Further to Circular 23/76 of 30 August 2023, please note that the Secretariat received late papers submitted by the Government of Vanuatu under Agenda Items WP12.1 and WP12.2.
The revised provisional agenda and all updated working papers for the meeting are on the SPREP website and can be downloaded from: www.sprep.org
Further to SPREP Circular No. 23/47 of 8 June, Circular No. 23/59 dated 26 July 2023 and Circular No. 23/69 of 8 August, please note that the Secretariat has updated the following documents which are shared for your information.
Following on from the previous Circular 23/61 circulated earlier this month to members for upcoming consultations with Mr. David Sheppard, we attach herewith copies of the questionnaires which includes a brief background on the current funding situation, for your information in advance of arranged meetings with Mr Sheppard.
The Secretariat, seeks the support and availability from members and partner organisations in the review of its Core Funding Structure.
Applications are invited for the following positions;
A. INTERNATIONALLY RECRUITED ROLES
1. Pacific Regional Invasive Species Management Support Service Programmatic Coordinator (PRISMSS – PC)
2. Pacific Regional Invasive Species Management Support Service Manager (PRISMSS - M)
3. Project Coordinator – Management of Blue Carbon Ecosystems In Pacific Island Countries (PC – MACBLUE Project)
B. LOCALLY RECRUITED ROLE - For nationals and Permanent Residents of Fiji Only
1. Finance and Administration Officer (FAO) – Management of Blue Carbon Ecosystems In Pacific Island Countries (MACBLUE Project)
The closing date for applications is Friday, 22 September 2023 (Samoa Time).
Information packages including the Job Descriptions and Application Forms, are available on this direct web link https://www.sprep.org/career-opportunities for all interested parties.
We are pleased to inform you that SPREP will be participating in the upcoming Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand (EIANZ) 2023 Annual Conference themed “Leading the wave of change”, which will be held in Auckland from 16th to 19th October.
We are pleased to share with you a recent publication entitled Regional Recycling Network Scoping Study, developed by the Pacific Region Infrastructure Facility or PRIF.
As you are aware, the Secretariat and the SPREP North Pacific Office have been trying to coordinate a virtual meeting of the North Pacific SPREP Members Working Group over the last two years, however, due to the challenges of COVID19 and availability of Members, the planned meetings did not happen. With the upcoming the 31st SPREP Meeting in the first week of SPREP, we’ve taken advantage of this opportunity to organise a side meeting of North Pacific SPREP Members attending the 31st SPREP Meeting. The proposed side meeting will be held on Tuesday 5th September at lunchtime at the Taumeasina Board Room.
The 17th Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Noumea Convention (Noumea COP17) will convene on 31 August 2023 at the Taumeasina Island Resort in Samoa. This will follow the 12th Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Waigani Convention on 1 September 2023.
Further to SPREP Circular No. 23/47 of 8 June and No. 23/59 dated 26 July 2023, please find the following documents for your information.
1. Draft Programmes:
a. SPREP Partnership Dialogue, 4 September 2023
b. Official Opening of the 31st SPREP Meeting of Officials, 4 September 2023
c. 31st SPREP Meeting of Officials, 5-7 September 2023
2. Draft Provisional Agenda – Environment Ministers High Level Talanoa 8 September 2023
3. Information Note for Delegates; and
4. Schedule of Side Events
Applications are invited for the following positions;
A. INTERNATIONALLY RECRUITED ROLES
1. Coastal and Marine Ecosystems Adviser (CMEA)
2. Protected Areas Officer (PAO)
B. LOCALLY RECRUITED ROLE - For nationals and Permanent Residents of Fiji Only
3. Finance and Administration Officer (FAO) - Pacific Ecosystem-based Adaptation to Climate Change (PEBACC+ project)
(READVERTISEMENT - PREVIOUS APPLICANTS NEED NOT REAPPLY)
The closing date for applications is Friday, 8 September 2023 (Samoa Time).
Information packages including the Job Descriptions and Application Forms, are available on this direct web link https://www.sprep.org/career-opportunities for all interested parties.
The Secretariat wishes to invite our member countries to attend the above meetings that will be held at the West Plaza Hotel at Lebuu Street, Koror in Palau from 12 to 20 October 2023 in reference to the Circular 23/57 and Circular 23/65. The Secretariat acknowledges the support of the Government of Palau for hosting the series of meetings and the financial support from Global Environment Facility (GEF), UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Government of Australia. The events are planned to be hybrid, to be delivered in person and virtually.
The Secretariat has been actively assisting members in enhancing national mechanisms for environmental impact assessment and compliance monitoring. In collaboration with the Pacific Tourism Organization (SPTO), the Secretariat, with support from the "Capacity Building related to Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) in African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Countries", also known as the ACP MEAs3 Programme, is currently engaged in developing comprehensive Environmental Auditing Guidelines for Tourism Operations in the Pacific. These guidelines aim to facilitate the adoption of best practices and effective compliance monitoring for tourism businesses in the region, aligned with regional and international commitments such as the Pacific Sustainable Tourism Policy Framework, the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Reference is made to circular 23/57 dated 11 July 2023, in particular the ISLANDS Pacific Project Steering Committee (PSC) Meeting proposed to be held in at the West Plaza Hotel at Lebuu Street, Koror in Palau from 16th to 17th October 2023.
