The Pacific Way

From the onset of the COVID 19 pandemic, the Pacific Community has worked with donor agencies and partners to strengthen and safeguard the health of Pacific Islanders. Working with international agencies and local authorities, SPC, the World Health Organisation and the World Food Program helped provide much need medical and humanitarian resources to strengthen COVID 19 preparedness and response.

The Pacific Community (SPC)'s Centre for Pacific Crops and Trees (CePaCT) has won the 2022 Island Innovation award for Innovative Island Research. The award, which supported by the Clinton Global Initiative, was presented by Island Innovation, a global network that connects island stakeholders through digital communication and events. It is part of the rapidly increasing interest, recognition and investment being made in Pacific Food systems.   https://www.spc.int/updates/news/2022/05/the-pacific-community-centre-for-pacific-crops-and-trees-wins-island

As the Pacific region looks towards a post COVID economy, the potential of cocoa is seen as a valuable resource for small hold farmers. Known by local farmers as green gold, the quality of Pacific cocoa is increasingly being recognized internationally, and in some cases the resulting chocolate products have been ranked with some the the best in the world. 

The Pacific Community (SPC) has announced the appointment of Mereseini Rakuita as its ‘Principal Strategic Lead – Pacific Women’. Ms Rakuita will champion the organisation’s work on gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls to bring about the transformational changes required to improve the status of women and girls in the Pacific. “I’m deeply humbled and honoured to be appointed to this role to serve the women, men, girls and boys of this region and to bring about greater gender equality across the region. Success for Pacific Women Lead will take close collaboration and open dialogue with SPC colleagues, member governments, development partners and civil society including faith-based organisations and the private sector.  But I am confident that we share the same vision and that working together, we will achieve it.  I wish to give specific thanks for the support to my appointment from the women’s movements and civil society partners, including the warm messages from the Fiji Women's Crisis Centre, femLINKpacific, and the Fiji Women’s Rights Movement.” https://www.spc.int/updates/news/media-release/2022/03/mereseini-rakuita-announced-as-spcs-principal-strategic-lead

On Saturday 15 January 2022, the Hunga volcano erupted sending a plume of ash and volcanic gas 30 kilometers into the atmosphere and generating tsunami waves across the Pacific. The full impact of this eruption is still being assessed, but the greatest devastation occurred on islands of Tonga.

Tokelau is one of the smallest and most remote nations in the world, consisting of three coral atolls in the middle of the Pacific Ocean where clean drinking water is scarce. After years of research and field investigations, the Pacific Community’s Geoscience division has helped locate an abundance of fresh underground water which promises a brighter future for the people of Tokelau

CRGA 51 and the 12th Conference of the Pacific Community saw the adoption of new strategic plan for the organization and a new star on the SPC flag. We highlight some of the key outcomes in this special podcast.

Traditional and cultural ceremonies in the Pacific would not be complete without a feast, which almost always includes pork and pork products. It is difficult to imagine a function without it. However, the Pacific pig industry is now under threat and an all out effort is being undertaken to ‘Save our bacon’.

The importance of securing and ensuring sustainable use of the regions agricultural commodities, fisheries resources and forests was the underlying focus at the Seventh Regional Meeting of the Pacific Heads of Agriculture and Forestry Services (PHOAFS) held earlier this month. With a focus on food systems security, the region prepares to present a united voice at the inaugural UN Global Food System Summit and showcase how in the midst of the global pandemic the pacific people have and continue to persevere. The forum was hosted and chaired by the Government of Fiji in partnership with the Pacific Community (SPC), Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and the Fiji Ministries of Agriculture and Forestry.

Building on the successful implementation of the Strengthening Water Security of Vulnerable Island States program, the Pacific Community is assisting member states to improve access to clean water sources and safe hygiene. The initial five-year sub-regional project supported atoll countries to build the skills , systems and basic infrastructure to better anticipate, respond to, and withstand the impacts of drought, while carrying out ground water assessments. In 2019, SPC brought together member states, donor agencies and partners to map out the next phase of assistance for targeted countries.

The 14th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women and the 7th Meeting of Pacific Ministers for Women will be held from 27-29 April and 4 May respectively. Hosted by French Polynesia, this year’s conference and ministers meeting will be delivered via a blended approach of in-person and virtual interaction given that travel restrictions are still being observed across the region due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Funding support for this event has been provided by the Governments of Australia and the Spotlight Initiative. In this first of a special two part edition of the Podcast we heard from the host nation and regional women leaders on the challenges for Pacific women and expectations for the Triennial. 

