(SPREP/...Aegis Oil (Samoo). was well rewarded for his participation in the exhibition, displaying his plant which recycles used oil. His video and poster display drew great interest,

enuLrorLmentNuwsmrrEn

Pacific Governments andNGOs Make Strong

Impression at Barbados

p acific island countries were

tional governments and NGOs atthe Glnbol Conferenne on tlw &rc-tninnhle Deuelopment of Small Is-Iotd D ev elnp i,ng S tates and the NGOIslonds Forum 94 in Barbados inlate ApriYearly May, 1994.

The Barbados Conference, and as-soeiated NGO activities, were thefirst international meetings to ad.dress sustainable dwelopment andimplement Agendo 9/, after Rio.They concentrated on the specialneeds of small island developingstates (SIDS).

Agenda 21 reflects the global con-sensus and political commitment atthe higheet lwels for sustainabledwelopment and environmental co.operation. The special eircum.stances and vulnerabilities of SIDSwas recognised during the negotia-tions for, and adoption of, Agenda2l at the Rio Earth Summit.In implementing Agenda 21,

therefore, and in accounting for thespecial needs of small islands, aProgramme of Actinn for tlw &rc-tnilwhle Deuelnpm.ent of SmdI Is-Land Develnping Statcswas negoti-ated at two intergovernmental Pre.paratory Committees. These wereheld in New York in 1993 and 1994.The final Programme of Action wasadopted at Barbados during the highlevel heads of government session.

The iesuee addressed in theProgrn-pg of Action were easilyagreed on during the negotiations.Theseincluded:

E Climate Change and Sea-levelRise;

S Natural and EnvironmentalDisasters;

B WasteManagement;

E Coastal and Marine Resources;

f, Freehwater Resources ;

! LandResources;

f, Energy Reeourcee; and,

f, Tourism Resources.

National, regional and interna-tional actions were identified foreach issue.

fire difficulties arose in negotiat.ing sections on implementation,monitoring and reviewing thePtogram6s of Action, there wer6special difficulties inE the prwision of financial

reSources;

S trade issues;

E intellectual property righte;and,

g the provision ofresourees forthe Commission on SustainableDwelorpment (CSD) to aseist inimplementin g the Prograrnmeof Action.

During th ese negotiatione, Pacifrcisland reprcsentatives negdiatad aspart ofthe broader AllianceofSnallIsland States (AOSIS), which waechaired by the Ambaesador ofTrinidad and Tobago to the [JN, MsAnnette des llee. Paaifrc islado@n-tries joined other regions - esps-cially the Caribbean and IndianOcean countries . to ensure that theworld was well aware of their com-mon needs.

SPREP was active ae a technicalresource for Pacifi c island counEi6,and the broader AOSIII gmup. Ithas become *ell recognieedforprc.viding effec.tive assistarce q nego.tiations for Agenda 2l and theProgrRmme of Action.

Som e intern ation al organieatbnsand donor countries also'took ad-vantage of the gathering in Barba.dos to investigate more efrectiveways to addrese envimnmental iB-sues facing small island developingstates. These included discussionson:

E how the Pacifrc couldbeetgainaccesg to financial assistancethroughtheGEF;

E poseible fufirre direetions forUS donor aid in the region; and,

! ensuring inputfton Pacificisland NGOg was qccounted forin negotiations for theProgramme offution.

ccc(sro Sarf.crr tb.firn on P1go 3)

fhe quorterly news/ellerof fhe Soufh Pocific Regionol

Envlronme nt Progromme (SPREP/

SPREPI Envhon4nnf Ncwsplbr

Special Feature on Tourlsm

Tourism and the Pacific IslandsBright Future, With Care

I lthough the South Pacific ac-

^ - counts for only a tiny portion ofthe world's tourism market - lessthan 1% - foreign tourism is a majorsource of foreign exchange for manyPacific island countries. In somecountries it is the main ear:ner offoreign exchange.

Ieland GovernmentsHesitant

Pacific islands have significantnahrral andeultural attractions andoutstanding marine features. Withsmall land areas and populations,and a nanow base for agriculturalexports, there is potential for tour.igm to encourage economic and eus-tainable development.

How€ver, many island goriern.mentsare reluctant to recognise thepotential presented by to-trrism, asthey fear possible adverse social,cultural and environmental efrects.

Surveys indicate that the naturalenvironment is a popular reasontourists visit the region. There is agmwing desire from touriets formore activeholidays with some edu.cation in local history, culture andthe environment. Governmente arealsobeginning to direct promotionstowarde special interest groups cuchss diven, brg-game fiehers, adven-turere and ecrotourists.

Poor Management DamagesEnvironment

Tourism is blamed for damagingnaftrral and cultural environmentsworldwide. There are unfortunateexamples of tmcontrolled andpoorlymanaged tourism development,which eventually destroys the veryenviionment that originallyattacted the touriet.

However, when tourism is well.managed and controlled, it can be-come a tool for nature and culturalconsenation. Touriste can and dopay for natural and cultural experi-ences, prcvidedthey are readily ac-cessible, unique and interesting.Consewing biodiversity and otherenvironmental features, be it anecosystem or a single species, is adifficult and expensive task. Gov-ernments can turn to tourism tohelp fund these consenration ac-tivities effectively.

Tourist Marhets FickleThe tourism market is fickle, with

national industries dependingmootly on regular air aad ocean linksthrough international and regionalcarriers. National airlines havebeen established to proride theselinke, but they have only just be-gun to penetrate world markets.Long-term efforts must be main'tained in this area.

The varied natural environmentsand distinct cultures of the Pacificislands are a magnet to touristgaround the world. Sufiicient ac-commodation space and appropri-ate international, regional and lo-cal air links, supported by well-de-veloped inbound trarrel and toureereices in the region, will ensurePacific islandcountries can markettheir tourism potential effectively.. Take CareWith Planning

TouriemUnfcrrtunately, in the rush to un-

dertake mass tourism and maseivenew hotel construction, local com-munities and environments are of-ten overlooked. The accompanyingnegative eocial impacts have al-ready induced local communrtybacklash in some locations - tour-ists have become unwelcomed andresented.

Sustainable tourism developmentmeans that the unique envilonmen.tal, cultural and social systems ofthe Pacific iglands must be main-tained, to presen'e the main touristattraetion ofPacific islanderc ae

nthe

friendly people".

Fromfhe Touriem Council of theSouth Pacifc's input to the Barbados

Conference. 24 May 1993.

E(.: fhe oplnions exprpssedisrr an 0otnecessarily fiose of 9PRER lhe Einc'tar orthe Edtor. e€e

Visit the SouthPacifie Year

1995 tns been deciaed Vr.sit tre Scufi Pa.

cific Year, tp cente of buist promolhn ac{iYF

lies duing fib year. Erutonment- natralandcultral - isfietherne h tp Fcnolionacllvt'tesftroverceasmskeb.

Fs more infirmallon, conbct

TheDiecbr,TCSP. -APoBoxl3lle ro|F*sWA Fiii dlQ:g'gTef : (679)w1n FE=f=Fa: (679)30,|995 -=-

The Naviti Fijlan Resort, Vili Levu, Fijl. A poorly planned and dasigned sea wallhas been destroyed, along with the beach it protected.

. Phofo; SPREP.

SPREPs EnvLo nme nt Newsbffer

from the director's desh

I recentlyreturnedfromtheBar-4 bados Global Conference onSustainable Development of theSmall Islands Developing States,therefore the speeches of the Ple-nary Sessions and the political ne-gotiations of the Main Committeeof the Conference are still fresh inmy mind.

The successes and disappoinf-ments of Barbados reflect the com-mitments and efforts in achievingsustainable development, and theharsh realities of the current globaleconomic situation.

Throughout the Conference, coun-tries around the world spoke of themeaning of sustainable develop-ment, recognising the need for eco-'nomic development to keep up withpopulation growth while also pro-tecting our fragile environment.This was the central theme of themessages from the Earth Summitin Rio in 1992, and it was stronglyreiterated in Barbados.

From these meetings, I have notedthat definitions of sustainable de-velopment differ from country fncountry, from region to region. Thisdifference is even more pronouncedwhen deciding on the strategies forimplementing action programmesneeded to achieve sustainable de-velopment.

Achieving sustainable develop-ment requires a major rethink ofnational development plans in theregion. Environmental concernsshould be an integral part of eco-nomic growth, and vice versa. De-velopment programmes in tourigm,fisheries, and agriculture mustberedefined to meet requirements forachiwin g sustainable development.

It is proper, therefore, that thisissue of SPREP'g EnvironmentNewsletter focuses mainly on oneof the iniportant development prog-rammes - tourism, particularly eco-tourism.

T.here has been much debate overthe true. definition of .ecotourism,

though I believe there is generalagreement that the "eco" stands for"ecological concerns". There is alsoa generalperceptibn that the role ofecotourism is to provide economicbenefits to local communities.Surely one can argue that thieshould be the objective for all tour-ism.

I do not disagree with this senti-ment, but ecotourism should im-presses the spirit of a communityapproach to tourism on all people.