This circular serves to inform you that due to changing circumstances of the ISLANDS Pacific Project, the second PSC meeting, initially scheduled for Palau, is postponed to a later date SPREP and UNEP have decided to use this time for a Project consultation meeting to review the project with the aim of improving its design for effective implementation.
SPREP is pleased to announce the following appointments within the Secretariat.
The Secretariat wishes to invite member countries to participate in the upcoming virtual Webinar on the Role of Sustainability Criteria and Trade in the Global Plastics Instrument that will be held on the 10th of August at 4:30pm – 6:00pm Samoa time.
The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), in partnership with Climate Analytics and the One CROP team, is pleased to announce the Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS) Pre-COP28 Preparatory Meeting, scheduled for 10-13 October 2023, to be convened at SPREP in Apia, Samoa.
Last year, the third SPREP Executive Board meeting endorsed and supported the review of core funding and drafting of an appropriate Finance & Resource Sustainability Strategy for SPREP. The Secretariat, through our procurement process awarded the consultancy contract to David Sheppard Global Environment Consulting Pty Ltd. to conduct the review and to develop the draft finance and resource sustainability strategy for SPREP.
The overall expected outcome of the review is to provide recommendations for Members to help strengthen SPREP’s Core Funding Structure and thus address the issue of sustainable financing for SPREP through the development of the Secretariat’s Finance & Resource Sustainability Strategy.
Please be advised that the Working Papers (WPs) for the upcoming 31SM of Officials, Noumea and Waigani Conventions are now available in English and French for viewing and downloading on the SPREP website via: [https://www.sprep.org/31st-sprep-meeting-2023].
At its fifteenth meeting, the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) adopted the monitoring framework for the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) (decision 15/5).
The Secretariat wishes to update you on the status of the above-mentioned project and to request your participation at a virtual regional consultation workshop on Thursday 20 July at 1pm to 3pm (Apia time).
SPREP and the Government of Palau will be hosting the following meetings:
1. Pacific Preparatory meeting for the 5th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention (MC COP-5) on Mercury;
2. Extraordinary meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Waigani Convention;
3. GEF ISLANDS Pacific Project Steering Committee (PSC) and
4. The Pacific Preparatory meeting for the 3rd session of the intergovernmental negotiating committee (INC-3) meetings
The Parties may wish to provide further comments when the draft Outcomes Report and annexes are tabled at the forthcoming 17th Meeting of the Parties on 31 August 2023.
SPREP is pleased to announce the following appointments within the Secretariat
The Secretariat wishes to inform the Waigani Convention Competent
Authorities and Focal Points, this circular follows on from Circular 22/97 that notified SPREP Members of the SPREP Meeting including the Waigani Convention Parties of the Twelfth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (WC COP-12) on the 1 September 2023. The Circular 23-53, seeking nominations for the Noumea Convention Parties of the seventeenth meeting (NC COP-17 on the 31 August 2023 and Circular 23/43 notifying SPREP Members of the SPREP Meeting Provisional Agenda and seeking nominations for the SPREP Meeting, NC COP-17 and WC COP-12.
The Secretariat wishes to express its sincere gratitude and appreciation to the Parties that participated in the recent Ad Hoc Meeting of the Parties to discuss and unpack the findings and recommendations from the review of the Noumea Convention completed in November 2021. A draft record of the Ad Hoc Meeting in English and French versions will be shared to all Parties as soon as possible.
Further to SPREP Circular 22/97 dated 28 October 2022, notifying SPREP Members including the Contracting Parties, of the 17th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Noumea Convention on 31 August 2023.
The Secretariat is pleased to inform you of the Pacific Climate Change Centre (PCCC) Knowledge Brokerage Workshop in the Pacific for the Micronesia sub-region. The workshop will be held from 18 – 20 September 2023 in Nadi, Fiji.
The Pacific Climate Change Centre at SPREP in partnership with the University of Melbourne is pleased to announce the successful outcome of the Australia Award Fellowship” Advancing Climate, Health and Equity outcomes through local action in the Indo-Pacific”.
We are pleased to inform you that the Government of Fiji, Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and the World Meteorological Organization are co-hosting the Sixth Meeting of the Pacific Meteorological Council (PMC-6), the First Development Partners and Donors Engagement Meeting and the Third Pacific Ministerial Meeting on Meteorology (PMMM-3) from the 14th to the 18th August 2023 at the Sofitel Resort Conference Facility in Nadi, Fiji Islands.
The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) is inviting Members to submit an Expression of Interest to host the 11th Pacific Islands Conference on Nature Conservation and Protected Areas in 2025.
The Secretariat is pleased to inform you of the development by the Kiwa Initiative of a Regional Capacity Needs Assessment for Implementing Nature-based Solutions in Pacific Islands Countries and Territories.
