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The government of Fiji adopted a policy for sustain able social and environmental compatibility in its Strategic Development Plan 2007-2011 in 2006, which also recognizes the importance of appropriate waste management. As for the legal aspects, the Environmental Management Act 2005 was legislated in March 2005.The Environment Management (Waste Disposal and Recycling) Regulation 2007 which gives effect to the provisions of EMA 2005 was anacted on January 2008,. Also, the National Solid Waste Management Strategy and Action Plan 2008-2010 was launched in June 2008 with the aim of reducing environmental impact and waste through proper waste management. Department of Environment (DOE) has now adopted updating the National Solid Waste Management Strategy and Action Plan 2011-2014 in August 2011.

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

The objective of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is “to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought in countries experiencing serious drought and/or desertification”. In Fiji’s context, her obligation is related to combating land degradation and mitigating the effects of drought. Since ratification of the Convention in August 26th 1998, Fiji has complied with all reporting obligations between years 2000 and 2007. The review of Fiji’s Land Conservation and Improvement Act is underway, which together with implementation of the Rural Land Use and Forest policy will address emerging issues on land degradation and drought

The Upper Navua River cuts a narrow gorge through the province of Serua in the central highlands of Viti Levu. The Navua River represents Fiji's third largest freshwater drainage. The gorge is approximately 75 meters deep and varies in width from 5 to 25 meters. The Upper Navua Conservation Area (UNCA) encompasses tins never gorge and approximately 58% of die entire catchment area. Lush highland rainforest surrounds the entire drainage and provides a host of botanical cures diat are utilized by die indigenous peoples of the area. The forest, over and associated biodiversity provide die necessary supplies and food required for daily living and a wide range of ecosystem services to the entire catchment area including flood control for lower areas.

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 objective of the UNFCCC is to stabilise the concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere at levels that prevent dangerous interference with the world's climate. This should be done within a time frame that will allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change, to ensure food production is not threatened and to enable economic development to proceed in a sustainable manner.

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.