In travelling throughout our re-gion I am impressedbythe numberof ecotourism projects now being

Tha AractorViliA. Fuavao

developed. The prominent featureof the Pacific countries is our com-plete dependence on foreign ex-chan ge and the fr agility of our envi-ronment.

For the small countries in the Pa-cific the ideabehind ecotourism frtsin well with manyeurrentnationaldwelopment strategies.

Tourism promotion is the primaryresponsibility ofthe Tourism Coun-cil of the South Pacific (|CSP).SPREP and TCSP have had contacts on the issue of ecotourism,and I believe a closer working rela-tionship between the , twoorganisations is in the making.

Whatever the role of SPREP inecotourism, it shouldbe emphasisedthat it is to aesist TCSP and nem-ber countries in ensuring thatecotourism is implemented in anenvironmentally-friendly manner,and so ensuring its future viabilityas an economic activity that con.forms with the goals of sustainabledevelopment.

e6e

SusTech '94

A Pacifrc island company was assisted by SPREP andUNDP to participate in the SusTech '94 exhibition.This exhibition displayed various small scale and ap-propriate (and some not-so-appropriate) technologiessuited for use on.small islands.

Tony Hill, of. Aegis Oil (Samoo). was well rewardedfor his participation in the exhibition, displaying hisplant which recycles used oil.

His video and poster display drew great interest,especially from other small island countries who alsoface increasing problems from waste disposdl on livn-ited land areas.

This, together with the SOPAC exhibition, gave thePacific islands a high profile among SusTech exhibi-tors' 6ss

Tony Hill, Aegis Oil(Samoa) (lefi), discusses his oil

recycling plant with Fiu Elisara Mataese (UNDP) (middle)

. and Gerald Miles (SPREP) (right).

Photo: SPREP.

SPREP3 Envhonmcnt trtwsbtfur

Spposi Fcadu" on Towlstn

Tourists and Marine Parks -Gan They Live Together?

I Nutrients. Research ehows that nitratse andphosphates affect redgmurth. Phe-phates wealen the corale steletonand nitrates lead to faster growth ofalgae, which cha4ges coral commu.nrty to an algal community.

Ttrese nutrients ocsur in nrn offfrom agricultural fertilizers uded onfams, cleaning detergents, hunsnand animal sewerage and watertreahent frm, or ngar, tourigt re-sort areag.

I Physical damageAnchore and anchorchaine dirm.

age reefs. 'The

boating public areencouraged ki anchor over eand andto trse a plonged anchor rather thana larger, heavier one. Plaetlc fub-ing orrer the end of anchor chainscan help minimiee dernage.

bxcessive diving and snorkellingcan also demage coral firis 'lam.age ean [g 6inirnineil if divers andsnorkellers are guidedby an inter-pretative guide and warned aboutstirnding on corals. firey muet beeducated to care for reefs.

I Overfiehingff fishing is part of a tourist at.

traction, then there mugt be somecontrols to engure ttrat fieh catc*resare not excessive, and that smallanimals such as shell fish tre r€.placed whsre they are found-

DrWbndy Craik is the Executfue Directorof the Grcat Banier Reef Marine ParkAuthority (GBRMPA), based inQueensbnd, Australia.

This Madne Park is a classic model ofmulti-purpoae use of an important marlneconservntion area, and so Dr Cralk hasaxpodenc.d in the challengcs presentedin developing these areas. In a recentfnterylewwflfr OneWbrldsCarolyn Court,Dr Cnalk cxplained the key issues inphnnlngtourism schemes in marine andt$,astalzon$.

f) weloping tourism in marine" and coastal areas is of greatinterest to people of the Paefrc is-lands. However, these develop-ments must also retain the elemeutsof the natural enrrironment thatorigin aUy attracted tourists.

GBRMPAs e:rperience in manag-ing a coral reef environment hasehown that there are a number offactora to consider when assessingapplications for new tourist opera-tione and so protect the environ-ment.

I SedlmentIf it is neceseary to dredge a chan-

nelorbuild amarina or wharf, themain concem is eediment. Sedi-ment smothers corals and cloudst[e watm thereby spoiling the po-tsntial tourist attraction of divingand snorkellin g on coral reefe.

Cruidlg yachtsanchored in LamiHarbour, Fiji.Do wa need tobetter place thelrmooring sltcs?

Fho{a; SPREP

New EnvironmentalTechnologies

New, apprqriate technologiee ar,enow making tourism more eustain-able. Small package sewerage trbat-ment plants, which can be installedon isolated resort islands, rsm(ryenutrients from the sewerage.

Reef pontoons prwide a flat plat.form on a reef, which notonlyreas.gums tourists but p mtects reds fttomphyeical damage by snorkellersstanding on the.peef.

lmprwed moorings for public use.reduces the number of anchoredropped- Public moorings are nowa condition for some touristpermitsfor site qerators in the GBRIE -they supply moorings eo tourists donot have to drop their anchois daily.

For the PacificThis knowlefue and experience

can be transferred to operations inthe South Pacific, tlrough aidpmjects or commercial ventures.Thesenew ideas mustbe adaBted tolmal eonditions - these ideas cannotbe directly transferrcd ft,om oneplaoe to another. However, the ideaeused for moorings, pontoons andsewerage treatment have beenfusted around the world, and could'easily be tranelated into a viablelocalpackage.

GBRIUPA works cloeely with ofhercountries and aid agencies to aseistPacffic ieland countries in using thinorganisation's experienee.

From One Wodd,15l4l94.

Ed.: The opnions oxprussed rrer€ ap notnecessadly fiose of SPREP, ha Dlnctor uthe Edtor.

tPRfFl Enylpnrtpnf Newsleller

ee6

A Study inVillage-based Tourism

tfl he mataqali (clan) Naituku inI Bouma village controls 1,434ha of land on Taveuni Island, Fiji.The land is rugged and steep, sup-porting dense tropical rainforest.Ttre land around the village, how-ever, is cleared for food gardensand copra plantations.

The efforts of the matoqaliNaituku have resulted in a success-fuly protected area, with locally-owned and managed land, devel-oped sustainably. The area relieson naf,ure tourism as the basis foreeonomic development while pro-tecting an important ndtural forestfrom destructive logging practices.

Community DrivenBouma village accomplished this

by:

8 oddr es sing dcu eln p ment is s ttps.

Protecting th e larger env ironm ent'was a significant factor in decidingto consenre their forest. The com-munity understood that the forestwas vitally important for water andsoil conseryation. The forest alsoprovided a source for hunting andfor gathering some plants.

Protecting the forest, however,was secondary to their needs fordevelopment and generating in-come. Therefore, the native tour-ism project seeks to fulfill theseneeds, using forest protection andmanagement. So, development wasthe key factor underlying commu-nity commitrnent to manage the for-est, and forest protection is onlypart of their development procees.

ffi being a unified community. .

Bouma is h close-knit communityof related people, with a commoninterest in developing their re-sorrrces. lle mataqoli also hae for-mal land tenure.

Special Feature on Towism

Bouma, Fiji:

agai,nW encess n uchninaletry er tis e an d trnilfu tS.

\\e M oruin Srciety (t.{Z) assistedby documehting the biodiversityvalues of their forest. The Flji No-tive Lorrr& Tlust, Boord and theMinistry of Forests also supportedan d assisted the molqd.i Naituku,and the NZ Go'ernment financiallysupported the development of theforest park.

Continued success will depend onthe willingness of the outside con-tributorypartiee, both national andinternational, to allow the Boumacommunity itself to plan and man-age their land, ensuring they arenot dominated by outside views and

.agendan.

Others Can LearnThis experience could be useful to

other communities in the region"seeking environmentally soundpaths to developmento. Other Fijiancommunities are interested in theexperience at Bouma - othernataqali have appmached the Na-tive Lands Tlust Board wanting toestablish similar nature tourismenterprises.

However, allnew initihtives mugtbe based on the development aspirations of the landowners. If theycan build a protected area proposalinto the wider dwelopment objec-tives, and they can recogniee theavailable opportunities that comple-ment nature pmtection, the proposalis more likely to start and survive.

Excerpts from Annette Leet,"Lessons from the Pacific: linkingtraditional ownership developmentneeds and protected areas", inParks4:1, Feb. 1994, pp.4147.

Ed.: The oplnlons cxptosscd lwn an nolnca*aily fhoso ol SPREB hc Andor orthc Edtor'

ee c

A History ofTourism at

Bouma Village ...

T\e mataqaliNaitutu has beenguldins tourists to a local watel-fall, about one kilometre fr,on thdmain cnastal road amund Taveuni,for over 20 years. T\e matqalicharged tourists a emall amountof money, which was locally.cvn-sidered a large income. This in-com e fu ndedyills ge housing, sdu-cation and other eocial needs.

In the late 1980e, the m@oli'eland was considered for logging inan island-wide project, and theywithdrew their land from the pm-posal. They were cqrcerned abrutthe effects of logging on their in-come from nature tourism, andon their environment generally.

l\e motqoli Naitulu thendrew up a land managmentplanwith the help oftheNativeLandsTmet Board, who adminigters fu-digenous lands in Fiji" Theyla6rextended the tourism qeratiminto the forest sunflrnding thowaterfall, with financial agsiE-tance from NZ.

