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Implementation framework 2010-2014 for the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan 2007 (NBSAP) : Fiji Islands

It is our intention to design a strategy that will move Fiji from an over-reliance on dumping wastes and littering to a position where it will be a model for sustainable waste management. Waste cannot be reduced without a system that manages waste from the point of generation through to disposal. Up till now, waste policies provided an end of pipe solution by focusing mainly on disposal rather than prevention. There is a need to develop a new vision for minimizing waste and managing it better.

The recently enacted Environmental Management Act (EMA) calls for the development of a National Liquid Waste Management Strategy (the National Solid Waste Management Strategy and Action Plan was developed in 2005). The proposed Liquid Waste Strategy will set the direction for sustainable liquid waste management in Fiji, and was developed through a process of wide consultation with all stakeholders involved in the production and the management of liquid waste. The government will take the lead in implementing the strategy, working in close partnership with local government and other key stakeholders.

The Strategic Action Programme for the International Waters of the Pacific Small Island Developing States (IWP) involves 14 participating Pacific Island Countries: Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati. Marshall Islands, Nauru, Nine, Palau. Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.The Programme was originally designed as a 5-year programme. However, for a variety of reasons implementation of the Programme was slower than anticipated with the recommendation in December 2002 that the Programme be extended to cover 7 years. Approval for a 7 year Programme was received from UNDP in January 2003. The revised completion date is to December 2006. The Programme is executed by the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP). Its objectives and broad activities are described in a Project Document (UNDP 1999). The day-to-day coordination of work for the IWP, across the 14 participating countries, is conducted by a Project Coordination Unit (PCU), that is housed at SPREP.

The formulation of the Fiji Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (FBSAP) incorporated a wide variety of material from diverse sources, but principally consisted of: Recommendations of reports from Six Technical Groups; Recommendations of six Community Workshops; and, Contributions from the members of the FBSAP Steering Committee.