PINA

Robert Richmond, University of Hawaii Japan plans to dump treated, radioactively contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific but it could be used in other ways instead. When the earthquake and resulting tsunami hit Fukushima, Japan in 2011, it killed thousands and caused severe damage to a nuclear power plant, which required a constant flow of cooling...

Representatives from 15 Pacific Island countries revisited and restructured the Regional School Leadership Standards at the regional summit convened by the Pacific Community’s (SPC) Educational Quality and Assessment Programme (EQAP). The five-day Regional Summit on Advancing Resilience and Inclusion through Sustainable Leadership was opened by the Permanent Secretary of Fiji’s Ministry of Education, Selina Kuruleca who emphasised the importance of...

The Pacific region's chief advocate of regionalism has told a Pacific Parliamentarians meeting in Tonga of 2050 vision for the Forum, and called for the annual global climate negotiations to deliver urgent action and ambition to address the climate crisis. A day after delivering opening remarks in Suva at a joint UNFCCC-Fiji Government climate meeting supported by the Pacific Island...

Cook Islands Prime Minister and Chair of the Pacific Islands Forum, Mark Brown has cautioned the region to be wary and ensure the “highest level of due diligence” and “ongoing monitoring of Japan’s dumping of nuclear waster water in the ocean.” “As custodians of our Blue Pacific Continent, and in recognition of the transboundary and transgenerational nature of this issue,...

Former Fiji Attorney-General and Minister for Climate Change Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says our region is scarred by past betrayals, where we were misled and lied to about nuclear testing and its consequences. While criticising the Fiji Government’s intentions by allowing Japan to dump its nuclear waste into the Pacific Ocean without any strong assurances for Pacific people’s well being and advancement,...

Japan's decision to go forward with the release of the treated radioactively contaminated water is “not surprising, but certainly disappointing,” a marine expert has said. Despite public concerns and raging opposition from both home and abroad, the Japanese government announced Tuesday it has decided to start releasing nuclear-contaminated wastewater from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the ocean...

Australia, like other countries in our region, is committed to the ongoing protection of the Blue Pacific. “We welcome Japan's transparency and international engagement including with Pacific island countries and expect this to continue,” said a statement from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) Australia has confidence in the process that has led to the decision by Japan to...

Leaders of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG)met in Port Vila Wednesday to discuss issues that continue to affect the region. Following a welcome ceremony at the Convention Centre, the Prime Ministers of Fiji, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea delivered their country statements outlining challenges encountered by the Melanesian bloc. Delivering Fiji’s, Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka said the Leaders’ Summit...

By Brittany Nawaqatabu, USP Journalism Student A public webinar will focus on digital trade rules which are being negotiated and agreed to in trade bodies and agreements that cut off the policy space needed to develop industry sectors. The webinar will be hosted by the Pacific Network on Globalisation (PANG) with the aim to raise awareness and introduce issues the Pacific...

Officers from the Department of Environment Protection and Conservation (DEPC) and the Vanuatu Fisheries Department (VFD) recently completed specialised training to improve national management and reporting of shark conservation measures and obligations under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). The four-day workshop was organised by the By-catch and Integrated Ecosystem Management (BIEM) Initiative of the Pacific-European Union...