Their commihent to prdect theforest was sealed by a vala vanua- a binding traditional agreementThere was aleo a Memorandun ofUnderetanding between themotqali Naituku, tbe NativeLands Ttust Board and the Min-istry of Foreets. It ig hoped thatthe current 2fi)-ha prcricted areawill be extended to include moreforest and to prctect nearty sa-cred tabu land.

In the v ahn u aru.n, the nwtryIideclared that they will not €ffsct"any act or thing on the area whichwould be harmfirl to the environ-mentn, and will "allow actieitissthat are conducive to nature Pne.ervation and the enhancement ofcommunal nature and forestbasodtouriemn.

oe o

SPREP's Enrfonmant |,fdvtbtbr

Special Feeture on Tourism

PNG:

Tourism a Viable Alternativefor Rural People

Rlcherd Curzon. recently repres-ented Kilo Cuzon Tonge and Assoc-htes, a company operating severaltourism proJects in PNG. ln thisarticle, he describes the Mailu lslandTourism venture, which beginsoperations later this year.

The article is fiom an inteMew withCarolyn Court of Radio Australia'sOne World environmental radioProgram.

Q oiernments and the private sec--' tor now recognize that tourism

canplay a significantrole in PNGeeconomy, according to RichardCurzon of Kilo Curzon Tonge and'Associates, a company operatingtourisn projects in PNG.

It is also seen aa a way for ruralpeople to earn an income from visi-tors, ofrering an alternative to otheractivities euch as logging foreets.

\ilhy ecotourism?Ecotourism is also called mral

andenvironmental tourism in PNG,and focuses mainly on remote ar-eas. People in remote areas, withfew sources of income, can benefitfrom this small-ecale, alternativeinduetry. Some tourists are nowwilling to pay substantial sume ofdoney to "rough it" in rural areae.An added advantage is that theenterprises do not have as muchimpact on traditional lifestyles aslarger establishments.

Mailu Island ventureThe project at Mailu Island, in

eastern PNG, was initiated by thelocal people, the traditional land-owners ofMailu Island. Pryua NewGuineane are very proud of theirattractive environment - ruggedtropical rainforests often lie next topristine coral reefs. The Mailupeople believed they had somethin gto offeir, and so they sought adviceon how theycould develop the areafor small-scale tourism.

The Mailu people alsohavetradi-tional lifestlles which could prweto be very interesting to visitore.They have a unique tattoo culture,as well as toea and kina, the trhdi.tional "shell currurc/ of PNG. Ttreyaleo have a remarkable architec.ture based on stories of "IlyingmagiC'and witchcraft.

The Mailu people are also knownfor their pottery, which was part ofan ancient trading syetem thatstretched along the coast ofPapua:from Milne Bay and the TlobriandIslande, through the Central Prov-ince of PNG, to Indonesia.

firere is still much traditional ca-noe sailing, and the surroundingseac are rich in sea Iife. Spectacu-lar walks in rainforests can alsolead to mountain views of the sur-roundingislands.

Getting StartedKiIo Curzon Tonge and Associ-

ates becrme involved when theMailu people sought advice on start-ing the venture. Company staffwere familar with the area throu ghfriendships with people living there.Some spoke the local language,which was an important bond inestablishing a workin g relationshipwith the people. The company pro-vided the Mailu impressions of what"outside" people might want to see.

At first, the Mailu people thoughtthey needed to build developmentswhich they had observed in othercountries. The company impressedupon them it was what they pos-sessed, culturally and environmen-tally, that they shouldhighlight andproinote.

The feasibility study for the ven-ture is now complete, funds areavailable, and architectural planshave been drawn up for a develop-ment based on trailitiorral architec.ture and building materials. An

advertising and proirotion plan isalso being assembled. The attrac-tions, zuch as the coral reefe andthe forestpathways, have been iden.tifred and are being developed.

Numbers of tourists will be lim-ited, possibly even to certain sea-sons, so as.to minimise the impactof visitors on the Mailu people andthe environment. thie will allow a'irest period' from visitors so thatthe Mailu can attend to traditionalactivitiee and.repair the tourist fa.cilities while theie are no visitorsaround-

Returns to the PeopleTwenty to thirty tourists will pay

$50-60 for a 2-3 night stay, includ-ing food and transportation. Salesof crafts, such -as pots, toea andkina, and attending non.sacred eer-emonies will be additional incomesourcesfrom thevisitors. Up to 600people are expected to visit eachy€ar.

MinimisingEnvironmental frnpacts

Solar panels will provide powerfor lighting, air.conditioning, andpumping water. It is planned tostore non-biodegradable wastessuch as plastics, and remove themfrom the island to a yet-to.be builtrecycling centre on the mainland.Of course, the traditional Mailu al-ready use materials that producebiodegradable waste, such as prod-ucts from the coconut. It is hopedthat environmental impact from thedevelopm ent will be minimal

from OnE World, 1414194.

Ed,: The opinions expressed herc an notnecassaily fiose of SPREP, the Arcdor orthe Editor.

6Se

6SPREPS Environment Newsletler

Special Feature on Tourism

Tourism BlongPasifik?

By David Stanley

f ourism is one of few avenues of- economic development avail-

able for many Pacific islands.

The main tourist markets of Aus-tralia, North America, Europe, NZ,other Pacific islands and Japan areoften targeted by particular coun-tries in the region. Unfortunately,Iocal natural and cultural environ-ments are affected by contact withthese tourists.

Japanese interests have increaseddramatically in recent years, invest-ing in hotels in Australia, Fiji,Solomon Islands, Tahiti, Vanuatuand Western Samoa. Most atten-tion has focused on luxury hotelsand all-inclusive holiday packages -

with minimal returns to local econo-mies. Profits are repatriated, asare salaries for top managerial po-sitions, commissions and sales ofgoods. Only 40% of net earningsfrom "trangnational" tourism actu-ally stay in the host country.

Travel is often only promoted todestinations where there are siz-able investments by these interna-tional companies. As a result, somecompanies have a "death grip" onlocal tourism, able'to stop the flowof tourists overnight by cancellingtours, bookings and flights.

Pacific island governments. haveen'couraged hotel construction, byallowing crippling tax concessionsand huge infrastructure invest-ments - airports, power, communi-cations and sewers - which benefitthese foreign companies.

"Mass" tourism undermines' thelocal social fabric by establishing"enclaves of affluence", creating lo-cal dissatisfaction and desires im-possible to fulfill. Traditional liv-ing is d.isrupted as custom and gw-ernment land is converted to re-sorts and recreation.

Iocal beauty spots are bought,commercialised, and made inacces-sible to locals. Beeorts pollute la-goons with'sewerage and otherwagte, reefs are blasted for boataccess, and corals and shelle arestripped from the reef. Local watersources are diverted to hotBls, andfood prices soar.

Overseas tourists can benefitfromexperiencing localculhres, butttreycan also undermine theee c'ultures.Traditional dances may be modi-fied to suit tourists; celebrations.held out of context. Handicrafts aremass produced according to touristexpectations. Authenticity is sacri-ficed for profits.

Packaged holidays create the illu-sion of adventure, while avoidingrisks and individuality. On manytours, the only islandere seen aremaids and bartendere. ThiB elitisttourism continues the colonial mas-ter-senant relationships. Islandgov ernments favour dwelopmentsbased on local resources and busi-nesses, but this is rarely applied totourism.

Whatseems tobe neededis softer,people-oriented tourisn.' Smaller,family-oriented, locally-owned busi-nesses benefit islanders directly andcontribute to local development.Guest house tourism offers excel-lent opportunities for local employ-ment, especially for women. "Inde-peildent" travellers may spend lessper day, however they tend to staylonger and better appreciate andrespect local cultures.

Appropriate tourism needs littleinvestment, there is less disruption,and control remains with localpeople. Luxury hotels are monoto-nous - the Pacific is the place forsomething different.from Tok Blong SPPF, May 1993, 4-5.

Ed.: The ofinions expt",asad harc an notnecossarily tfose of SPREP, frtc Etirector orthe Edtor.

Marshalls ConsideringNuclear Waste Storage

RMI's Ambassador to USA,Wilfred Kend nll, ennounced that hisgovernment will study the feasibil-ity of becoming the world's repoei-tory for nuclear wastes. He saidthat nthe Marshall Islands had in-herited a legacy of contaminatiurfrom nuclear tests in the 1940s andthe 1960e".

nWe have islands that are of nouee for 10,000 yearen, he said fromWashington, USA, after returningfrom recent talks in Eurspe.

Kendall described the prrposal asna very serious undertakinf thatmust meet stringent internationalregulations beford being apprsve{adding that it was now being con-sidered by scientists and gwern-mentbodies in Eumpe andUSA .

If the propoeal were appmrred, itis projected that RMI could rcceivebillions of dollars'in revenue forstoring the waste.

AFP, in Samoa Obseruor,5l5l94,p7.

