Press Releases | Niue Earth Watch

Samoa, as Chair of AOSIS, highlights human health risks at INC-3 in Nairobi

Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) · November 14, 2023

14 November 2023, Nairobi Kenya - Samoa, as the Chair of the 39 Small Island Developing States of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), continues to amplify the One Pacific Voice calling for urgent attention and action to end the scourge of...

At midway point of INC-3, Cook Islands continues to push for ambitious treaty

Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) · November 18, 2023

17 November 2023, Nairobi Kenya - At the midway point of the third session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-3) to develop an international legally binding instrument (ILBI) on plastic pollution, including in the marine...

Zero draft of plastics treaty under the microscope as INC-3 opens in Nairobi

Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) · November 14, 2023

13 November 2023, Nairobi Kenya - Pacific delegations from 14 Pacific countries have travelled far and wide to be in Nairobi, Kenya, the home of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), this week. They are on a mission to amplify the One...

Nauru highlights microplastics risks in Nairobi

Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) · November 17, 2023

16 November 2023, Nairobi Kenya - The risks of micrcoplastics to marine, environment and human health should be a major consideration for negotiators in Nairobi Kenya as they sift through the Zero Draft text and the Synthesis Report of an...

SPREP partners with SPTO to develop single-use plastic standards and certification programme

Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) · October 31, 2023

30 October 2023, Papeete, Tahiti - In a significant move towards a more sustainable and resilient future for Pacific tourism, the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) has announced a strategic partnership with the...

PRESS RELEASE – VISIT OF THE UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY-GENERAL, H.E ANTONIO GUTERRES, 21-23 AUGUST 2024

Government of Samoa · October 24, 2024

Samoa hosted the United Nations Secretary-General, His Excellency Antonio Guterres on his official visit from 21st to 23rd August 2024. The UN Secretary-General’s visit to Samoa and the Pacific region not only brings global attention to the severe...

SPEECH FROM THE THRONE: HIS EXCELLENCY REVEREND DAVID TIVA KAPU, GOVERNOR GENERAL OF SOLOMON ISLANDS

Solomon Islands Government · August 13, 2024

SPEECH FROM THE THRONE HIS EXCELLENCY REVEREND DAVID TIVA KAPU, GOVERNOR GENERAL OF SOLOMON ISLANDS 12 AUGUST 2024 OPENING REMARKS The Hon. Speaker of the National Parliament of Solomon Islands; Your Lordship the Chief Justice; The Hon. Prime...

Address by Prime Minister Hon. Fiame Naomi Mataafa at the Farewell reception for the outgoing UN Resident Coordinator

Government of Samoa · February 18, 2025

SAMOA, February 18 - Taumeasina Island Resort, Tuesday 18 February 18:30pm Talofa lava and good evening to you all. I am happy to join you this evening to bid farewell to Mr. Themba Kalua, who has served with dedication and commitment as the...

‘They told us plastics would make life easy, now studies have found plastics in people’

Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) · 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,...

Samoa, as AOSIS Chair, encouraged by work of Pacific SIDS in plastics treaty negotiations

Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) · February 16, 2024

15 February 2023, Auckland New Zealand - The work to strengthen the capacity of Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS) to engage and amplify the one Pacific voice in sessions of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an...

PACRES project helps Solomon Islands restore Honiara Botanic Gardens to former glory

Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) · June 19, 2023

19 June 2023, Honiara Solomon Islands - The Botanic Gardens in Honiara is an important space for Solomon Islands. Spread over an estimated 19 hectares, the gardens showcase a range of local and exotic plant species and provides a sanctuary for...

Pacific countries endorse Guiding Framework for Invasive Species Management

Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) · October 1, 2023

29 September 2023, Apia Samoa - Invasive species are a threat to Pacific communities, they are destructive to native biodiversity and the natural environment and have major socio-economic impacts on communities and national development. Considered...

Vanuatu, a world leader in the fight against plastic, remains hopeful at the INC2

Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) · 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...

Fiji committed to global cooperation for an ambitious and robust plastics treaty

Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) · 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...

Press Release – Fourth SPREP Executive Board Meeting opens in Samoa

Government of Samoa · September 3, 2024

4 September 2024, Apia Samoa – The crucial role played by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) to ensure a resilient Pacific environment sustaining our livelihoods and natural heritage in harmony with our cultures...

Solomon Islands Implements Landmark Ban on Single-Use Plastics

Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) · September 22, 2023

11 September 2023, Honiara - It’s the dawn of a new era in Solomon Islands as the country officially gazetted a regulation to ban certain types of single-use plastics. Starting from 1 September, the import, manufacture, distribution, supply and...

Unlocking waste as a resource through a Circular Economy

Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) · September 8, 2023

07 September 2023, Apia Samoa - The future of waste management is not about building recycling facilities and collecting litter from our oceans, the future of waste management is product design, designing out waste. The 31st Secretariat of the...

Factsheets to support Pacific negotiations for Plastics Treaty launched

Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) · September 6, 2023

5 September 2023, Apia – A series of factsheets aimed at supporting Pacific Island negotiators as they navigate through the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) process to negotiate a new International legally-binding instrument (ILBI) to...

Progressing the Mercury Free Pacific Campaign

Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) · September 11, 2023

08 September 2023, Apia Samoa - The impacts of mercury pollution can be challenging to identify and reverse but strategies to reduce mercury contamination are important because mercury can cause significant adverse effects to humans and ecological...

Improving data collection and management for informed decision making in the Pacific through the Inform project

Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) · September 4, 2023

4 September 2023, Apia – The milestones and achievements of the recently completed Global Environment Facility (GEF) funded Inform project, as well as its role in the transition towards well-informed, data-based decision making, were highlighted...