Month: June 2022

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With help from academia, the blue economy swims into focus

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By Kalinga Seneviratne ( University World News) The 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent was adopted by the 18-member Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) at their 50th anniversary summit in Tuvalu in 2019. The PIF member countries are sending high-powered delegations to the 2022 UN Ocean Conference starting in Lisbon on 27 June to get the strategy officially adopted by the United Nations as a development priority for the region. The University of the South Pacific (USP), which has its major campus in Suva, Fiji, with a number of smaller campuses across the region, has several projects led by the … Continue reading With help from academia, the blue economy swims into focus

Development and Economy, Heritage and History, SDGs, South Pacific, TravelLeave a comment

Fiji Govt’s Indifference Threatens Levuka’s World Heritage Status

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By Kalinga Seneviratne LEVUKA, Fiji (IDN) — This rugged island of Ovalau covered with greenery is only 13 km long and 10 km wide and is situated off the eastern coast of the main Fijian island of Viti Levu. Its only town, the port settlement of Levuka with about 1500 population is Fiji’s only UNESCO Heritage Listed site and a local community leader says that it could well be de-listed if the Fijian government does not pay enough attention to its heritage value. Retired local schoolteacher and former CEO of Levuka Town Council Suliana Sandys is critical of the Fijian … Continue reading Fiji Govt’s Indifference Threatens Levuka’s World Heritage Status

Development and Economy, Environment, SDGs, South PacificLeave a comment

South Pacific Plans Coordinated Action at UN Ocean Conference

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By Kalinga Seneviratne SUVA, Fiji (IDN) — This week, to coincide with the World Ocean Day (WOD) on June 8, South Pacific’s experts and stakeholders on the Oceans met here to plan coordinated action at the United Nations Oceans Conference starting in Lisbon on June 28. Speaking at a WOD event here on June 8, Fiji’s Fisheries Minister Semi Koroilavesau said that the enormous scale of the challenges facing the oceans today can no longer be ignored. “We are not the only ones that hold the future of our ocean in our hands. The entire world must also do its part and … Continue reading South Pacific Plans Coordinated Action at UN Ocean Conference