Latest El Nifro FinishesThe lateet Et Nif:m &utlic.rn Os-

ei,llatinn event has now finished,according toNTWA, New Zealand"Variable rainfall conditions hsve lerturned to moet South Pacifrc islands,particularly drou ght-afrectod areasin Melaneeia (New Caledonia) andeastern Polynesia. There were twocyclones in the Western Pacifrc inJanuary.

The recent El Nif,o event lastedfor 3 years, as long as two previous,very long episodes earlier 'hie cen-tury.

South Pacific CIim ata Monitor,'1194,pp.1-2.

Pagc Ea

6eeI

SPREP'S Envlrcnrrrlnl Nawsbtler

c Fry.7

Lrndowners Take onMining Giant over OkTedi Mine

The ft ture of Papua New Guinea'smining industry - which last yearprwided 3E per cent of PNG's ex-port earnings - is now under a clord.Melbourne-based. liawyers Slaterand Gordon have taken out a K4(USD4.4) billion legal action againstAuetralia's mining grant, BHP, onbehalf of 6,000 yitlagers along theOh Tedi Biver.

The largest litigation claim inAugtralia's history, it is being initi-ated wer alleged pollution causedby the Ok Tedi's copper mine oper-atedby BFIP.

Slater and Gordon conducted'Litigation Patrols'by boat, downthe Ok Tedi River to sign up villag-ers. Tbey presented the villagerswith liEts of impacts from the mine- all of which were negative.

The Times of PNG,5l5l94

Pol5mesian SupportsNGiOs and Media toBarbados

Polyneeian Airlines, WesternSrtnoa'e national airline, was eon-gratulated by the UN for assistingrepresentatives from Pacific NGOsand the Pacifrc Islands News Asso-ciation enIA) to attend the SmallIslands Conference at Barbados in '

April.Nitin Desai, Under-Secretary

General for Policy Co-ordinationand Sustainable Development,praised the airline for showing theworld that'island states are willingand able to contribute in a mostmeaningful way to ... Barbados".

UN press release, 2314194.

Page 9a

Westem Samoa:

National Acttvitles

aSPREPS Envfonmenl Newsisfler

A Logging Agreement toSave a Forest?

opo village, on the island ofSavai'i, is the eite of a unique

experiment to eave a part of theendan gered cloud forest of WesternSsmoa.

The. Western Samoan environ-mental NGO, O Le Siosiomaga So-ciety, or OLSS, now hae exclusiverighte to log a eix-square mile areaof the Aopo cloud forest for the next20 years. On 16 April, OLSS pre-sented a cheque for WS$ 112,000(US$ 42,600) to the village, as partof an Agreement signed earlier thisyear.

The mortey for the Agreement wasprwided by the Swedish Society forNature Conservation in a separateagreement with OLSS. In returnfor the funds, OIAS undrirtake''s notto use the logging rights, and Aopovillage is committed to using themoney in ways which will not de-grade the environment.

In fact, OLSS has no intention ofloggrng the cloud forest. This log-ging agreemsnf, rims to pre.emptindividuals, Aopovillage or any oth-ers from logging or removing deador live treee from the area for theduration of the Agreement.

The Aopo cloud forest currentlycontains a range of rare indigenoustree species. It could also become arefuge for birds and other animalsas they are forced from lowlandcoastal forests lecause. of logging,sgreading plantations and. the re-cent cyclones. Both conservationsocieties involved consider that con-serving the forest is essential formaintainin g Sanoa's biodiversity.

The local member of parliamentfor Aopo and Minister for Women'sAffairs, Hon. Polataivao Fosi, sup-ported OLS's effort to protect theforest, an d was recen tly commendedby the Society for his assistance.

OLS press release, 15 April 1994.6es

New Village-Based Conservation Project

Aopo, Letui and Sasina villages,on thebig island ofSavai'i, togetherown one of Western Samoa's fewremaining and significant lowlandforests.

These villages will be assisted bythe national Divisian of Environ-ment ond Conservotinn @EC) andthe Savai'i-based NGO ,lhe FoasooSovai'i Socicty, with funding fromUSA, toprotect this forest.

The project aims to plan futureincome generating and sustainableactivities such as ecotourism, handi-cra-ft pmduction (especially canring),and the dwelopment of medicinesfrom forest plants. Villages will beencouraged to protect the forest, in-stead of resorting to unsustainableloggrng for "quick" income.

The project began with villagemeetings in April this year, followedby surveys to investigate current

uses ofthe forest by villagers.The Planning Grant from the

USAID-fun ded Bindiu er sitt &nser -uatinn Networh, from Washington,DC, will encourage small busi.nesses. Enterprises such as carv-ing make good business sense. Anifil.elc t ee may be worth over $2000if converted into 'ouo bowls, whilethe loggin g companies will pay only$30 to fell it.

DEC will work with other gov.ernment agencies, including theMinistry of WomcnAffairs and theForestry Diulsrbn of th e Departmentof Agricqlture and Forests.

An intact forest prgvides a store.house of products useful to people,a home for Samoa's unique animalsand plants, a source of clean waterand a means of preventing soil ero-sion. This must be a convincngargurirentforprotection. eeo

Natbnal Activities

American Samoa:

Governor Signs Leasefor National Park

The long-awaited lease for theAmerican Samoa National Park wasrecently signed by the acting Gov.ernor of American Sargoa, ThaeseSunia.

American Samoa's NationalParks Service willlease 8,0(X) acreson the north shore of the main is-land, Tutuila, andon Ta'u and Ofaieland. This has wentuated fiveyears after the initial legislationwas passed in USA

fire park will protec't uniguerainforests, as well a6 rare animalsand plants important in Samoanculture. It will also help identifrand pmtect the ancient archaeo.logical and legendary sites in itsboundaries

Thepark is unique in USA, as itie based entirely on leaeed land -

necessary because ofthe local landtenure system. Landowners areprotected in that they are allowedand encouraged to use the park fortrafitional uses, such as gatheringplants for tiaditional medicinee andhanesting existing taro, bananaand coconut plantations. Most ofthe land is steep and rocky, and isunsrdtable for urban developmentor commercial agriculhrre.

At the signing of the lease, theacting Ciovemor said that "this parkq,ill proride many long-tem ben-efits for the people of American Sa.moa, aB well ae pmtect our beauti-ful islands for our future genera-tions of Snmoans and all Ameri-cans."

Local people will be trained aspark rangens and for adninistra.tive positions. local contractorgwill benefit from palk-related de-velopments. The park will also at-tract tourists who are more likelyto be rcspectfrrl of Samoa's tradi-tional culture.

lhe leaee is one step toward es-tablishing the park Nine villagecouncils and individual matai (titleholders) willnow work through theHigh Court to finali*e the propor-tions of rent to be paid to each .

group. the Court will then holdhearings to clarify and appmvethese distributione. Any disputeeon ownership or boundariee willnot be decidedby this Court.

fire appraised value of the leaseis US$337,00Oper yeaq.

From Rainfarest Echoes, Le Vaomatua,American Samoa.

Ed.: Tha opnions exprpsscdDcre an notnecessaily fltoso ol SPREP, lhe Andor orthe Edtor. sec

A P',gpE

NZ Pays Darnages toNaurr-NZ'e Foreign Ministsr, Don

McKinnon, confirmed thatllIZ hagpaid Nauru for its ehareof the dqm.age caused to Naum by phoephatemining. NZ and UK have eachagreed to pay around USD I nilliontowards the earlier settlement byAustralia. NZ has not accerpted Ii.ability for the issuss in the originalWorld Court case brrought by Naunr

MPA,2U5Fl.

UNCLOS WiU Enter intoForce

The UN Convention on the Law ofthe Sea (LNOLOS) war recentlyratified by Guyana, the sixtiethmember of theuN to do so. this iBthe minimum number required forIJNCIOS to come into foroe. llrpdate is set for 16 November 1994.

The Convention co'erg a numberof issuee for managing natuial re.eoulces and conser:vation: fisherise,marine pollution, coneenring rpe-cies and prrotecting habitats.

UN press release.

Pacifrc Monitors Bannedftom Solomons

Importing the Pacificmonitor lia-afi (Vararuts indlrl.s) into SolomonIelandg has been banned ftpm 28September 1993.

Traffi c.Bulletln, 1 4:2, 1 lg4.

Waste Incinerator ClosedAfter local protests and freguent

breakdowns, the French Polynesiango\rerrrment has closed down thecontrovereial Tamara waste incin-eration plant. Fermentation pro.cessing at Temara.will continue,howder, despite probleme with thedisposal of by-pmducts.Washinglon Pacific Reooft, 12:11, p5.

9.eP loa

SPREP Climate Chenge WorkrhopParticipants at the opening of the recent subregionalworkshop

in Honaraon changing climates a'nd sea levelg includedscientists, journalists and teachers. Read more on page 13.

Ph6: SPREP

SPREP's tnvhonnpnl lltctvshtbr

Regional Activities

n page g

Ausf,lnlin DelaysIrnplementing OceanDumping Ban

Australia will not stop oceandumping of industrial wastes fortwo years, as it delays ratifying theLondon Convention. This is to al-low zinc tailings to be dieposed of(by an Australian miningcompany)into the Tasman Sea between Aue-tralia and New Zealand.

