Press Releases
Looking for more press releases? Explore our full press release archive by date to access past announcements, news updates, and media releases published on Niue News Network.
Punching above its weight, Pacific leads calls for ambitious targets to end global plastic pollution
Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)
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June 2, 2023
Q and A with Mr Sefanaia Nawadra, Director-General of SPREP. 1 June 2023, Paris France - The first scientific findings of marine plastic debris were published in 1972 and reported on small plastic particles found in the Sargasso Sea. Ten years...
‘Is that the world we want to bequeath our grandchildren?’ UN Ocean Envoy laments plastic crisis impact on Ocean
Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)
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June 2, 2023
01 June 2023, Paris France - As the negotiations pick up speed at the second session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee charged with producing an international legally binding instrument to control plastic pollution, including in the...
The Pacific Islands articulate their asks in the new Plastic Treaty
Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)
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June 2, 2023
1 June 2023, Paris France - Many of us know it as just ‘plastic’, or ‘single-use plastic’ or even ‘micro-plastics’ but for those now negotiating a plastic treaty they know it as plastic polymers, “virgin” plastics and even “secondary” plastics....
Solomon Islands calls for global plastic production reduction, plans national plastic ban
Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)
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June 2, 2023
31 May 2023, Paris France - The pristine beaches, vibrant forests and colourful reefs of 992 islands of the Solomon Islands are threatened by increasing plastic litter arriving on its shores, and from discarded plastic waste locally. In the...
Fiji committed to global cooperation for an ambitious and robust plastics treaty
Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)
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June 1, 2023
31 May 2023, Paris France - The voice of Fiji was heard during a meeting of 193 governments tasked with the responsibility of developing a legally binding agreement to address the plastic pollution crisis. The second Intergovernmental Negotiating...
Pacific Women Negotiators take the lead
Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)
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June 2, 2023
Ms Anama Solofa, Lead Negotiator on Ocean Issues, Alliance of Small Island States 1 June 2023, Paris France - More than 190 governments are now negotiating a new global treaty to end plastic pollution through an Intergovernmental Negotiation...
Australia reaffirms support for Pacific countries, commits to ambitious plastics treaty
Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)
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June 1, 2023
31 May 2023, Paris France –Australia has reiterated its commitment to negotiating an ambitious and legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution by 2040. The commitment during the opening plenary of INC-2 at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris...
Vanuatu, a world leader in the fight against plastic, remains hopeful at the INC2
Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)
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June 1, 2023
31 May 2023 Paris France - Global leadership in the battle against single-use plastic was shown by Vanuatu when the Pacific Island nation became the first in the world to ban plastic straws in 2018. Now five years on, Vanuatu has joined the call...
We have no time to lose, AOSIS implores plastics treaty negotiations
Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)
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June 1, 2023
31 May 2023, Paris France – The Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) has lent its support to calls for urgent attention to the formulation of a treaty to address plastic pollution, including in the marine environment. With French President His...
‘They told us plastics would make life easy, now studies have found plastics in people’
Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)
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June 1, 2023
31 May 2023, Paris France - When Mr Pawa Limu grew up in Papua New Guinea (PNG), life in his village was simple. He was raised in a close-knit community where people co-existed peacefully and in harmony with nature. Survival in terms of food,...
Dealing with chemicals in plastics must be part of the global action on plastic pollution
Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)
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May 31, 2023
30 May 2023, Paris, France – Overwhelming evidence globally shows that the toxic chemical, additives and pollutants found in plastics have serious risks to human and planetary health. Findings from a recent United Nations Environment Programme...
Cook Islands and Federated States of Micronesia join over 50 countries calling for an end to plastic pollution by 2040
Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)
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June 1, 2023
30 May 2023, Paris France – Two Pacific Island countries, the Cook Islands and Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), have joined Ministers from 56 countries to sign a Ministerial Statement calling for an end to global plastic pollution by 2040....
Pacific Tourism Organisation Announces New Digital Champions Program
Pacific Tourism Organisation
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June 1, 2023
The Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO), is pleased to announce newly appointed Pacific Digital Champions, under the New Zealand government-funded Pacific Digital Tourism Transformation Project (Phase 2). In support of the SPTO Digital Strategy...
Pacific SIDS state their case for a robust and ambitious treaty to address plastic pollution
Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)
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June 1, 2023
31 May 2023, Paris France – The Pacific region is world-renowned for its pristine beaches, turquoise waters, vibrant forests and colourful reefs. While this postcard image remains, its environment has been contaminated by exorbitant amounts of...
Celebrating 30 years of SPREP in the Cook Islands
Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)
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May 31, 2023
Reflecting upon our past to help build our future was a key message amplified at a special event commemorating the thirtieth anniversary of the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) in the Cook Islands. The celebration...
The Pacific Voice heard as the world builds a new Plastics Treaty.
Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)
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May 30, 2023
Q and A with Mr Anthony Talouli of SPREP. 29 May 2023, Paris France - According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), our global community faces a plastic pollution crisis. We produce more than 430 million tonnes of plastic each...
Pacific Women heard at global negotiations for a plastic treaty
Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)
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May 30, 2023
30 May 2023, Paris France - Of just over 50 Pacific Islands delegates attending the global negotiations for a legally binding agreement on plastic pollution, half are women negotiators with one Pacific Island delegation consisting solely of women....
Every minute of today counts, Cook Islands appeals over INC-2 procedural impasse
Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)
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May 30, 2023
30 May 2023, Paris France - For Pacific island communities at the forefront of the impacts of the plastic pollution crisis, every minute of the day counts in the global effort to negotiate a legally binding instrument to address the problem. The...
Tuvalu shares uphill battle with plastic waste as INC-2 gets underway
Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)
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May 29, 2023
29 May 2023, Paris France - Of the 26 square kilometers of landmass that make up the Pacific Island of Tuvalu, 11 acres are taken up by their dumpsite. The space occupied by the dumpsite will continue to grow until a solution has been found....
Impact of plastic pollution on Pacific highlighted as France draws global attention to “ticking time bomb”
Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)
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May 29, 2023
29 May 2023, Paris France - The plight of Pacific countries, where entire communities are at risk from the scourge of the plastic crisis despite contributing less than 1.3 per cent to global plastic statistics, has been highlighted in Paris where...