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COVID-19 brought an abrupt end to buoyant cruise ship tourism, and the closure of national borders led to the demise of island tourism. Typically, in Vanuatu and Samoa, resorts, restaurants, and other components of the formal and informal sectors closed down. Much employment was lost (especially of women), creating development problems at every level, alongside a reversion to self-reliance, raising questions over the future of tourism industries and national and island economies.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) uses country environmental analysis (CEA) as a tool to assist with incorporation of environmental considerations into country partnership strategies (CPS), formerly referred to as country strategies and programs (CSP) and updates (CSPU), for its developing member countries (DMC). The CEA provides targeted information necessary for informed decision-making on environmental constraints, needs, and opportunities, including those that impinge upon poverty partnership agreements. The focus is on adding value to planned and ongoing development initiatives by (i) reducing environmental constraints; (ii) exploiting environment-related opportunities; and (iii) promoting actions that can lead to improved mainstreaming of environmental considerations into national economic development and planning processes.

The Republic of the Fiji Islands (Fiji) has generally returned to normalcy after a period of political unrest and uncertainty. Instability over a period of nearly two decades, highlighted by the military coups that occurred in 1987 and again in 2000, has brought into focus the urgent need to achieve peace and security, in order to restore private sector confidence, and to accelerate various proposed public sector reforms needed to promote sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction. In 2001, the Government pledged to build a better Fiji. Eleven task forces, representing a wide cross-section of the island community, were formed to discuss and submit recommendations on key economic and social issues. The Strategic Development Plan (SDP)1 for 2003-2005 emerged from this work with a vision for a “peaceful and prosperous Fiji” and a mission to develop and implement the best political, social and economic policies to realize this vision for the nation.