PINA

Marine ecologist, Dr Drew Harvell has articulated the urgent need to protect marine ecosystems, particularly seagrass meadows, in a bid to strengthen climate resilience and secure valuable resources known as "blue foods". In a seminar at the University of the South Pacific (USP) marine campus Monday, Dr Harvell highlighted the multifaceted benefits that seagrass meadows offer to coastal communities and...

Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General, Henry Puna has warned the geopolitical contestation and strategic manipulation in contested Blue Pacific are unsettling. Speaking at the Carnegie-SPF 3rd annual Indo-Pacific Islands Dialogue in New York, Puna said the Blue Pacific continent is an increasingly contested space. “Regional and national stability is critical to maintaining and protecting peace and security, prosperity, and the well-being...

Pacific island countries will meet next week with U.S President Joe Biden for a second summit with his country, the secretary-general of the Pacific Islands Forum Henry Puna said on Monday. Puna made the announcement at an event in New York hosted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment...

The 2023 Pacific Islands Forum Foreign Ministers meeting has ended with a collective statement on Japan’s release of ALPS treated nuclear wastewater into the Pacific Ocean. In the statement, Forum Foreign Ministers “highlighted the priorities of ensuring international consultation, international law, and independent and verifiable scientific assessments” and re-emphasised “our collective Forum position and the process we have taken over...

Cook Islands Prime Minister and Forum Chair, Mark Brown has confirmed his government is in discussion with Fiji Airways to facilitate a charter flight to Rarotonga during the upcoming Forum Leaders Meeting in November. “I'm happy to say that we have been in discussions with Fiji Airways to look at streamlining the travel from all Pacific members particularly from Nadi...

Now is the time for a global plan to rescue the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which are woefully off-track halfway towards their 2030 deadline, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Monday in New York. Guterres was speaking at the opening of a high-level forum at UN Headquarters where world leaders adopted a political declaration to accelerate action to achieve the...

The waters that surround the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) of the Pacific are home to remarkable marine ecosystems. The fish and other marine species they host are deeply intertwined with many Pacific peoples' cultures, livelihoods and food systems. But while the communities of these islands continue to consume fish in significant quantities, the diversity of Islanders' diets is declining,...

There is no legal basis for the United States to control the large oceanic area that includes the compact states. By Edward Hunt In defiance of international norms and rules, U.S officials are laying claim to the large oceanic area in the central Pacific Ocean that is home to the compact states. Now that they are renewing the economic provisions of...

Fiji's convincing victory over the two-times world champions Wallabies on Sunday was the first big upset of the World Cup and further enhanced the case for the Pacific islanders to have a place at rugby's top table. Already a Sevens superpower as champions of the first two Olympic tournaments, the Fijians have played seven tests this season and won five...

Fiji’s first win over Australia since 1954 has been rewarded with a one-place gain in the World Rugby Men’s Rankings. Sunday’s historic 22-15 victory in Saint-Étienne puts Fiji up to eighth, one place behind Wales, who were pushed hard by Portugal 24 hours earlier before winning 28-8. As well as having an impact on the rankings, Fiji's first-ever Rugby World Cup...