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The Meeting was opened by Dr Vili A Fuavao, Director of the South Pacific Regiona lEnvironment Programme (SPREP), who welcomed delegates and called upon them to make firm decisions to facilitate both the implementation of the Action Plan and the inevitable evolution of SPREP into an autonomous regional organisation. Outlining the numerous tasks to be undertaken by this Fourth Intergovernmental Meeting (IGM), Dr Fuavao referred to the two options identified by the Irgal Working Group under which SPREP could evolve into an autonomous body. He highlighted the importance of reaching agreement on this important matter so that the ambiguities, uncertainties and confusion faced by the Secretariat were resolved, providing the Secretariat with clear operational direction for its future work.

The conservation values and biodiversity of Pohnpei's forests are perhaps as important as their hydrological buffering function. A combination of strong traditional respect for the upland forest, heavy human depopulation during the last century, and relatively difficult access to inland areas have spared the upland forests of Pohnpci Island from much of the disturbance and destruction that has occurred in the island's lowlands and on other Micronesian islands. These factors, along with the relative age and isolation of the island make the flora of Pohnpei's upland forests some of the most diverse in Micronesia, with a high level of endemicity.

The South Pacific is a vast region occupying 30 million square kilometres of the Pacific Ocean, an area more than three times larger than the United States of America or China. Of this, only 2% is land, scattered over a myriad of large and small islands with a total land area of only 500,000 square kilometers. The region is also home to an incredibly diverse range of peoples and their cultures, with three commonly recognised subregional constituents — Micronesia, Polynesia and Melanesia.

The consultation process is vital to the development of any management strategy where its implementation is dependent on the action of individuals and communiues. The process to develop this National Environmental Management Strategy has been one of consultation and consensus-seeking.

The purpose of UNCED is to set the international agenda and priorities for the implementation of environmentally sound and sustainable development. Because of the importance and the scope of the decisions to be taken at UNCED, the General Assembly also established, by the same resolution, a Preparatory Committee (PrepCom), open to all member States at the Heads of State or Government level, to prepare for the conference. The UNCED, the "Earth Summit", is expected to be the largest summit-level conference ever held.