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Samoa, like other Least Developed Countries (LDCs) inherits high vulnerability to natural disasters and to external economic and trade developments for which it has no control. These natural disasters include tropical cyclones, prolonged periods of drought, extreme flooding, pests and sudden outbreak of diseases, storm surges and sea level rise.

The Kingdom of Tonga is a nation of 171 islands located in the South Pacific. It has a relatively stable population of 101,000 distributed in three island groups, but most are principally located in and around the capital city of Nukualofa on the main island of Tongatapu. As Tonga is the last Kingdom in the South Pacific, land tenure regulation is principally owned by the King and his Nobles. According to law, the Lands Act designates every Tongan male upon the age of 16 to be given town and agricultural allotments in their village. However, Tonga has not had sufficient land to keep pace with the nuances of its modern dilemmas including heavy domestic migration to urban areas, unsound agricultural methods, and unsustainable development with no impact assessment. Mangrove forests have been severely depleted disturbing precious biodiversity and removing barrier effects of sea level rise and flooding. Tonga is also an agricultural nation. Its flat, rich soil is host to many fruits and vegetables not found in other South Pacific countries. Heavy fertilizer and pesticide use coupled with excessive clearance of wind-sheltering trees has significantly affected the country's natural resources. Although the government has been active creating policy and recommendations for various agricultural and land use issues, there is no enforcement to maintain safety standards.

The Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) several years ago identified the mismanagement of hazardous chemicals in the Pacific Island Countries as a serious environmental concern, and hence the Persistent Organic Pollutants in Pacific Island Countries (POPs in PICs) project was developed as an AusAID funded initiative, to be carried out by SPREP. POPs are a group of twelve particularly hazardous chemicals that have been singled out by the recent Stockholm Convention for urgent action to eliminate them from the world. They include polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which are mainly found in transformers, and several pesticides that are very persistent and toxic to the environment.

The Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) several years ago identified the mismanagement of hazardous chemicals in the Pacific Island Countries as a serious environmental concern, and hence the Persistent Organic Pollutants in Pacific Island Countries (POPs in PICs) project was developed as an AusAID funded initiative, to be carried out by SPREP. POPs are a group of twelve particularly hazardous chemicals that have been singled out by the recent Stockholm Convention for urgent action to eliminate them from the world. They include polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which are mainly found in transformers, and several pesticides that are very persistent and toxic to the environment.

The Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) several years ago identified the mismanagement of hazardous chemicals in the Pacific Island Countries as a serious environmental concern, and hence the Persistent Organic Pollutants in Pacific Island Countries (POPs in PICs) project was developed as an AusAID funded initiative, to be carried out by SPREP. POPs are a group of twelve particularly hazardous chemicals that have been singled out by the recent Stockholm Convention for urgent action to eliminate them from the world. They include polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which are mainly found in transformers, and several pesticides that are very persistent and toxic to the environment.

It contains the Waigani Convention which is a convention to ban the importation into forum countries of Hazardous and radioactive wastes and to control the transboundary movements and management of hazardous wastes within the South Pacific Region (1995)

The Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) several years ago identified the mismanagement of hazardous chemicals in the Pacific Island Countries as a serious environmental concern, and hence the Persistent Organic Pollutants in Pacific Island Countries (POPs in PICs) project was developed as an AusAID funded initiative, to be earned out by SPREP. POPs are a group of twelve particularly hazardous chemicals that have been singled out by the recent Stockholm Convention for urgent action to eliminate them from the world. They include polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which are mainly found in transformers, and several pesticides that are very persistent and toxic to the environment.

The Pacific Island Countries (PICs) are currently heavily dependent on fossil fuels. Renewable energy (RE), mostly hydro, is estimated to contribute less than 10 percent of each PICs commercial energy use and the region is characterized by scattered and fragmented efforts to promote RE technologies that are based on unreliable and unsubstantiated data on RE resource potentials. The Pacific Islands Renewable Energy Project (PIREP) will facilitate the promotion within the PICs of the widespread implementation and ultimately, commercialisation of RE technologies (RETs) through the establishment of a suitable enabling environment. The establishment of an environment conducive to the region-wide adoption and commercialisation of RETs would involve the design, development and implementation of appropriate policies, strategies and interventions addressing the fiscal, financial, regulatory, market, technical and information barriers to RE development and utilization. It will also involve the development of interventions for strengthening of the relevant institutional structures and national capacity for the coordination and the sustainable management (design, implementation, monitoring, maintenance, evaluation and the marketing) of RE initiatives in each PIC. This Project Document has been revised to reflect minor changes suggested by SPREP at a meeting Friday the 6th of September 2002 between SPREP and UNDP to improve clarity concerning internal communications in SPREP between the CTA and the management level and external communications between SPREP and UNDP management levels. Refer to Part IV - Management Arrangements and the Terms of Reference in Appendix B. C.and D.

This report was commissioned by the South Pacific Regional Environment Programmme (SPREP) in early 2000, and forms part of SPREP’s initiative to: identify the requirements of the National Meteorological Services (NMSs) of twenty Pacific island SPREP member countries and territories, package the requirements for aid consideration, and further, to coordinate and administer any consequential aid projects.

An assessment of ecotourism potential for the Funafuti Conservation Area was undertaken in October 2000. The work was commissioned by the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme and carried out by Tourism Resource Consultants, in association with the Funafuti Kaupule, staff of the Funafuti Conservation Area and the Conservation Area Coordinating Committee.