Pacific Voyage to Hyderabad, India, CBD COP 11

Exhibition booths at the CBD COP 11, the Pacific Voyage will join these in showcasing work.

 

6 October, 2012, CBD COP 11, Hyderabad, India -The Pacific Voyage is the name of the campaign in Hyderabad India to raise the profile of the Pacific region at the 11^th Conference of the Parties.  A number of initiatives will take place under this campaign that will highlight the biodiversity successes in the region, to the international community.

A special event on the evening of October 18, titled The Pacific Voyage: Nature Protects if She is Protected, will be held.  This event will highlight and showcase the nature conservation work in the region as well as to launch the 9^th Pacific Island Conference on Nature Conservation and Protected Areas to be held in Fiji, 2013.   Guest speakers for the event include the Minister for Local Government, Housing, Urban Development and Environment of Fiji – Col. Samuela Saumatua and Mr. David Sheppard the Director General of SPREP, amongst others.

The Pacific will have a special booth at the CEPA Fair (Communication, Education and Public Awareness) for which Pacific delegates have been asked to come with display materials and resources to exhibit and give way.

“We also have other activities under way as part of the Pacific Voyage,” said Nanette Woonton, SPREP’s Media and Public Relations Officer.

“During the preparatory meeting we prepared a communications plan with all the Pacific countries and realized that we ourselves are the best to share messages of our work in the region.  We have prepared tools to help our Pacific countries meet and network with other partners at this event to share the nature conservation work in the region.”

The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) have prepared pocket Compasses for the Pacific delegates with tips to help them through negotiations, a generic unified Pacific business card has been designed to share with others that detail the Pacific biodiversity blogsite, side event as well as special postcards about the 9^th Pacific Island Conference on Nature Conservation and Protected Areas.  The unified business card and postcards will be shared amongst the Pacific delegates.

Save the Date!  Island Innovations!

 “The Pacific islands will also be represented during a special Island Bright Spots event coordinated by the Global Island Partnership (GLISPA), this will be an opportunity for all islands to come together and exchange their island innovations and successes with a roundtable discussion during the day and an Island Life Celebration in the evening.”

During this event SPREP will be signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

For more information on the Pacific voyage or the Island Innovations Event please email Ms. Nanette Woonton nanettew@sprep.org

The Island Journey in Nagoya

Pacific Voyage Media Team

17 October Nagoya, Japan - There is an “Island Journey” taking place at the 10^th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP 10) in Nagoya, Japan.

Participants from Islands nations and countries that have islands were invited to attend the “Island Briefing”, a half day seminar providing guidance as to the important issues affecting them.

At the Island Briefing

Hosted by the Global Islands Partnership (GLISPA) in partnership with the CBD Secretariat, Global Invasive Species Programme, International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Media Impact and SPREP, this was the first such briefing, hoping to unite all islands participants and help them start the CBD COP 10 well informed and prepared as to the agenda issues affecting island biodiversity.

“Conserving the natural resources of islands is crucial to maintaining sustainable livelihoods for the islands people,” said Ms. Kate Brown-Vitolio, the GLISPA Coordinator.

“We hope this Island briefing will help the participants in their negotiations at this meeting and give them the opportunity to meet each other and hopefully work together as a united front in common issues.”

Kate Brown-Vitolio giving the Pacific participants a CBD COP 10 101

Island species are unique in their vulnerability, of the 724 recorded animal extinctions in the last 400 years, about half were island species.  Recognising that islands have unique environments which support livelihoods, “Island Biodiversity” was identified as a new thematic area to be developed under the CBD in 2006, for which a programme of work was designed to help reduce the loss of island biodiversity by 2010. 

Bernard O’ Callaghan, Oceania Programme Coordinator of the International Union for Conservation of Nature reiterated the need for islands to work together at the CBD COP 10.

“The islands share common issues. It is very important for island states to support each other, because one small state cannot achieve anything,” Callaghan stated.

He stressed the importance of the island nations having one voice during the negotiations and working together to achieve issues that are common to island states.

GLISPA will be hosting several other activities during the CBD COP 10 including a side event focused on the Western Indian Ocean; a High level Cocktail which will celebrate achievements such as the Micronesia Challenge; as well as a Micronesia Regional Biosecurity event.

For more details on GLISPA please visit www.cbd.int/island/glispa.shtml