PINA

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres urged countries Wednesday to agree a “robust and ambitious” treaty to protect the high seas, as time starts to run out for negotiators. After 15 years of formal and informal talks, delegates have been meeting in New York since February 20 to discuss a text that aims to protect nearly half the planet. It is the...

The Micronesian Islands Forum (MIF) leaders announced plans to push ahead with the hiring of a professional Secretary-General for its secretariat office. The leaders made this announcement in its communique at the recently concluded meeting held from 15 -17 February in Pohnpei. Three presidents and six governors of island states and territories — Palau, Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern...

Parts of Vanuatu are due to be battered by a new tropical cyclone named Kevin. The storm originated south of Solomon Islands on Wednesday and is expected to move south-east bringing gale force winds to Vanuatu tonight and later to New Caledonia. It comes as Vanuatu's capital Port Vila and northern islands survey the damage from Tropical Cyclone Judy, which is...

Tonga's Prime Minister acknowledged the strong commitment of Tonga's development partners and donors and said financial assistance is still needed to ensure a prosperous Tonga, on opening the Development Partners Forum 2023 this week. Hu’akavameiliku Siaosi Sovaleni in his opening address, said Tonga still needed increased access to financial assistance, to restructure and reduce debt burdens and scale up development...

The release of contaminated water from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant has dominated recent discussions between representatives of Pacific island nations and Japan, with the government in Tokyo offering reassurances that the water will be treated to remove almost all harmful nuclides before it is pumped into the Pacific. The issue was top of the agenda when a high-level delegation...

Australia will co-sponsor Vanuatu’s historic bid for the international court of justice to rule on the climate crisis, including the legal consequences for causing significant environmental harm. The Pacific island country will soon put a resolution to the UN general assembly seeking an opinion on the international legal obligations that countries have to act on the climate crisis. The resolution asks...

Port Villa and Vanuatu's northern islands are surveying the damage from Tropical Cyclone Judy but the cyclone is threatening southern islands while another storm is forecast to be on its way. The islands of Erramango and Tanna are expected to be hit hard soon. Vanuatu's Metservice says Tafea remains under red alert. It said early this morning local time the centre of...

Cook Islands Ombudsman Niki Rattle has returned from a conference in Fiji with fresh ideas as the office looks to establish a Human Rights Institute for the Cook Islands. The Pacific Regional Forum on National Human Rights Institutions (NHRI), held last week, featured representatives from several nations, and took place in Nadi, Fiji. Rattle, along with two fellow staffers, attended the...

Oceana, the largest international advocacy organisation dedicated solely to ocean conservation, is calling on governments to address plastic pollution at the 8th annual Our Ocean conference in Panama City, Panamá. The conference, taking place 02-03 March, brings together leaders from around the world to deliver concrete and actionable commitments to help protect and restore the world’s oceans. Since 2014, the Our...

We note, with deep concern, Japan’s decision to release treated radioactive water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean. According to reports, the release of more than a million tonnes of water, which has been filtered to reduce radioactivity, could start in 2023. We reiterate the observation by Secretary General Henry Puna: “Our ultimate goal is...