Press Releases | Niue News Network

INC Chair expresses optimism for Ottawa negotiations to end with an agreed text

Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) · April 21, 2024

20 April 2024, Ottawa Canada - The Chair of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, Ambassador Luis Vayas Valdivieso, has...

Pacific Voice the “moral compass” in global push for plastics treaty

Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) · April 21, 2024

19 April 2024, Ottawa Canada - Three days from the opening of the fourth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment...

Pacific Islands Voices magnified in the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution

Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) · April 20, 2024

19 April 2024, Ottawa Canada - Of the 66 countries that are members of the High Ambition Coalition to end Plastic Pollution, four are from the Pacific Islands. A commitment was made in November last year by our Pacific Islands Forum Leaders to...

Tonga on the path to phasing out single-use plastics, recognises the importance of national actions in meeting future plastics treaty obligations

Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) · April 19, 2024

19 April 2024, Ottawa Canada - Despite the challenges associated with being a small island developing state, the Kingdom of Tonga is making significant strides towards addressing the very visible problem of plastics. Tonga will soon finalise a...

Three-point Q and A with Palau’s Chief Negotiator Ms Gwen Sisior

Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) · April 19, 2024

The fourth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment (INC-4), is taking place from 23 to 29 April 2024 in Ottawa, Canada....

Members of the Alliance of Small Island States comb through revised draft text of plastics treaty on eve of INC-4

Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) · April 19, 2024

18 April 2024, Ottawa Canada - Pacific members of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) have joined the group’s member states in Ottawa, Canada, to comb through the revised draft text of the international legally binding instrument on...

Voices of Pacific Women: Moe Saitala Paulo

Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) · April 18, 2024

Negotiating a Legally Binding Instrument on Plastic Pollution including in the Marine Environment The Fourth Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committing for a Legally Binding Instrument on Plastic Pollution including in the Marine...

Vanuatu as PSIDS Chair calls for stronger commitment to plastics treaty in build up to INC-4

Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) · April 17, 2024

17 April 2024, Ottawa Canada - Delegates from 14 Pacific countries have descended upon Ottawa, Canada, to finalise preparations for the fourth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding...

REMARKS by the Prime Minister, Hon. Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, at the dinner hosted by the WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific, Dr Saia Ma’u Piukala

Government of Samoa · April 16, 2024

SAMOA, April 16 - Tuesday 16 April 2024, Orator Hotel ___________________________________________________________ E manatu e le toe vāea le pa’ia o fala ‘o’oto, auā sā ma faigata ua afifio nei. Tau ia ina ou fa’apoipoi lili’a ile pa’ia ma le...

Journey to Ottawa: Pacific countries ready to negotiate revised draft text of plastics treaty

Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) · April 14, 2024

12 April 2024, Apia Samoa - To say waste generation - including plastic pollution is a global problem - would be stating things quite mildly. The statistics are in fact staggering, and even more concerning especially for Pacific countries who...

Pacific countries convene to align National Biodiversity Targets to Global Biodiversity Framework

Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) · March 27, 2024

18 March 2024, Nadi, Fiji – A historical agreement which sets out an ambitious agenda towards the vision of living in harmony with nature, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, was adopted during the 15th Conference of the Parties to...

3.3% GROWTH EXPECTED IN THE PACIFIC REGION IN 2024, 4% IN 2025 — ADB

Solomon Islands Government · April 12, 2024

3.3% GROWTH EXPECTED IN THE PACIFIC REGION IN 2024, 4% IN 2025 — ADB MANILA, PHILIPPINES (11 April 2023) — Economic growth in the Pacific is projected to moderate in 2024 before picking up in 2025, according to the Asian Development Outlook (ADO)...

ARTICLE – Circular Economy embraced and localized the Samoan way

Government of Samoa · April 12, 2024

Apia, SAMOA – The term, Circular Economy, may be considered a new concept by some, but evidence suggests that this has been widely practiced by many Samoans over the years. The Circular Economy refers to a system that aims to minimise waste and...

WTO members review six regional trade agreements

World Trade Organization · April 8, 2024

The Committee considered the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) under the Transparency Mechanism for RTAs. The Agreement, in force since 17 May 2010 and whose beginnings date back to 1977, establishes a...

Pacific Tourism Organisation Team up with the Cook Islands for Data Excellence Workshop

Pacific Tourism Organisation · March 25, 2024

This week, the Pacific Tourism Organisation has teamed up with the Cook Islands Tourism Corporation to conduct a week-long in-country training focused on data initiatives and the Digital Measurement and Benchmarking Dashboard under the Pacific...

PRESS RELEASE – Innovative experiment converts discarded fish skin into sustainable leather products

Government of Samoa · March 22, 2024

SAMOA, March 22 - 22 March, 2024 Apia, Samoa – An innovative experiment, known as the 100% Fish Use project, that successfully tested the conversion of discarded fish skin into sustainable fish leather and leather products, was showcased today by...

JOINT PRESS RELEASE – Strengthening CRVS system in Samoa promotes timely registrations, leaving no one behind.

Government of Samoa · March 20, 2024

Apia, Samoa – The transfer of vital IT equipment from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to the Samoa Bureau of Statistics (SBS), ensures the continuity of efforts to strengthen Samoa’s Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS)...

PRESS RELEASE – Enhancing Women-led MSME growth in Samoa

Government of Samoa · March 20, 2024

The Ministry of Commerce Industry and Labour (MCIL) along with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) hosted a panel discussion on 15th March 2024, showcasing good policy practices on women’s...

Pacific preparations for INC-4 provides common understanding on key issues ahead of Ottawa

Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) · February 27, 2024

16 February 2024, Auckland NZ - Fourteen Pacific countries have taken a step closer to finalise their preparations, with a common understanding of key issues, for the next round of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an...

Tonga Expands Efforts to Safeguard Biodiversity with New Ecological Restoration Site in Eua National Park

Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) · March 15, 2024

December 12, 2023: The Government of Tonga, with funding from the Global Environment Facility’s Regional Invasives Project (GEF6 RIP), continues to strengthen its commitment to ecological restoration by announcing the inclusion of part of the Eua...