• Ocean and Islands Programme
  • Issues
  • Concerns
  • Response
• Community Lifelines Programme
  • Issues
  • Concerns
  • Response
• Community Risk Programme
  • Issues
  • Concerns
  • Response

Ocean and Islands Programme

Issues

• Management of ocean, coastal and land-based resources.
• Sustainability of ocean, coastal and island ecosystems.

Concerns

• Inability of Papua New Guinea’s government to translate large revenues from its rich minerals sector into sustainable development for the country at large.
• Need to upgrade environmental management through legislative and institutional strengthening.
• Need to upgrade infrastructure and institutional investments in sea and inland waterway transport.
• Conservation management capacity lacking, especially to protect biodiversity.
• Institutional weaknesses in the environment, conservation, forestry, fisheries, mining and petroleum administrations.
• Forestry and fisheries surveillance activities are inadequate

Response

• The Certificate of Earth Science and Marine Geology [CESMG] builds the capacity of island member nationals in the areas of applied geoscience and forms the basis, for some, to pursue higher education in degree courses in geoscience.
• SOPAC’s monitoring of the physical and chemical change in ecosystems of island member countries embraces the philosophy of Global Ocean Observing Systems [GOOS], which advocates public access to long-term oceanographic data and information. The recently established regional alliance of GOOS, the Pacific Islands – Global Ocean Observing System [PI-GOOS], seeks to ensure that relevant applications for ocean observations and resulting products from global, regional and national long-term observing systems are developed and made available to Pacific Island end-users in order that they can make better decisions for sustainable development.
• The South Pacific Sea Level and Climate Monitoring Project provides tide gauge and other data, and related products, collected over the past fifteen years. SOPAC provides an important maintenance and operations role for project equipment installations.
• SOPAC also offers assistance in the area of Ocean Governance, by offering professional development programmes for strengthening legal and negotiation skills of advocates for maritime boundary delimitation, the implementation of Part XIII of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea [UNCLOS] through the provision of technical skills and policy advice, and the coordination of issues related to the law of the sea in their member country regions

Community Lifelines Programme

Issues

• Provision of foundations for healthy, productive and sustainable communities and economy (energy, water and sanitation, and ICT)

Concerns

• Provision of water, despite normally relatively abundant rainfall, is generally inadequate. Only 20 percent of the rural population has access to piped water.
• Port Moresby’s water supply system is expensive and inefficient.
• Need to develop social infrastructure such as water supply
• Lack of skilled labour particularly in technical and vocational fields.
• Urbanisation requires the provision of adequate systems to more towns.
• The power supply network reaches less than a fifth of the population, and very few people in rural areas.
• Electricity Commission of PNG is constrained by geographic, human resource and financial limitations.

Response

• The continual assessment of wind development and energy resources, the provision of technical assistance and training of staff in this area, and the provision and maintenance of a database which will assist the decision making and capacity building of concerned and relevant human resources;
• The development of energy resources that incorporate new and related technologies, the improvement of community access to and awareness of these energy resources, in order to ensure sustainable management;
• The development of cost effective and suitable technology such as Geographic Information Systems GIS and Remote Sensing on spatial data for the region that is accessible for relevant stakeholders, regionally and internationally; the development of intranet and internet technologies; relevant support to the government departments concerned, and ensuring the accuracy of available data;
• The provision of technical advice on water and sanitation in the region, its proper management and awareness of waste management; the development of strategies that will reduce member islands’ vulnerability to drought;
• The review of existing policy and legislation in water, energy and relevant information and communication technologies that relate to SOPAC work programmes; representation of Pacific concerns at global forums, and the coordination of regional action plans in these areas.

Community Risk Programme

Issues

• Management of community vulnerability to natural hazards and risks, which can have devastating impacts economically, socially and environmentally

Concerns

• Island Vulnerability to natural disasters and climate change
• Lack of awareness of rights and data management
• Capacity Building

Response

• The provision of support where appropriate for PNG Islands’ representation at international training programmes, workshops and conferences.
• The provision of high-level advocacy to promote the mainstreaming of risk management through the application of CHARM.
• Conducting CHARM national training courses and workshops.
• The provision of post disaster technical or institutional support following the impact of disasters.
• The environmental vulnerability index – a tool that assesses the vulnerability of the countries of the world to assist national stakeholders in decision-making and to influence policy to reduce vulnerabilities of Pacific communities.