SPREP Press Release
10 June 2010

The 25th meeting of the Council of Regional Organisations in the Pacific takes place in Apia, Samoa this week. The event is being hosted by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme, and chaired by Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, Tuiloma Neroni Slade.

The meeting is an annual event which brings together the executive leadership of key regional inter-governmental agencies to discuss their collective priorities under the Pacific Plan and working together to respond to the most pressing challenges facing the people of the Pacific. Executives will cover a wide range of area, from economic development, climate change and fisheries.

“We at SPREP are pleased to host this very important gathering, there are ten inter-governmental agencies in the CROP all aiming to promote harmonisation and collaboration in all areas of our work,” said David Sheppard, Director of SPREP.

“For SPREP, climate change is an important overarching issue that impacts upon all areas of life for Pacific people, it’s at this gathering that important discussions will lead to ways we can better assist Pacific communities.”

Secretary General Slade stated that the meeting is an important opportunity to review collective efforts towards regional integration under the Pacific Plan.

This meeting highlights the importance of ongoing collaboration and inter- agency coordination to tackle the challenges facing the Pacific.”

The two day meeting was preceded by a site visit to the tsunami affected areas in southern Upolu. This allowed selected heads of CROP agencies to view first hand the impact of the disaster and the process of recovery.

Executives expressed their sincere thanks to the Government of Samoa and SPREP for organising this important event. They noted the impressive recovery efforts and acknowledged the need to continue supporting the healing processes for people most affected.

The CROP regional inter-governmental agencies attending the meeting are the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, Forum Fisheries Agency, Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme, South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission, Pacific Islands Development Programme, University of the South Pacific, Pacific Power Association, Fiji School of Medicine and the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat.

The meeting is being held at the SPREP compound in Vailima, Samoa, until Thursday 10 June.

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For more details please contact SPREP’s Associate Media and Publications Officer, Nanette Woonton at E: nanettew@sprep.org W: www.sprep.org