Pacific countries told to adopt ‘precautionary approach’ to seabed mineral mining
Tuesday, 26 June 2012 16:05
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18/06/2012 - Brazil By: Makereta Komai, PACNEWS Editor in Rio de Janeiro
Source: PACNEWS
It’s been suggested that Pacific Island Countries and territories wishing to make use of resources on the deep seafloor for economic returns need to adopt a "precautionary approach".
This can simply be interpreted as "in any development where there are threats of serious harm to the marine environment, the lack of full scientific data shall not be used as a reason for postponing that development", said Dr Russell Howorth, director of SOPAC Division of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC).
But, that particular development, he added should use cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation.
The ‘precautionary approach’ has been in existence in Rio principle 15 for 20 years but hardly used in the context of bringing the economic benefits of the resources of Pacific islanders to improve their livelihoods, said Dr Howorth while addressing Oceans Day at the Rio +20 conference here in Rio de Janeiro.
Last Updated on Wednesday, 27 June 2012 11:06
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SOPAC Division Quarterly Newsletter, Jan - Mar 2012
Monday, 04 June 2012 09:56
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Inside This Issue
- Palau Deeply Appreciates Completion of Eu-Funded National Emergency Operations Centre
- Ocean and Islands Programme Completes Critical Survey in the State of Yap, Fsm
- Pacific Gis Units Empowered With Free and Open Source Software
- Eu-Funded C-Envelope Project Aid in the Tuamotu Survey
- Australian-Funded Sea Level Monitoring Projects Aids Maritime Boundary Delineation
- Different Responses Required for Different Seabed Minerals Operations
- Spc Sopac Takes World Water Day 2012 to the West Fiji
- Mapping Fiji’s Forest Cover With the Help of Satellite Imagery
- Pacific Sea Level & Climate Monitoring Project (SPSLCMP) Data Help Pacific Island Countries Develop Their Maritime Boundaries
- Federated States of Micronesia Briefing
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 19 June 2012 09:25
Latest mapping technology used in fight against flooding
Wednesday, 30 May 2012 16:21
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The very latest mapping technology is being used in the Nadi and Ba basins to produce extremely detailed digital terrain models as part of an ongoing effort to lessen the effects of floods in the area.
For the last two weeks an Island Hoppers helicopter fitted with Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) equipment has flown over the Nadi area scanning the ground with near infrared light to get the most detailed topographical data of the area ever recorded.
According to Litea Biukoto, from the Disaster Reduction Programme at the Secretariat of the Pacific Community’s Applied Geoscience and Technology Division (SPC SOPAC), having high resolution topographical information is essential for producing detailed floodplain maps that can help the National Disaster Management Office, the Nadi Town Council, and other government agencies to plan development in the floodplain, provide guidance for infrastructure and building designs and improve flood preparedness and response.
Last Updated on Monday, 04 June 2012 10:04
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Pacific Islands Face Severe Water Threats, New Report says
Thursday, 17 May 2012 13:28
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 The unique freshwater challenges facing many small islands in the Pacific are highlighted in a new report released today by the UN Environment Programme and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC).
The report, “Freshwater under Threat – Pacific Islands”, written by David Duncan, Regional Environmental Engineer at SPC SOPAC’s Water and Sanitation Programme, found that the almost total reliance on rain-fed agriculture across all islands puts economies and livelihoods at risk. Nearly 10% of deaths of children under five in the region are attributable to water related causes; 90% of these deaths, according to the report, can be traced to poor sanitation treatment systems.
The delivery of water supplies and sanitation services in many Pacific countries currently falls well short of Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets. According to the report, access to improved drinking water sources in Fiji and Papua New Guinea (at 40% and 47%, respectively) is about half the global average and it is anticipated that both countries will fall significantly short of the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) for improved drinking water access.
Last Updated on Thursday, 17 May 2012 13:32
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Pacific Sea Level & Climate Monitoring Project
Thursday, 17 May 2012 12:50
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 The data and facilities provided by the South Pacific Sea Level and Climate Monitoring Project (SPSLCMP) is well known for its use in tracking sealevel change and variability over time and is even used to track sealevel changes which occur due to storms and tsunami in the Pacific Islands Region.
However, it is not generally known that SPSLCMP data and facilities also provide a critical service and information which supports work by the Ocean & Islands Programme’s Maritime Boundary Sector.
Given these two work Sectors both lay within the Ocean & Islands Programme, it’s easy to overlook the close and complementary interaction but it’s a story worth telling. Maritime Boundaries (often just thought of as EEZs – Exclusive Economic Zones) have to be very accurately measured from the shores of each Island State or Territory.
That shoreline starting point is called a “baseline” and in the Tropical Pacific these usually correspond to a line “drawn” using GIS techniques around the outer reef edges of an island or island group at Lowest Astronomical Tide (LAT).
Last Updated on Thursday, 31 May 2012 18:56
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