Willie John reports: Funding elusive for environment projects
By Charles Pitt, Political Editor

Small Island States in the Pacific Region, such as the Cook Islands, have an uphill battle when it comes to battling for funding assistance to implement programmes aimed at achieving a sustainable and pollution free marine environment.
A clean environment is critical for the livelihood, health and survival of communities in the Pacific Region.
These issues were raised by several Small Island States during the 2nd United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), inter-governmental review meeting of the Global Programme of Action (GPA) for the protection of the marine environment from land based activities, held in Beijing, China from 16-20 October 2006.
The Cook Islands delegate, Willie John, reported that the response from Forum authorities and Programme organizers to requests for funding and project related assistance, had not been positive.
John reported that for the first time there was a strong presence of delegates from Small Island States in the Pacific Region including Niue, Kiribati, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and Guam.
UNITED
During side-meetings organised for Small Island States, John said there was a united and collective voice from the region for the larger and more developed countries to listen and consider the pleas of the Pacific people.
Pacific people had a life long investment in the resources of its seas, lagoons and coastal environments. There was a call for a ban on dumping nuclear waste in the Pacific Ocean, limiting the intensity and use of chemicals used in agriculture and other land based activities.
The Beijing meeting focused on the issues of municipal wastewater, integrated coastal and oceans governance, building partnerships and financing the implementation of the GPA. The meeting noted the steady but slow progress in implementing the GPA at global, regional and national levels.
The GPA was adopted in 1995 and the first review of progress was held in Montreal, Canada from 26-30 November 2001.
So far, building the GPA into national programmes has been achieved in more than 60 countries. These countries have programmes and pilot projects underway, they have also developed national policies and initiatives relating to coastal resource management and development.
Strong leadership and political will remain vital to supporting the process of translating the GPA into national programmes in particular the implementation of long term activities reports Willie John.
The GPA has also found its way into other international initiatives. At the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development world leaders identified the importance of the GPA through the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation which called for advanced implementation of the GPA with particular emphasis on municipal wastewater, the physical alteration and destruction of habitats and nutrients.
Three priorities were to; (a) Facilitate partnerships, share technical knowledge and promote human and institutional capacity building with attention to the needs of developing countries.(b) Strengthen capacity of developing countries in development of their national and regional programmes needed to implement the GPA. (c) Elaborate regional programmes of action and improve links with strategic plans for sustainable development of coastal and marine resources.
In 2005 the International Meeting to Review the Implementation of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Development States adopted the Mauritius Declaration and the Mauritius Strategy for the Further Implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action.
STRATEGY
The Strategy calls for collaboration between Small Island Developing States and international development partners to fully implement the GPA particularly with the support of the UNEP by undertaking initiatives to specifically address the vulnerability of Small Island Developing States. The Cook Islands is a signatory to the Mauritius Strategy, being represented by Prime Minister Jim Marurai.
Given the uphill struggle Small Island Pacific States have had in sourcing funding, Willie John has recommended that;
(a) We continue to participate at further GPA meetings to keep up to date with developments;
(b) We continue to lobby for funding assistance for the Pacific Region; and
(c) Cook Islands interests further target the funding/conduct of Environmental Impact Assessments surveys to be carried out for the lagoons in the northern group in regards to harvesting or over harvesting of seawater products/resources. This is so to enable decisions to be made as to the sustainable management of the maritime resources/products and how present and future generations will benefit.
Willie John reports that while the Cook Islands has not secured any direct or immediate funding, the Co-ordination Office of the GPA has acknowledged our concerns and those of the other Small Island Pacific States.
It has undertaken to study and consider them.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Wilkie Rasmussen told the Times on Friday he fully supports the recommendations made by Willie John.

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