Greenpeace has critisedAustrelia's move, saying 'as long asthe dumping continues, how canAustralia regard itself as environ-mentally minded?" The dumping ofthe tailings is due to stop in 1997.

Greenpeace press release, 21 ru'1994.

Japan May PostponePlutonium PowerProjects

In apparent response to interna-tional concerns over its plutoniumsupply, the Japanese governmentannounced itmaypos@one a seriesof plutonium power projects. Thiswill also affect plutoniun shipmentsthrough Pacific islands. Afinal de-cision will be announced in a fewmonths.Washington Pacific Report, 1 2: 1 1, p.5.

Regina AmendrnentsNow in Force

fire third Meeting of the Con-tractingParties to the Rarnsar Con-vention on Wetlands, held in Rcgina,Canada, in 1987, adopted amend-ments that greatly strengthened theConvention. These especially influ-ence the decision-making and fi-nancial stability for the Rirmsar Sec'retariat, based in Switzerland.

With subsequent agreement to theamendm ents by D enmark, they willnow come into force on 1 May 1994.

Ramsar Sec.Prese Release,2l3l94.

ee

Regional Biodiversity ProgranuneReviewed

[i echnical conservationists from^ Pacific island countries gath-

ered in Apia, Western Samoa, toreview the early progrqss of thefive-year, US$ lO-million project tohelp protect endangeredbiodiversity in the Pacifrc islands.

The first meeting of the advisorygroup for the South PocificBindiversity Conservotian Prog-rotnn.e (SPBCP) was held on 9-11February. Participants reviewedprogtess since the start.of theProgram6s in April 1993.

The SPBCP nims to sstablish, andinitially mariage, a series of diverseconsenration areae, which will of-ten combine areaa of land and sea.This recognises the critieal interde-pendency of land, coastal andnoarshore environments in Pacificislands.

Human activities will be guidedin these areas to protect importantecological features and species,while still enabling local people touse the area's natural resourceg.Local people and landowners willalso be closely involved with plan-ning and managing these areas.

This Progrrmme is managed bySPREP antl is funded by the GEF', ajoint effort of the World Bank,UNDP and IJNEP. The Progrimmecorrers fourteen Pacific island coun-tries.

Ten project pmposals for nineSouth Pacific countries, rangrngfrom the conservation of whole ie-lands to the protection of specific

sites, were considered by the Groupduring this inaugural meeting.

Countries iubmitting proposalsto SPBCP included FSM, Fiji (2),Kiribati, Niue, Palau, Solomon Is-lands, Tuvalu andWestern Samoa.

Projects approvedby the advisorygr,oup will receive financial and t€ch-nicalsupportfrom the SPBCP dur-ing 1994. Further funding for theseand other projects will be subject toprogress achieved as the projectunfolds.

The advisory group hetped theProgramme identify, evaluate andselect the candidates for these con-sewation area projects from mem-ber countriee. It also reviewed theconcept proposals for these conser-vation areas and their dwelopment;monitored and evaluated consenra-tion areaprojects now being imple-mented; identified priorities for re-searrch, the types of sunreys, dataanalysis and interpretation to beused for these conservation areas;endorsed an annual workprogramme forthe SPBCP; and ad-vised SPREP andUNDP on techni-cal, administrative and manage-ment aspects of the Programme, inpartieular, and on the GEF in gen-eral.

These experts originated frommany fields, including communitydevelopment, ecology, resourcemanagement, biological sciences,and progranmi design. There wereals6 lgplssentatives from NGOgand member governments, as wellas SPREP,IJNDP and AIDAB.

see

CorferencesWhat? Second Global Conterence:

Building a Sustainable Worldthrough Tourism

When? 12-16 September 1994.

Wherc? Montraal, Quebec, Canada.

tl$ho? 1500 delegntes froni 80countries.

Obfecilvcl: Participants will:

1. present and discuss 2O0 successstories of sustainable tourismworldrvide.

2. develop the Montreal Charter - the"Agenda 21 for Tourism".

For more information; contact:

lnternational Institute for PeaceThroughTourism (llPT)3680 rue de la MontagneMONTREAL, QuebecH3G2AScanada

6ee

SPREPs En*onnenl Newslefter 10

Regional Ac'tivities

Sanctuary for Pacific Whalesin Southern Ocean

T n an historic move for marineI conservation,thelntcrnatinnalWlwting Comm.issinn (IWC), at itsrecent annual meeting in Mexico,designated avast area ofthe South-ern Ocean as a whale sanctuary.

Tlre SouthernOceon WtwlB Sonn-hnr y, or$rnally prryosed by Francein 1992, received increasing sup.port from a majority of IWC mem-ber nations in the last two years.SPREP member nations Australiaand New Zealand were among thestrongest supporters for this initira-tive.

The Sanctuary will protect Bevenof the eight species of great whales;minke, blue, fin, sei, humpback,southem right and sperm, from com-mercial whaling if the current mora.torium is Mted. The boundaries ofthe sanctuary were designed tocover these species' feeding groundsand most of their migratory ranges.Whale harvesting previously con-centrated on feeding gmunde as thecongregations of whales made har-vesting there most economic.

It has been estimated that pastcommercial whaling has reducedthese speicies to less than 10% of theoriginal biomass. Only the minkewhale remains relatively abundant,although it is estimated that origi.nal numbers in some stocks havebeen reduced by up to 50 percent.

Japan alone voted againstthe Sanctuary, and alsopressed ,for a harvestquota of minkes in theregion. However, the re.duced biomass, lack ofevidence for recovery ofany whale pcpulation andrecent information show-ing that the former So.viet Union took thou-sands of whales illegallyunder the prwious man-agement scheme, com-bined to convince the fWCthat the Sanctupry is vital for whalesunrival.

As seen on the map, the SouthernOcean Whale Sanctuary surroundsthe South Pole, with the northernboundary fluctuating'between 40and 605 latitude. In the Pacific,the boundary runs at'40S until itreaches 130"W, where it movessouthward to 605, excluding wa-ters immediately around SouthAmerica. The Sanctuary includesthe Indian Ocean Sanctuary, ex-tending the southern boundary tothe coast of Antarctica. It will bereviewed every ten years.

The only southern hemispherewhale species not protected by thesanctuary ie the Brydc's ("broo-dahs") whd,e, which fgeds in tropi-cal waters around many SPREP

The new Southem Whale SanctuarySource: lflUllF

member countries. Many otherwhale species also migrate to thesewannef waters to breed.

Nations have the powel to pro-hibit commercial whaling insidetheir 200-km Exclusive EconomicZoneq Ttris has been done bymanycountries, including some in theSouth Pacific: Chile, Australia andNew Zealand.

SPREP's Reginnl Marhle Mam-mal Progamne is currently look,ing at the efrect of the new eanctu-ary on SPREP member countriea,and will advise them on its influ-ence at a meeting later this year.

e0e

SPOCC Meeting:

More co-operation, less duplicationRegional co-operation .tr4 .ysiding du-plication headed the agenda at a rscentmeeting of the South Pacific OrganisationsQsqy,lin6fing Committee (SPOCC).

The sixth "rro.,rt SPOCC meeting, heldoo l4 - 16 February in fuia, West€rn Sa-moa, was oponed by Western Samoats Mi.u-ist€r for Agriculture, Forests and Fisheries,Hoa. Misa Telefoni, and chaired by the Di.rector of SPREP, Dr Vili Fuavao

The SPOCC meeting is an opportunity forheads of regional organirbtions to discussissuss of mutual concern, ald in particular16 so-s1dinnt€ work activities.

The activities dissuss€d in Apia includedrationalisi:rg marine resoureqs prog"ammes;developing progranrmes oE r€mot€ sensiugaud geographic information systems;prog:rarnmes in coastal monagoment anddisast€r prsparedness; preparations for theGlobal Confererce on the Sust.inable De.velopment of Small Islands DevelopingStat€s, hold in Barbados in May 1994; anddeveloping a common position for fundingfrom the Governrnent of Cnneda.

lte meeting also discussed agreed guide-lines for itstitutional mattors such asorganisational management, budgethg, hfu-ing consultants, conducting meetings andthe pocsibility of pooling ilsuranoe arrang€-

ments to save costs. Iast\r, there was rlrodiscussign on the like\y issues for the uextmeetiag of the South Pacific Forun, to beheld in Brisbane in July 1994.

Memberspresent were the Secretary-Clen.eral of the Fonm Secretariat, Hon. IeremiaTabai; Secretary.General ofSPC, Ati GeorgeSokomauu; Dirsctor of FFA, Sir PeterKeniloreaj Director of SOPAC, Mr PhifippMuller; ho.Vics-Cbancellor of USP, hof.William Pattie; ald the Direstor of SPREP.

SPOCC members will next meet inBrisbane before the South Paci6c Foruo. inAr4ust 1994.

66e

It SPREf 's Fnylionmanl tGwslelltr

Ragtunal Adffiies

Pacific Island's Vulnerable Coastlinesat Centre of Regional Meetings

p mtecting the Pacific's vulner'- ablircoastlineswas theconcernof two recent regional meetings,ttre firetbeing held on 21 . 28 Feb'ruary in Apia, Westem Samoa.

the coastlines of Pacific islandcountries are extremelyvulnerableto erwion and destruction from cy'clones and etorm surges.

