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| Talie Foliga on Left |
13 July 2012, Bucharest, Romania -
Mr. Talie Foliga, Samoa
What have you learnt at this COP?
“The diversity of the issues, the
diversity of thought from each region regarding the deliberations on several
draft resolutions which were put forward for the COP to discuss so it is very
interesting to hear what other parties have said especially the DR1. (Draft
Resolution 1 – Institutional hosting of the Ramsar Secretariat)”
What advice do you have for others attending the next COP?
“I think my only advice is
whoever is being appointed to attend the COP I think that there is a need to
really look into the issues especially the issues that are related to our
region and also to our respective boundaries, so when you come to the issues
of discussion in the plenary then you are well prepared for what is going to be
discussed and understand the process of the plenary.”
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| Ms. Nunia Thomas (Left) - image courtesy of QuartzFilm.Ro |
Ms. Nunia Thomas, Fiji
What have you learnt at this COP?
“I learnt that there is a lot of
tools available through the Ramsar Secretariat on how we can implement the
Ramsar Convention, particularly in capacity building – we attended a talk on
capacity building where people can talk about capacity building issues they had
and Ramsar can think of ways to help come up with ways to address these.
A lot of other countries are
facing the same problems as the Pacific in terms of implementing and aligning
the convention with legislation and the other conventions to which they are
signatories. There is a challenge for
everyone to align their conventions like with the Convention on Biological
Diversity but I think everyone is moving forward to make it happen.”
What advice do you have for others attending a Ramsar COP?
“Prepare your documents well,
read through the draft resolutions, get it nationally consulted, nation- wide
consultation with the Department of Environment and other relevant ministries,
in Fiji we have the Office of the Solicitor General, so it looked at by the
lawyers because when you are talking at this level you are legally committing
your nation, your country, its good if
people back home are aware of what you are committing to at the Convention.”
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| Ms. Pua Michael, Palau |
Ms. Pua Michael, Palau
What have you learnt at this COP?
“This is my first Conference of the
Parties ever for any convention so it was a very big eye opener for me from the
rules and procedures to everything - it was a big eye opener. Another thing I learnt is there is help out
there you just have to be willing to look for it and I think if for Palau’s
case if you be a little bit more ambitious and look for the help I think we can
find it to come back to our place and do implementation on the ground.”
What advice do you have for others attending the next COP?
“You need to read all the documents
and the draft resolutions to give yourself the background to come to the
meeting and also make sure that whatever decision you make is in line with the
people back home.”
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| Ms. Olai Uludong, Marshall Islands |
Ms. Olai Uludong, Marshall
Islands
What have you learnt at this COP?
“That the Pacific delegates
really need a guide on how to negotiate text that is appropriate to their
county because you can get lost among all the draft resolutions, at this COP
there are 22 draft resolutions and unless we know about them then we don’t say
anything.”
What advice do you have for others attending the next COP?
“Read the rules of procedures
first and then read all the Draft Resolutions before the opening plenary and
remember what you’re country positions are and also what the other conventions
have decided.”
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| Ms. Nicola Scott, New Zealand |
Ms. Nicola Scott, New Zealand
What advice do you have for others attending the next COP?
“It depends on your delegation
but preparation is everything if you are a small delegation you need to identify your
key issues and to be actually well briefed on those to know what you want out
of the agenda item and what would be your ultimate target, or what you can live with. That way you are actually well prepared to
engage effectively on the floor and also to know what your colleagues in the
region want out of the meeting.
Working
the room – it is really important that you get out and talk to people and find
out what they think and what their positions are and where you can work
together constructively, when people work together as a block, it’s
really a powerful tool because then you cover more ground with smaller
delegations.”
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