Partnerships also crucial

Kosi Latu - Acting Director of SPREP
Talofa lava, malo e lelei, Ia orana. We are entering the first quarter of 2009 and the voyage into this new year has already been an event-filled one.  
We bade farewell to our Director Asterio Takesy at the start of this year and we are now on the path to seeking a new director who will be at the helm of some significant reforms that will be taking place at SPREP.
This selection process is currently underway and until we announce our new director, I have been tasked with the position of Acting Director.
This year is a very important one for the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme and our Pacific islands nations. We recognise that our partnerships are also very significant during this crucial year to bring about a stronger environment for the Pacific region and our communities.
One of our biggest challenges for this year is the planning process for the Regional Institutional Framework (RIF), which stems from an agreement by the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting, to rationalise the functions of the South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC) into SPREP and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC).
A series of meetings and consultations between the Chief Executive Officers of SPREP, SOPAC and SPC is already underway to determine the best way for this process to advance smoothly.
SPREP currently has two separate programmes which work with the Pacific islands nations to address environmental issues in their countries.  Pacific Futures works towards helping Pacific islands countries and territories to be able to plan and respond to threats and pressures on island and ocean systems.  
Island Ecosystems aims to manage islands resources and ocean ecosystems in a sustainable manner that will support life and livelihoods.  
SPREP is working with all partners involved to plan and ensure a smooth process, which will integrate parts of the SOPAC programmes into our work so that the delivery of environmental services to the region is strengethened.  
Message of hope: A decision is expected to be made at a joint meeting of the Governing Councils of SPREP, SOPAC and SPC to be held in Nadi, Fiji, mid-June.  
2009 has also been endorsed as the Pacific Year of Climate Change for which a number of campaign plans and activities are waiting to set sail.
‘Our Century’s Challenge, Our Pacific Response’ is the theme of this voyage, which we are keen to embark on.  
This year, we plan to help our Pacific communities grow in awareness on climate change issues with a number of different activities lined up as part of the campaign.  
We place much value in our partnerships as their strength will ensure that the communities in our region are those who benefit from the Pacific Year of Climate Change.
We would like to send the message of hope while adapting to climate change to lessen the impacts. Our Pacific identity is threatened by climate change, but this year our major focus within SPREP and the Pacific islands is the work to make stronger the capacity of our Pacific people to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change.  
The outcomes of our partnerships and collaborations are plentiful and wide reaching.  
Another strong affiliation has been recognised with SPREP embracing the ongoing understanding between our organisation and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
The continuing Memorandum of Understanding between the two has been signed and formalised this year. This partnership between the CBD and SPREP will lead to a combined action to address the loss of our Pacific biodiversity.  
Already this unity has resulted in a number of different workshops on indigenous communities, climate change, tourism and biodiversity.  
The success of which is extremely clear with the investment in our Pacific people to build their capacity so their work on the ground is enhanced.
This year, SPREP starts a four-year project that will see the organisation become the Pacific regional hub for an international project on building capacity on multilateral environment agreements.
The European Commission is funding a programme in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific states. The United Nations Environment Programme has been designated with the overall coordination of this initiative.
Different Pacific islands nations have become party to the different multilateral environment agreements. These international agreements guide the work done on the ground in the Pacific nation countries. However, not all Pacific islands are party to all of the same agreements.  
The UN Convention on Biological Diversity guides conservation and biodiversity work in the Pacific communities and in some Pacific nations the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands has established conservation sites of wetland importance.
In all, there are many different multilateral environment agreements that cover a wide range of environmental issues from desertification to climate change to marine migratory species.
The over-arching goal for this Pacific regional hub is to help build the capacity with Pacific nations through MEA negotiations, implementation and reporting.
At the end of the day, this four-year project should help Pacific countries address national environmental and sustainable development issues, participate effectively in the programmes of the conventions and contribute to global environmental and sustainable development outcomes.
This programme will come to an end in 2013 but the partnerships that will be strengthen from it will be one of its many legacies.
2009 will be another year for which our many partnerships will help us become stronger when we overcome any challenges we face, together.  
We look forward to working through 2009 in partnership, with you. Kia manuia.