This destruction will only increaeeif the prediction of rising sea levelsand more cyclon es and storm surggsoccurE. As most people live on ornear the coast in.the islands, lead'ers are concerned about the effectsof this destruction on coastal vil'lages andlftarby urban areas andinduetries, eepecially tourism andagriculture.

At the last South Pacific Forummeeting in Nauru in July 1993,

SPREP, in consultation withSOPAC, was directed to conveneworkshops of officials and exPertson options for coastal protection.

First MeetingThirty particip ants from four0een

island countries and experts fromAustralia, New Zealand, Canada,SPREP and SOPAC met in Apia todiecuss the issues, problems andneeds for coastal protection in Pa.cific island countries. They alsoidentified appropriate future ac-tions requiredto act on these needs.

A follow-up action from the firstmeeting was a second, more gen'eral meeting for officials from mem'ber gwernments. These personnelreviewed the coastal protection sys'tems appropriate to the needs andcapacities of Pacific island coun'tries. This meeting was held on 16- 20 May 1994 in Suva, Fiji.

Appropriate SystemsThis secondmeeting recognised a

number of features for coastal pro'tection systems appropriate to the

Pacific islands. The need for efrec-tiVe coastal proteetion systems inthe region was due toincreaseduseof, andpressure on, the coastal zonefor infrastrueture, commercial, resi-dential and recreational uses.

Healthy coral reefs and undis-turbed beaches and mangtoves areNature's way of protecting a coast'tine, dnd are the best and most ef.fective coastal protection systems.However, with increased use andpressure on the coastal zone, andwith the lack of proper manage'ment the meeting noted that man.made protection structures mustnow be considered in certain situa'tions.

Effective man-made protectionstructures in the region requiredbroader considerations and long-term planning rather thlrn a'quick'fix" site-specific response to aprob'lem at aparticular time. Currently,man-made protection stmctures areoften for nasset protection" ratherthan "coastalprotection", since thesestructures can lead to degradationof the coastline eleewhere.

Needs and PrioritiesEight generalneeds were defined

at the first meeting, and furtherillustrated in presentations by mem.ber countriee'at the secbnd meet-ing. Ttre needs were ranhed inorder of importance in each coun-try. While all areas were regardedas being important, high islandsand atolls were recognised as hav.ing different priorities. However,all countries agreed that rectiffigdeficiencies in mapping and datacollection was a high priority.

The eight general areas of needare the:

f mnpping and collection of datato better understand physicaland biological processes incoastal uones;

f integrated management ofcoastal zones;

f education and public aware-nes8;

f, regulatoryregimes;

Econsideration of social andcultural practices;

! assessment of coastal sand andgravel resources;

f, consideration of economicissues;and,

E coastalengineering.

Better Planning isEssential

It was recognised that better long-term planning was required. Envi-ronmental impacts should be stud'ied and assessed before any devel-opment activity is allowed in thecoastal zone.

Forum Countries, and other is-land countries and territories rep.resented at the meetings, have alimited pool of e:rpertise in coastalprotection. Future national and'regional efforts will develop,strengthen and use this pool of ex'pertise.

Donor funds have. and will con'tinue to be, vitalto economic devel'ryment in the region's coastal zones.'Donor support isvital, and mustbesought, forproviding effective man'agement and protection of thecoastal zones. There will be sub.stantialposts in satisfring the needsidentified. It was suggested that toassist with proridin g zufficient fund-ing for coastal protection prog-rammoe, appropriate economic orfrnancial instruments should alsobe sought tohelp fund these needs.

Next Step:

Brisbane Forum MeetingThe draftresolutions from the sec-

ond meeting will be considered bythe next Meeting of the South Pa-cifrc Forum in 1-2 August 1994, inBrisbane, Australia.

6€a

SPRFPT Envlonrnent Newsle tlar

Regional Activities

Forum Scientists Discuss Sea Level Riseand Glimate Ghange

.Q, cientists from Forum island" members in Polynesia, Micro.nesia and Melanesia have gatheredat three sub-regional meetings, inApia, Nadi and Honiara, to discusssea lwel rise and climate change inthe Pacific.

Government ministers from Fiii,Solomon Island and Western Sa-moa opened the training workshopsfor the South Pacific Sea Level andClimate Monitoring Project duringApril.

The ministers pointed out thatsea level and climate change arepriority environmental issues formany countries in the region. fireSouth Pacific Forum first raisedconcerns about man-made globalwarming andpossible sea level riseat the 1998 Forum Meeting. TheProject developed from this meet-ing.

Sea level andclimate change wasalso amajor point for diecussion atthe Rio Earth Summit in 1992, andat the Bdrbados Conference on smallislandstates in April-May 1994.

The South Pacific Sea Level andClimate Monitoring Project involvesthe long-term monitoring of, andressarch into, chmges in sealevelgand climate. The proceesed datafrom this monitoring and reseirchis then. made available to partici-pating Pacific island countries.'

SPREP'e Climate Chan ge Officer,Dr Chalapan Kaluwin, stated thatconsiderable amounts of scientificinformation and data will be dis-tributed by the Prdect. He men-tioned that the training workshopallowed qudlified personnel totranslate information into a formthat can be more easily interpretedby decision- makere in Forum is-land gwernments.

"The infomation frrm rhir pmj ectwill assist the gorernmente of theregion develop app ropriate policiesto reduce greenhouse gq8 €miasims,eo minimising or mitigatinggealevelrise and changrng plimate in theregionn, eaid Dr Kaluwin.

lhe workshop, organised by theSouth Pacifi c RegioalEbvironnentProgramme (SPnEn, abo includsdresourrce personnel and technicdaasistance from theNationat fidalFacility, or NfF, at the FlinderaUniversity, Adelaide; Australia.NIF hae establighed a seriss ofelwen sqhistic4ted nonitoning sta-tions in elwen Fonuh member orm-tries over thepast two yeam.

lihis AUS$ ?-million pmject isfunded by the [ugtrnlian Govern-ment for the Forum Island cOun-tries' '

o,,c

Understanding Changing ClimatesVital for Paeific Island Industries

nderstanding changes in theregion's climate is vital for agri-culture, fi sheries, tourism, public

works and development planning, saidWestern Samoa's Director of Agricul-ture, Afi.oga T. S. Aveau. He was ad-

. dressing the recent moetiug of climateerperts in Apia, Western Samoa. MrAveau also noted the importance of theregion's meteorological senrices to de-livering vital weather serwices to Pa-cific island peoples.

The Director was welcoming mem-bers of the Project Co-ordinating Com-mittee Meeting of the Pocific Meteoro-logicol Services Project. Ttris meeti-ng,held on 16 June, reviewed the Project'sactivities, which incl ude improvin g me-teorological equipment and providing

. training for the region's meteorologicalssrvices.

The improved equipment and train-ing will be used to address conceruaassociated with natural and mau-madeclimate changes.

Aveau praised Australia for under-taking and funding this importantproject, and also aclmowledged the a6-sistanoe of other international part-ners in meteorology, ineluding NZ.

One vital piece of equipment for moni-toring weather conditions, pgrticularlycyclonos, isthe barometer, which isusedto measur€ air pressure. The old mer-cur5r barometeris the curr€nt standardused in most Pacific islauds. These.arenow difficult ;e 6ointain, and consti-tute a health and environment prob-lem, as mercury is highly toxio. Re-moving these old barometers waa con-sidered a high priority by the meeting.Nern equipment from Australia, includ-i-ngbarometers, will be installed aroundthe region.

Eryerts will visit T\lvalu, Kiribati,Cook Islands and Papua New Guineaearly next year to dotermine their re-quirements for equipment. Further.equipment for all 10 oountries in theprojeot (which includse Fiji, Solomon

Islands, and Wegtern Sanoe) will bspurchased duriug tbe project es needsare identified

The second oomponent of the Projeotis staff training, and inspeotion of me-teorological fqcilities. Projeot ManagerDawu Thistlethwaite, fiom the Austra-lian Buneau of Meteor.ologl, stated{lhatthis would commenco when e trainerwas rrcruited for the Project.

This trnining, over 2 and ihdfyearsin 10 countries, will further educatemeteorological staff in establishiug andmaintaining a meteorological monitor-ing progrqmme. Tlaining will be con-ducted in-country to.ensurc that allstaff are properly instructsd in usingand maintaining their own eguipment.

The Pacifro Meteorologicd SersicesProject will be the basis for a regionclimate monitoring network forthe nextcenturT, a valuable and vitd need forPacific island countries in their plan-ning for futuie aatural and man-madeolimate changes.

The project will be reviewed st itsclose in 18 months, by AIDAB, to de-termine any future needa.

etDc

13 SPREPb Envfonmenf l,lewsbffer

Regbnal Acttuitles

Pacifi c Sustainable DevelopmentNetwork Gommences Work

,Tr he Pacifrc Sustainable Devel-r opment Network (PSDN) re-cently mmmenced work, with a Sec-retariat initialy based at SPC inSrnra.

