PINA

The new Oceans Treaty (also known as the High Seas Treaty) that has been reached following 15 years of negotiations facilitated by the United Nations, will bring sustainability to marine conservation efforts, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong has said. High seas comprise up to 60 percent of the Earth’s surface. With an appetite to tap into the natural resources of...

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved US$38 million in contingent disaster financing to help Kiribati, Samoa, Solomon Islands, and Tonga respond to disasters triggered by natural hazards and health emergencies. The support comes from the fourth phase of the Pacific Disaster Resilience Program and will provide Kiribati with an US$8 million grant, Samoa with a US$10 million grant, Solomon...

Days after twin cyclones tore through the country, the situation for an estimated 58,000 children in Vanuatu remains extremely precarious. Children in the worst affected provinces of Tafea and Shefa in particular, need urgent help to recover. Many have lost their homes, schools, neighbourhoods and all things familiar in their lives. “With power still out in many places, and boats and planes...

The systems the rich world uses to deliver climate finance to low-income countries are "obsolete," grinding down progress on averting a devastating climate crisis, warned the outgoing head of the United Nations’ multi-billion-dollar climate fund for low-income nations. In an exclusive exit interview as he prepares to leave his post in April, the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Executive Director Yannick...

Vanuatu’s government has declared a six-month national emergency after back-to-back tropical cyclones battered homes, overturned light planes and uprooted trees, triggering an influx of international aid to the disaster-prone Pacific island nation. Tropical Cyclone Kevin hit the capital Port Vila late on Friday, two days after Cyclone Judy lashed Vanuatu’s islands. There were no immediate reports of injuries or deaths. Ralph...

The latest cyclones which have ravaged Vanuatu, as well as an earthquake, in the four days from 01 – 04 March, should drive home the vulnerability and the responsibility we all bear for the global climate crisis and its impact on small island developing states says Forum Chair and Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown. “Our hearts go out to...

The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) will observe the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) General Election Tuesday, 07 March 2023. The Forum Team is lead by Rosalie Motellang, a senior Election Officer with the Republic of the Marshall Islands Electoral Administration, and is supported by Forum Secretariat staff. PIF Secretary General Henry Puna acknowledged the significant milestone this opportunity presented for the...

The Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIF) and Australia have signed a grant agreement to improve E-commerce Statistics in the Pacific. The funding agreement worth AUD$84,000(US$56,505) was signed in Geneva in January 2023 by the PIF’s Permanent Representative and Ambassador, Mere Falemaka, and Australia’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organisation, George Mina. The grant will support the work of...

By Greg Fry and Terence Wesley-Smith In his recently published article “Sea of many flags”, the Head of the ANU National Security College Rory Medcalf makes the case for why Pacific Island states should regard the deep regional involvement of a Western coalition of powers, “quietly” led by Australia, as an effective and attractive “Pacific way to dilute China’s influence”. Although...

The pools for the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens 2023 were revealed on Monday, with 28 teams to compete at the Hong Kong Stadium from 31 March 31 to 02 April. It marks the first time that the Hong Kong Sevens has been played twice on the same series calendar. The event will also be the first time that both men's...