaptation and mitigation, Copenhagen makes substantial progress toward completion of a binding agreement to limit climate change.”

“The bill you are working on with the Senators Graham and Lieberman offers a crucial opportunity to advance that agreement. We urge you to include an adequate commitment of resources for the nations and peoples most vulnerable to the consequences of global warming in that legislation.”

The letter goes on to stress, “The needs of developing countries are manifest. As noted by the recent World Development Report 2010, even if average global temperatures rise only 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, “Between 100 million and 400 million more people could be at risk of hunger. And 1 billion to 2 billion more people may no longer have enough water to meet their needs… It is estimated that developing countries will bear most of the costs of the damages - some 75-80 percent.” As the Stern Review made clear, even if greenhouse emissions ceased today, the world would still face at least two decades of increasing global temperatures.”

“In the very near future, higher temperatures will lead to economic and political instability, refugee crises and conflicts over ever-scarcer natural resources in developing nations, all of which will have direct, negative implications for developing and developed countries alike. That is why the United Nations negotiating blocs of Least Developed Countries and the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) - which together represent 80 countries least responsible for climate change but most severely affected by it - have recently called for a minimum 45 percent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions below 1990 levels by 2020. They are further requesting that there be no more than a 1.5º C global temperature rise from pre-industrial levels, and that atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations return to below 350 parts per million of carbon dioxide equivalent.”

“As AOSIS has pointed out, ‘Serious adverse impacts are already being felt by island states at the current 0.8°C of warming, including coastal erosion, flooding, coral bleaching and more frequent and intense extreme weather events. The U.N.'s lead agency on refugees has already warned that some particularly low-lying island states are 'very likely to become entirely uninhabitable'.”

“Estimates vary on the level of funding needed by the developing world to lessen the destabilizing impacts of climate change that will likely occur regardless of the adoption of an international agreement. However, the UN's latest Human Development Report estimates that additional adaptation finance needs alone will amount to $86 billion annually by 2015. And last week in Copenhagen, Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, said that developed countries should expect to contribute $100 billion annually to developing nations.”

“Yet the amount of funding developed countries are currently promising to developed countries is grossly insufficient to meet the need. The United States must demonstrate leadership if the developed world is to meet its obligation to provide appropriate sums. The Congressional Research Service’s calculation of the funding produced by H.R. 2454 for developing countries - based on the current percentage of emissions allowances dedicated to international adaptation and international clean technology deployment and the allowance prices used in the EPA/IGEM Model - suggests that less than $1 billion per year would be available in 2012, rising to less than $1.6 billion by 2020.”

“Given the magnitude of the problem developing countries face, and given the responsibility of developed countries for the majority of historic greenhouse gas emissions, we believe that U.S. climate change legislation should double the emissions allowances currently dedicated in the House bill to international adaptation and mitigation in developing countries.”

“While such enhanced allocations would amount to substantial sums of money, we believe they will more than pay for themselves over time when compared to American commitments of troops and resources that would likely be required to address adverse impacts in developing countries affecting vital U.S. interests. As retired Marine Corps General Anthony Zinni, former commander of U.S. Central Command, has noted, ‘We will pay now to reduce greenhouse gas emissions… or we will pay the price later.’”

“Again, we applaud your efforts at addressing the enormous challenge of climate change. As legislation moves toward passage in the Senate, we sincerely hope that it provides increased commitments to the countries and peoples most vulnerable to the consequences of global warming,” the letter concludes.
 

(Photos: Vanuatu Daily Post)

VANUATU: Dorcas members amaze public with marching display
Source: Vanuatu Daily Post

Over 1000 enthusiastic members of the general public had a rare chance to admire the Tannese ‘Christian Soldiers’ of the Dorcas Federation march along the car park between the Market House and Au Bon Marche yesterday midday.

It was a rare opportunity for the majority of the people present to see the Tannese mothers from the Seventh Day Adventist church perform in public.