With th e fin ancial assistance fromUNDP, the PSDN was setup to en-hance information exchange andcommunication channels betweenPacific island organisations andNGOe. These groups are commit-ted to co-operate in promoting sus-tainable development, especially atthe community level

the PSDN will address theneedsof communities in sustainable de-velopment, by imprwing theii ac-cees tonational, regional and globalinformation sewices, and imprwednetworkin g between organisationsalready dedicated to providing sus-tainable development informationto these communities.

The widespread PEACESAT sys-tem and Pactok (a low-cost commu-nications system) will be used toaccess reg:iond and global databasesand information systema, an in-portant part of the SDN. The infor-mation gained will be aimed at localcommunities, as well as nationalextension eervices and NGOg.

Accegs to InterNet, a computer-ised global information network, is

prodded either through a PEACE-SATlinktoUH, in Hawa\ orUSPin Suva. Pactok will be a comple-mentary computer communicationssystem, avail,able to all Pacific is-land countries thmugh normal tele-phone lines.

Pactok presentlyoperates in PNG,and to a limited extent in Fiji,Vanuatu and Western Samoa. Ituses.personal computers and mo-dems and is simple to learn andoperate.

Pactok can send electronic mail,computer nconferences" and filesand documents at a relatively lowcost, which iB imnortant for the long.term zustainability of any computercommunication system for Pacificisland countries. Pactok also pro-vides access to InterNet and theAssociation for Pmgressive Commu-nications (APC) networks.

I'he Pacific SDN will stimuiateand provide support for extendingPactok to a number of Pacific islandcountries. The PSDN Secretariat iswellpositioned to provide this train-ing, as it will initially and primarilyfocus on using computer communi-catbns.

' fiom SPCAgicufture News/efter,June 1994.

First Pacific SDN

fraininginSuva

The Pacific SDN commenced itstraining activities in April with atrainingworkshop on Pactok, whichwae hosted by SPC and the AsiaFoundation at the SPC office inSuva, Fiji.

The Pactok network prorides anaccessible and affordable electronicmail (e-mail) system for the'Pacificislands. Consequently, NGOe andothers expressed considerable in.terest in Pactok. They also commit-.ted computer hardware to the sys-tem, and became members ofPactok.

The workshop participants rec.ommended thatthe PSDN:

S use Pactok as one of its commu-nication systems;

fi finalise a project propoeal toassist the setting up andtraining of stafr at Pactok"hostn and NGO user sites inFiji, Vanuatu and WesternSamoa; and,

f develop guldelines, includingobjectives, membershipr tn€ilI-ber responsibilities, and amanagement committee, for usd'by the local Pactok "host".This training and initial support

is essential for continued use andgrowth of Pactok.

Assistance is also being soughtfor the first year for adrninistrationand poting charges, the Pactok net-work hub, gateway redundancy andamortization of the hub's equip-ment'

e e€,nmtrng

NGQ Small GrantsPrcgrammeIlonor:

GEF (UNOP, UNEP, World Bank)Whrt for?

Support for rmall-scale activities thatpromotc local solutions to globalenvironmental problems.

Am:To idcntlfy and demonstrate

communfty-based approaches to reducethroatc to thc global environment ifrcpDcatrd widely over time.

Amunt upto US$ 50,000.

Who ior?community groups, NGOs and NGO

networks;Prlorlty rrc.r:

global warming, protectingbiodiversity, international waters andozone depletion.Grlterla:1. promote community participation in

project design, implementation andevaluation;involve local organisations;focus on woman and indigenousgroups:use local sciEntific and technicalresources; and,

5. provide for local capacity building.

For morE information, contact:(W'astem Pacific)Residenl RepfesentrtveUNDP Office,Prtvate Mall BagsuvA, Ftji.Fax: (679) 301 718or(CentralPacifc)Resldent RepresentaliveUNDP OfficePrlvab irall BsgAPIA, \Abatem Samoa.Fax: (665) 23 555

2.3.

4. aes14SFREFS Envlonnpnl I'lawsletler

New Information Directory Nears completionp eople talk about modern times- asthe"Ageoflnformatiur', Ex-perts also complain of "informationoverload", and ofbeing "buried un.der paper".

In the Pacific, however, there isan additional problem . it could betermed the "tyranny of distance".There is much information avail-able regarding the Pacific islandsthat could be used to address envi-ronmehtal and development prob-leins, but it is often scattered aroundthe region and the globe, in a num-ber of institutions. It may also befifficult to obtain due to copynghtand ownership restrictions.

This is most true of spatial data -information based on maps, aerialphotographs, satellite images anddigital data. For any one country,this information could be held bynational agencies, regional organis.ations, former colonial administra-

troinirg Courses ail Worfu frops

Whd? G/S fo r Reso u rce Dacrsrons.

Tlme: 30/1-24ru55.place: ANU, Canberra, AustraliaWho? Professional managers in resource

management.ObJec{lvec:Participants willbe able to:1. understand the principles and

potential of GIS as a toolforresource management;

2. develop skills in using GIS to store,retrieve and analyse complexresource and environmental data;and,

3. develop skills in applying GIS to realworld decisions for resourcemanagement and planning

For more information; contac.t:Mr George GolletANUTECH LtdGPO Box 4Canbena, ACT. m01.Australla.Fax: (616) 2rt9 5875J 257 ll|(Xt

Regional Adivities

tions, regional teaching institutions,consultants or libraries.

This scattering of informationleads to the real poaeibility of dupli-cation and wasted efforts and funds.

T\e Prcifia Enuironmental andN otur aJ R e s our c e I nfor malin n Ca, -fre @ENRIC), based at SPREP, isworking on this problem with a num.ber of national and regionalorgan'isations scattered around theregion. These organisations aremembers of a regional Gmgrqhi,cInforrnation Systems (GIS) UsersGroup, who are collaborating withSPREP and Int dearc Rcswrch Newhaland Ltd to produce th e P a cificI nfonnatian D irectory. -

This Directory lists the sourcee ofspatial information available in theregion -maps, GIS andremotesens-ing data and aerial photographs. Italso Iists organisations and trainedpersonnel who house and use this

information, the formate and eoft-ware they use, and other usefuIinformatiur to encourage data shar.ing and exchange.

The firet edition of the Directoryie nearin g completion, and will soonbe distributed to members of theGIS Users Group and others in theregion, iosludin g envimnment anddwelopnent agencies. It will bepublished as a book and as a set ofapprvpriate database files on com.puter diskette.

It is intended that thie so-called"metabaser' (information about in.formation) will be regularly upd.atedby regional GIS information users.

For more information, contact:The Dir"ector, SPREP,PO Box 240,Apia, Western Samoa.Tel.: (686) 2L929Fax: (685) 20 281E-mail: [email protected]'

66€

Namez Managament and Development ofCoasta/ Fl'shen'es.

T|nte: 2411O-25111195Plrca: USP, Suva, FijiWho? Fisherfolk, policy makers, middle

management in governmentagencies, NGOs and privateenterprise.

Otfec'tlver:Participants will:1. analyse factors that influence the

exploitation of coastal fisheries;2. highlight the complex physical and

cultural aspects of the coastalenvironment, and the need for anintegrated approach to developingcoastal fisheries:

3. investigate ahernative strategies formanaging and developing qustainablefisheries; and,

4. focus .on special groups such aswomen to enhance their roles in self-reliant fisheries.

For more information, contact:Dircctor, lOl-Sor.rth PacificPO Box 1168suvA, FiJi.

Tal.: (679) so4 556Fax; (679) 305 559E+nail: [email protected]

tilhafi I ntem ation al Devel o pm entTrainlng Programme

Tlrp: 7/94 onwardsPlace: UNE, Armidala, AustraliaWho? Middle management

professionals.Programmcr, and Tlme:NGOsrh Development

.27n -30t8t1594Ag ro-fo re st ry M a n a g e m ent

16t1-17ru95Wafer Resourcrs Planning andManagament 8t3 - 4t4t95Urban and Rural Planning and LocdDevalopment Policy 3/5 - 66/95National Park and Wldlife Management

20t9-24110t95For more information, contact:

Program DirectorInternatlonal Developmont TrainingProgrammePQ Box U298, UNEArmidale. NSW. 2351.Auslralia-Tef: (6167) 73324€Fax: (6164 73 3799E-mail: [email protected]

ea6

SPREPI Envlronme nt Newsle fler15

8ooks, vddcos, Cidos aadolhar matcials fromSPREP and otherenvz,ronmentalorgafisafions in thePacific igands.

SPBEP CataloguesRevised for 1994

SPREP has revised its cataloguesof technical and meeting rePorts,and education, extension and train'ing materials, which includes vid'eos and posters.. A reminder alsothat all SPREP publications are freeof charge for SPREP's Pacific is'land member countries.

Write to the Director of SPREPfor your copies of these and allSPREP publications and videos.

