Results for Pacific Islands

A new Pacific research institute, aimed at supporting sustainable development in the Pacific region, was launched by New Zealand’s Foreign Minister, Murray McCully, on 22 March 2016 at the University of Auckland, New Zealand.

Energy and climate change officials from around the Pacific met in Nuku’alofa this week to discuss efforts to ensure access to affordable, reliable and sustainable modern energy in the region.

Twenty-eight skilled construction workers from three Pacific Islands, including Tonga, will be working on the Christchurch rebuild, to fill skills shortages before the end of May this year.

A Tongan Taskforce Group is assisting disaster relief efforts at Vanua Balavu and the surrounding islands on the northern Lau Group including delivering water supplies, following the devastation caused by Tropical Cyclone Winston, last month.

Additional funding for aviation projects currently underway in Tonga and Kiribati under the Pacific Aviation Investment Program, was approved today by the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors. The Program is delivering essential upgrades to runways, terminal infrastructure and air traffic control management systems, along with sector reform in the Pacific.

As the full picture of the worst cyclone ever to hit Fiji becomes more apparent, UNICEF Pacific estimates that up to 120,000 children across the county may be worst affected. Destruction in some of the worst hit areas is “overwhelming”, says a new UNICEF report today.

Palau has signed a National Energy Act into law to completely reshape its energy sector. The Act will enable an Administration to be formed to better coordinate and manage energy to meet policy goals, especially through renewable sources.

The ‘Epeli Hau’ofa Dance Festival II, showcasing art, music, education, culture and heritage is planned by the University of the South Pacific’s Oceania Centre for Arts, Culture and Pacific Studies, on 21-26 March 2016 in memory of the late Professor ‘Epeli Hau’ofa.

Efforts to reach an agreement between Pacific parties and the US on the fishing treaty is still ongoing. The US request for fewer fishing days was discussed at a Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) meeting in Nadi, Fiji, last week.