Regional Archive March 2012

Twenty six participants from across the Pacific are currently in SPC's Pasifika Conference Room, Suva, attending a regional consultation to evaluate crop diversity as a tool for managing climate variability.

On Friday, 16 March, over 200 people gathered at the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) conference hall in Noumea, New Caledonia to discuss women's civil rights within the framework of customary and common law.

The GOMA (Global Organic Market Access) conference held in Nuremburg, Germany from 13 to 16 February 2012, entitled Let the Good Products Flow, examined the complex issues surrounding organic standards and guarantee systems worldwide, and how these can either support or hinder growth of the organic industry.

[Friday, 23rd March 2012, Suva, FIJI] The Pacific Environment Community (PEC) Fund will contribute US$2.3 million towards a rural solar home systems project in Fiji.

PFF, Rarotonga, COOK ISLANDS --Three years in jail for five West Papua activists is a further erosion of free speech and other human rights for the province, says the Pacific Freedom Forum.

Today is World Water Day - a perfect day to reflect on how much water you use.

Australia has demonstrated its commitment to the negotiations for a new Pacific trade and economic agreement - known as PACER plus - by agreeing to a funding arrangement with the Office of the Chief Trade Adviser (OCTA).

King George Tupou V, Tonga's reigning monarch has passed away.

Monday 19 March 2012, Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), Suva

A new report on mariculture (marine aquaculture) has urged Pacific nations to think twice before embarking on sea-farming enterprises.

PFF, Rarotonga, COOK ISLANDS -- The Pacific Freedom Forum condemns the grenade threat against a Papua New Guinea journalist by Police force officers late last week, and is calling on the O'Neill government and the PNG Media Council to publicly support media freedom.

An organic guarantee and labelling system created under the auspices of the Pacific Organic and Ethical Trade Community (POETCom) and Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) has met with success in New Caledonia.

The Secretariat of the Pacific Community, in close collaboration with the Palau Energy Division and the National Development Bank of Palau (NDBP), conducted a two-day energy audit training session this week (5-6 March 2012) in Koror, Palau.

The concept of agroforestry is not new; it is an old farming system with a new name.

Farmers in the Pacific region will soon be able to take a sick plant to a plant health clinic in the town market for a diagnosis and recommended treatment - much like we visit a local medical clinic when we are not feeling well.

Ending the deadly impact of the illicit trade in firearms and reducing the threat of armed conflict in the Pacific will be the focus of talks in Brisbane this week.

The Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the Forestry and Forest products Research Institute (FFPRI) of Japan.