PINA

In a bid to end the practice of international fisheries decision-making bodies conducting some of their most crucial meetings in secret, the Accountability.Fish advocacy group has applied for "unconditional" observer status for the upcoming Western Central Pacific Fisheries Council (WCPFC)meetings later this year. “International fisheries decisions have far reaching economic and ecological consequences, and the citizens of the WCPFC countries,...

Newly-elected climate chief Jim Skea has been accused of downplaying threats to the Pacific Islands in his first media interviews in the job. The new head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) told The Telegraph in Britain and German news magazine Der Spiegel that heating above 1.5 degrees Celsius was “not an existential threat to humanity”, comments labelled...

Angaur State Government, one of the sixteen (16) states of Palau, represented by its Governor Steven Salii, filed a lawsuit Monday against the Palau government, the United States government, United States contractors, and the Palau Environmental Quality Protection Board (EQPB) for the alleged violations of Palau environmental laws and the Compact of Free Association agreements over the U.S Tactical...

Noting the distinct challenges besetting the U.S territories and freely associated states, U.S lawmakers have introduced a bipartisan bill seeking to help federal agencies understand the needs of the jurisdictions with complex political status. H.R. 5001, titled “Special Advisors for Insular Areas Act.” would establish a special advisor for insular areas in each executive department. “Our relationship with each of the...

After three hours of intense negotiations in Port Moresby, the Papua New Guinea Government and the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) resolved and endorsed five resolutions to move Bougainville’s independence issue forward. Prime Minister James Marape and ABG President Ishmael Toroama, co-chairing the special Joint Supervisory Body meeting at APEC Haus Monday with their respective senior ministerial teams, agreed on matters...

Palau will host the fifth annual Joint Heads of Pacific Security (JHoPS) Meeting on 23-24 August, bringing together nearly 80 security leaders from 20 nations in Koror to discuss information-sharing, cooperation and interoperability to address Pacific security challenges. Last year’s JHOPS meeting was held in Nadi, Fiji. The two-day meeting, supported by the Australian Government Department of Defence, will enable Pacific...

A Constitutional Amendment Bill to commence the scrutinisation of the draft federal constitution is anticipated to go before Solomon Islands parliament in the current sitting. Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare made the announcement in his Address at the 39th Guadalcanal Province Second Appointed Day Celebration at Mamara, Northwest Guadalcanal. PM Sogavare said the Bill will seek to amend section 61 of the...

The head of a Canadian deep-sea mining company start-up says he wants to wait for regulations to be in place before starting “commercial-scale nodule collection” after the International Seabed Authority agreed more time was needed to develop the mining code. The Metals Company wants to mine in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone in the Pacific. The ISA finished meeting in Kingston Jamaica on...

By Omar Siddique, Economic Affairs Officer, Henry Cocker, Engagement Advisor, Sustainable Development, Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, Portia Dugu, Pacific Regionalism Adviser, Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat The Pacific Islands region is renowned for its pristine beaches, vibrant marine life, and unique cultural heritage. However, as the world progresses towards 2050, our Pacific paradise is encountering significant development and environmental challenges that...

By Euan Graham Last week, Lloyd Austin became the first U.S defence secretary to visit Papua New Guinea, en route to the AUSMIN conclave in Brisbane. Austin was the latest in a long line of VIP visitors to the South Pacific nation this year, including French President Emmanuel Macron, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, U.S Secretary of State Antony...