The marching displays mirror the creativity of Cathy Sam. In about 2000 an officer from the Vanuatu Mobile Force was brought in to train him and many of his other colleagues on how to play such brass instruments as trumpets and trombones when Tafea Youths first secured their first ever set of brass instruments donated (by Australian High Commission through a former World Vision officer Seth Kaurua) to a civilian group.

Mr Sam is now known throughout Tanna and its outer islands as Tafea Brass bandmaster.

As the Dorcas ladies prepared to attend the National Congress in Port Vila, Mr Sam volunteered to try out something more adventurous, out of his love of watching the Vanuatu Mobile Force march with precision.

He said it took him one month to train over 15 members of the Bethel SDA Dorcas how to march like the VMF complete with drum beats.

He also trained three of his own young boys to beat the drums.

The mothers from Tanna were among over 2,000 members of Dorcas Federation who attended their first National Congress in Port Vila which ended Sunday.

Their performance also inspired generous members of the public to donate money towards their trip back home to Tanna.

There is no doubt members from the different dorcas societies that attended, the “marching mothers from Tanna” stood out as the most inspiring group.

One of the most amazing aspects of their performance is that unlike in the VMF where the Officer in Charge barks out loud orders, the mothers march with precision in line with drum beats but without any order from their Marching Commander.

He said now that they have mastered their marching, he is already thinking ahead to change the marching performance with more creative displays.
He said he is looking forward to start training young girls to march to support the mothers.

“My main aim is to try and reignite the interest of young people who had formerly joined the Tafea Youth Brass Band but because of the strong influence of marijuana and alcohol, have dropped out along the way.


“We hope the mothers’ performances will help young girls to join up,” he said.

Photo Captions:

Photo 1 - Members of Tannese ‘Christian Soldiers’ of the Dorcas Federation marching.

Photo 2 - Tafea Brass Bandmaster Mr. Cathy Sam.
 

(Photo: Secretariat of the Pacific Community)

WORLDWIDE: EUR 10 million for climate change project
Source: Secretariat of the Pacific Community Press Release

The German Government will commit another 10 million euros to climate change programmes in Pacific countries, it was announced in Copenhagen, Denmark.

This is in addition to the current 4.2 million euro programme being implemented under the SPC/GTZ Pacific-German Regional Programme on Adaptation to Climate Change in the Pacific Island Region. The project is currently operating in three countries - Fiji, Tonga and Vanuatu.

While the finer details are still being worked out, the commitment is to intensify existing efforts and enable the implementation of national policy programmes through such mechanisms as forestry inventories, consultation and capacity building programmes.

The announcement was made at a meeting between officials from the Governments of Fiji and Vanuatu and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) together with officials from the German Technical Cooperation agency (GTZ). It was initially conveyed by the German Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development to Pacific leaders in Berlin a few days ago. Present at the Berlin meeting were the Presidents of Kiribati, Micronesia, Palau and the Marshall Islands, the Prime Ministers of Samoa, Tuvalu and Vanuatu, and the Deputy Prime Minister of Tonga.

Fiji’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ratu Inoke Kubuabola welcomed the commitment, saying it was a boost to the Pacific’s climate change adaptation and mitigation programmes in the region.

“We thank the Government of Germany for this very kind gesture and we appreciate the recognition given to our call for funding and financing projects that will help our people cope with the impacts of climate change,” said Ratu Inoke.

The SPC/GTZ regional programme on adaptation to climate change focuses on sustainable management of land-based natural resources with mainstreaming of climate change issues in regional and national policies and plans. Avoiding deforestation is a fundamental element of the project’s strategy in Fiji.

In December 2008, the German government formally stated its financial commitment to working with SPC on the proposed project.

The project, which aligns with the Pacific Island Framework for Action on Climate Change 2006-2015, is supporting Vanuatu’s implementation of its National Adaptation Programme for Action and assisting Fiji and Tonga in the fulfilment of their national communications to the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The additional financial support, which will come from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, will bring the total funding for the project to 14.2 million euros.

For further information, contact Christine Fung: [email protected]