Community Lifelines Programme

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SOPAC is an independent, intergovernmental, regional organisation established by South Pacific nations in 1972, and dedicated to providing applied geoscience technical support to the 18 Pacific Island member countries whom we serve.

SOPAC Water Resources Unit (WRU) have for the past several years taken up the lead role for efforts for World Water Day celebrations in the Pacific region and will continue this responsibility for 2002. The New Zealand High Commission have kindly agreed to provide partial funding for the World Water Day 2002 campaign. Additional sponsors are still being sought.

This year SOPAC are continuing their collaboration with SPREP and are also including a new partner, namely Live & Learn Environmental Education, a Fiji based NGO. Live & Learn operate in Melanesia, creating educational capacity within the formal school system. The World Water Day 2002 campaign will utilise this expertise to empower young people to initiate action-based water-focused activities within their own local communities both inside and outside the school.


Theme for World Water Day 2002

The theme for World Water Day 2002 is “Water for Development�. The lead global UN agency is the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Sustainable development is very much on the global agenda for 2002, with the World Summit on Sustainable Development to be held in South Africa in September. The sustainable management and protection of water resources and operation of supply systems is high on this global agenda, but it is particularly important for the small island countries of the Pacific.

A regional consultation process for the Pacific has recently commenced led by ADB and SOPAC, as part of the preparation for a global water conference, the 3rd World Water Forum, in Japan in 2003. This consultation process provides an opportunity for the Pacific to address the actions required to achieve sustainable management of its water sector. World Water Day 2002, will usefully contribute to the public awareness of this regional preparation.
World Water Day 2002 Campaign and Activities

This year the campaign will again consist of a regional component, but will in addition have a sub-regional component for Melanesia, establishing a sustainable educational capacity for water awareness. At present the campaign includes the following activities:

Regional

• Development and Distribution of Publication Material,
• A3 Poster/Brochure,
• Fact Sheet,
• Stickers
• Provision of financial assistance to member countries to assist them in advertising World Water Day 2002 in newspapers, radio and magazines (Press Packs) to run their own national public awareness campaigns.

Sub-regional – (Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Fiji)

• Creation of capacity within the formal education system to include Water Education in both the formal curricular and the formal training structure.
• Deliver training forums for teachers in Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Fiji in the field of action-based Water Education.
• Document and promote successful local schools and community projects, which protect water resources.

For further questions regarding SOPAC’s World Water Day campaign please contact Ms. Rhonda Bower,
for further details on the regional consultation for Kyoto contact Clive Carpenter.
Contact:
Kamal Khatri
c/o SOPAC South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission
Private Mail Bag
Suva, Fiji
Tel: Business +679 338 1377
Fax: +679 337 0040
Email: kamal@sopac.org