New SPREP Books.A, number of meeting and techni-

cal reports have recently been pub-lshed by SPREP, including:

l0 Flrst C,oos tal P ro tzctian luleeting(SOPAC Misc. Pub. 175) -

SPREP andSOPAC;

E E nuir onmcntal' G uifulinc s f orHorvesti.ng Corol Reefs (SRS '

75) - S. Wells, P. Holthw and J.Maragos;

E I mplbatinns of Aimatn ClwWeond Seo Level Rise i& Palil)(SRS 76) andF,9l1(SRS 77t;

EErwrgy Auditfor SPREP Offue(SRS 70) - Greenpeace;

E E s tuar i,nc C r o co dih in Vantnta(SRS 74) - Marcus Chnmbersand D. Esrom;

EtProceedi.ngs of flth SouthPadfi.cConfererwe on Noture Protcctionan d C o ru er u otinn, Nuku' alofa,Tonga, Vol. I and 2'ed. AFarago;

E Stre. n g tlwnin g Enu ir onm entnlLegislotionin thc Paeiftc ReSinn- ed. Ben Boer.

Allpublications are the results ofSPREP projects and activities inthe region, which may present use-ful examples in theii fields.

New SPREP VideosVideos are also an effective form

of media for showing case studies.SPREP, with assistance from theMedia Unit at USP's Institutc. forRes ear ch, E xt ens in n. on d Tlainingin Agrftulture, has produced twofine examples in:

@ Wostc Not, WantNot - profit-able waste oil recycling inWestern Samoa; and,

@ TheWrath of "Vol" - the effqctsof Cyclone uVal' in WesternSamoa.

These were produced for .majorinternational conferences to displaythe attempts of Pacific islanders toaddress our environmental prob-lems. Wosle Not, WantNoc also hasa supplementary brochure to de-scqibe the oil recycling process inmore detail. @se

3.Strs

\$/ao\s

llclrh\)sGfFr.o.strtlr.lhq)

NeutSffiatS$R6A

Dr Andrew Tilling is the newBin div er s ity O ff ir er ( S o cin - ec orn m'rcs) in the SPBCP based at SPREP.

Andrew hailsfrom New Zealand,and holds a PhD in social forestry.He has extensive experience in eom'munity forestry, project manage'ment, rural development, land'useplanning and resource managementand market research. His has expe'rience in Cook Islands, Kenya,Malawi, Nepal, Tanzania and Viet'nam,

Sue Miller is the most recentrecruit at SPREP. She comes fromNZ, where she was a consewationscientist and pmgramme managerwithWWF-NZ.

She has an M.Sc in Ecology, andwide experience in areas cweredby SPREP's sfecies consenrationprogrrmme. Her most.recent as-

signnent was helping to establishthe Southern Ocean Whale Sanctu'ary. She replaces Adrienne Faragoas Bbdiuersity Officer (Speeics).

Gary Spiller is an ecologist andenvironmental platrner who joinedSPREP in April as the newBio diu er sity O ffrc er (Bip diu er s iW ),

Gary hails from Canada, and hasa Masters of Science in Biology(Ecology) from McGill University,Montreal. Gary has worked for anumber of donor agenciee in Palauand PNG, as well as Belize, Brazil,China, Ctilonbia, Indonesia, India,Malaysia, Pakistan and Philippines.

Lucas Dosung joined SPREPfrom Matheson Library, UNIIECH,in Lae, PNG, where he was theDeputy Librarian. He has a Mas'ters in Library Studies from UH,Hawaii, USA, and experience in a

number of specialist librariesaround PNG. He is the C-aqrdfunnrfor the new SPft.EP Librory andInformatinnCentre.

Satui Bentin is the Seninr Li-brory dssistotr,t, in the new SPREPLibrary and Information Centre.She is now completin g a B. Lib. Stud.from Canberra University, Austra-lia, and comes with extensive expe-rience from the USP libraries inWestern Samoa and Fiji.

Other new staff starting atSPREP include Amy Grace Tielu(Ad,ministration Offi,cer) - replac'ing Ueligi-tone Sasagi, UsugafouoValasi and Buta Leutele (Offi,ce

AssrsConfs), Maria Cavanagh(Conference Assistant) andQuandovita Reid (Registry As-slsronf). SPREP welcomes all newstaffmembere. E{06

SPREPs Envfonmenl Newsletier 16

fuIeetings'94

Meeting Venue OfEcer

July28 - 29 Forum Officials Meeting

August| - 2 Sub-regional Meeting on Coastal Management Training NeedsI - 2 2nd TMAG Meeting for SPBCP1 - 4 South Pacific Forum Meeting, and Dialogue Partners Meetin!4 - 5 4th Meeting for Regional Marine Turtles Conservation Project8 - 10 Regional Workshop on Pollution Prevention8 - 12 Climate Change and Environment Issues22 - 3l Intergovernmental Negotiating Comrnittee 9:

Convention on Climate Change

September5 - 13 International Conference on Population and Development12 - 16 EnvironmentalTeachers' TiainingWorkshopl5 - 22 SOPAC Annual Session19 - 30 Environmental MediaTrainingWorkshop

NovemberEarly Forum Officials Meeting7 - 18 CITES Conference- lst Meeting of Biodiversity Convention- Pacific BioNet Planning Meeting

February, 19966 - 17 Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee no. 10:

Convention on Climate Change

March,1905- First Conference of.Parties to the Convention on Climate Change

October3 - 5 2nd SPREP Regional Meeting of Meteorological Service Directors Nadi,.Fiji6 - 14 WMO Tropical Cyclone ProgrammeMeeting Nadi, Fijil0 - 14 Greenhouse'94 Wellington11- 13 ?th SPBEP Meeting Tarawa25 - 29 ESCAP Committee Meeting on Envimnment and Sustainable Dwelopment

South Pacific Conference ?

Brisbane

HoniaraApiaBrisbaneApiaNuku'alofaPort VilaGenwa

Cairo, EgyptSavai'i, W..Samoa

MajuroHonidra

Fomm Sec.

A SmithM.I. RotiForun Sec.S. MillerL, TulegaC. KaluwinC, Kaluwin

M. ChungG.G. SalesaSOPACG.G. Salesa

N.KoopN. KoopC. KaluwinSPREPBangkol.sPc

S. Miller

C. Kaluwin

Suva Forum Sec.Fort Lauderdale, USA SPREP

tbaSuva

Geneva

Germany C.IfuIuwin

17 SPREPs Envf onrncnl l{arvsblf .r

The Last Word...In this is cue ofEnvir,onment Newe,we address a growing and impor-tant debate in our region - the efi€ctof the rapidly gmwing tourism in-dusfy on fragile island environ-mente.

Opposins views beliwe the fur-ther dwelopment tourism will ei-ther eave our fragile island ocono-miee, or deetroy our island culturesandenvircnments, We look at someofthese issuesfromboth sides, andat a few examples of local tourieminitiatives that seek to protect andenhance the local environment.

The Borbdos Conferdnneon Bus-tainable dwelopment for islandcountries has come and gone. Westudy the implications of the Con-ference for Pacifrc island countries,andthe follow-up commitment andaction that ie required to achiwethe goals of the Actinn Progrommesigndd by most Facific.island gor-ernments at the Conference.

It has been eaid that informationispower, andthe Barbadoe Confer-ence recogniaed that eound, appro-priate information was vital to theachiwement of sustainable devel-qmentin smallisland states. ThePacific Sustahfrln Deuelnp mcntNelwork, which seeks to link exist-ing infomation sources in the re-gion with local Pacific communica-tions, has now commenced- A ie-port on its first workshop is in-cluded in thig issue.

.

fire. regular featuree also con.tinue, with upcoming conferencesand workshops, bmk rwiews andEnviroNews.

Please feel fre€ to send in eom-ments concerning the content andappearance of this Neurshttcr - thtsenables uB to imprrwe our service toyou.

KrceWlic,Wes WsdEd.itor

Pacific GovemmeDts and NGOg MakoStrong Iqrresgion at Barbadoe ........ 1

Tourism and the Pacifi c Islands .........,.... ZFlom t.he Direr*nrts llask g

Bouma, Fiji:A Study in Vilbge-based Tourism....6

Tourism a Viable Alternative forRural People ....................................... 6

Toorisn Blano Pq*ifilr? 7FlnwirnNawn IA logging Agreement to Save a For€st? 8New Villnoc-bssed Prniecf nClovernor Signs Lease for New Park ...,..9Rsgional Biodiversity Prog. Raviewed . l0Conferenc6s--. lOSanctuary for Pacific Whales ................ I IMore Co.operation, Less Duplication ... I IPacific Island's Vulnerable Coasttinos

et Oentra nf flacinn ol Moa+in m 1 tChnnging C[mat€s and Pacific Islan& l3Forrm Scientists and Climate Cthange. 14Pacific SDN Commenes lLF\mdino ItNew Infornation Dirertory ...,............... 16Training Courses .......,.... 16BookReview lf,Nrw StqffMaetina lOQd 1.1

ISSN:0?67 - 1962

Air MailStamp

Published by:South Paciffc Rcgional Environment Programme (SPREPI

P.O. Box 240, APIA, Wrrtom SamoaTelcphone: (+685) 21 929

Fax: .( + 8851 20 231E-mail: [email protected]

Printed Matter