Sigatoka Valley is known as the 'Salad Bowl' of Fiji proving a majority of the islands fresh fruits and vegetables. But this highly fertile region also attracts hungry pests eager to take a bite out of the bowl.  The Pacific Community through its Land Resources Division is now better equipped to prepare and respond to these threats through its the first of its kind, plant health laboratory. Commissioned in later October 2020 the lab is housed at the SPC Campus in Narere in Fiji and will allow Pacific Island Countries to develop controls for emerging biosecurity threats, including pests and diseases. Designed to bolster regional capacity, the plant health laboratory enables SPC scientists to study various pests and diseases requiring a high level of biosecurity containment, such as insects, fungi, viruses, and bacteria. In this episode we travel with plant health specialists to the Sigatoka Valley and talk with farmers about measures to protect their crops. 

Bula, bon jour, and welcome to a new season of the Pacific Way Podcast. In this season opener, we take a journey back to 2020 and look at how, we as people of the pacific are working to overcome the challenges and impacts of COVID 19. Despite the difficulties, the Pacific Community has continued to serve its members through innovation and determination thanks to the strong support and collaboration from donor partners, CROP agencies and the World Health Organisation. Renewed partnerships with the Governments of Australia, New Zealand and the European Union will mean better coordinated assistance for member countries with focus on increased health capacity, food security, diversification of aquaculture and agriculture for income generation. We also explore how the region came together to initiate the Pacific Humanitarian Pathway and review some of the new projects earmarked for implementation in 2021.

The European Union (EU) and the Pacific Community (SPC) have today launched three new projects that will help address the social and economic impacts of COVID-19, whilst supporting longer-term economic recovery and health benefits for the Pacific region. The EUR 1.5 million Pacific Regional Integrated Food and Nutrition Security Initiative to COVID-19 (PRISCO19) will provide immediate support for food and nutritional security across 12 Pacific Island countries, while the Safe and Sustainable Drinking Water for Kiritimati Island (EUR 6.2 million) will improve access to clean and safe drinking water in the Republic of Kiribati and the Sustainable Energy and Accompanying Measures (SEAM) Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Project (SEAM – REEE) (EUR 11.6 million)  will improve access to sustainable energy security for the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM).

The recently introduced Pacific Humanitarian Pathway on COVID-19 (PHP-C) was in focus this month with the first flight of medical supplies departing Nadi, Fiji bound for Port Moresby in PNG. The cargo consisted of 44 cubic metres of essential medical supplies. We speak to  the Tuvalu High Commissioner in Fiji, the Secretary-General of Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS),  the Pacific Director of the World Health Organisation, the High Commissioner of Australia to Fiji, and SPC's own Deputy Director-General, on the significance of the flight and the impact of PHP-C for the region. 

The two-week Women in Agriculture Campaign concludes today with an awards ceremony recognising the hard work of Women who have contributed more than 15 years of service towards the Pacific Community’s (SPC) Land Resources Division (LRD). Collectively, the four women awarded today have more than 80 years of experience in the agriculture field, ranging from programme management to working with genetic resources at LRD’s Centre for Pacific Crops and Trees (CePaCT). Over the two-week campaign SPC has showed the work of these women with the aim to inspire more women and girls to join the different aspects of the agriculture sector but more importantly, bring the work that women do in the agriculture sector to forefront and recognise their contributions to the Pacific’s most important commodity, agriculture.

Ensuring Food security in the midst of COVID-19 has become a priority across the Pacific, with limited imports increasing the demand for local staples. However, the instinct for survival and self-sufficiency is  resulting in a growing number of individuals looking into the potential of tilapia farming in the Fiji Islands.

This week the Pacific Community (SPC) handed over 350kg vegetable seeds and 400 tissue culture plants to the Fiji Ministry of Agriculture (MOA). The event was part of Pacific Seeds for Life (PS4L) and represented the projects first contribution towards the Fiji Government’s relief efforts for TC Harold and the  global pandemic COVID-19. https://www.spc.int/updates/news/media-release/2020/05/seeds-handover-to-fiji-government-and-launch-of-new-regional

Some reflections on this years Head of Fisheries Meeting, held virtually under the cloud of COVID-19. 

The arrival of COVID-19 in the Pacific is changing the way the region works. In this edition of the Podcast we hear how SPC is adjusting to the crisis, while ensuring that its core work continues to progress.