Building on the successful implementation of the Strengthening Water Security of Vulnerable Island States program, the Pacific Community is assisting member states to improve access to clean water sources and safe hygiene.

The initial five-year sub-regional project supported atoll countries to build the skills , systems and basic infrastructure to better anticipate, respond to, and withstand the impacts of drought, while carrying out ground water assessments.

In 2019, SPC brought together member states, donor agencies and partners to map out the next phase of assistance for targeted countries.

More than 16,000 Pacific people work in the Maritime sector. Across the Pacific, local restrictions have severely curtailed access to supplies like fuel for local fishing boats, bringing to the fore the issue of food security and the need for longer term, sustainable solutions.

In this episode, we reflect on the devastating impact of the global pandemic on people’s lives and the reset our Ocean needs as the Pacific region calls on the world to reflect on our past to inform innovation for our future.

The 14th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women and the 7th Meeting of Pacific Ministers for Women will be held from 27-29 April and 4 May respectively. Hosted by French Polynesia, this year’s conference and ministers meeting will be delivered via a blended approach of in-person and virtual interaction given that travel restrictions are still being observed across the region due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Funding support for this event has been provided by the Governments of Australia and the Spotlight Initiative.

In this first of a special two part edition of the Podcast we heard from the host nation and regional women leaders on the challenges for Pacific women and expectations for the Triennial. 

Sigatoka Valley is known as the 'Salad Bowl' of Fiji proving a majority of the islands fresh fruits and vegetables. But this highly fertile region also attracts hungry pests eager to take a bite out of the bowl. 

The Pacific Community through its Land Resources Division is now better equipped to prepare and respond to these threats through its the first of its kind, plant health laboratory.

Commissioned in later October 2020 the lab is housed at the SPC Campus in Narere in Fiji and will allow Pacific Island Countries to develop controls for emerging biosecurity threats, including pests and diseases. Designed to bolster regional capacity, the plant health laboratory enables SPC scientists to study various pests and diseases requiring a high level of biosecurity containment, such as insects, fungi, viruses, and bacteria.

In this episode we travel with plant health specialists to the Sigatoka Valley and talk with farmers about measures to protect their crops. 

Tokelau is one of the smallest and most remote nations in the world, consisting of three coral atolls in the middle of the Pacific Ocean where clean drinking water is scarce.

After years of research and field investigations, the Pacific Community’s Geoscience division has helped locate an abundance of fresh underground water which promises a brighter future for the people of Tokelau

Bula, bon jour, and welcome to a new season of the Pacific Way Podcast.

In this season opener, we take a journey back to 2020 and look at how, we as people of the pacific are working to overcome the challenges and impacts of COVID 19.

Despite the difficulties, the Pacific Community has continued to serve its members through innovation and determination thanks to the strong support and collaboration from donor partners, CROP agencies and the World Health Organisation.

Renewed partnerships with the Governments of Australia, New Zealand and the European Union will mean better coordinated assistance for member countries with focus on increased health capacity, food security, diversification of aquaculture and agriculture for income generation.

We also explore how the region came together to initiate the Pacific Humanitarian Pathway and review some of the new projects earmarked for implementation in 2021.

Australia and the Pacific Community (SPC) have renewed their longstanding partnership, reaffirming their commitment to supporting the sustainable development of the Pacific.

Australia will provide A$42.5 million in core funding to the SPC over the next 3 years to support the renewed 10-year strategic partnership (2014-2023) between Australia and SPC.

SPC is the region’s leading scientific and technical development organisation. Australia has been a member since the SPC’s establishment in Canberra in 1947.

The European Union (EU) and the Pacific Community (SPC) have today launched three new projects that will help address the social and economic impacts of COVID-19, whilst supporting longer-term economic recovery and health benefits for the Pacific region.

The EUR 1.5 million Pacific Regional Integrated Food and Nutrition Security Initiative to COVID-19 (PRISCO19) will provide immediate support for food and nutritional security across 12 Pacific Island countries, while the Safe and Sustainable Drinking Water for Kiritimati Island (EUR 6.2 million) will improve access to clean and safe drinking water in the Republic of Kiribati and the Sustainable Energy and Accompanying Measures (SEAM) Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Project (SEAM – REEE) (EUR 11.6 million)  will improve access to sustainable energy security for the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM).

The recently introduced Pacific Humanitarian Pathway on COVID-19 (PHP-C) was in focus this month with the first flight of medical supplies departing Nadi, Fiji bound for Port Moresby in PNG. The cargo consisted of 44 cubic metres of essential medical supplies. We speak to  the Tuvalu High Commissioner in Fiji, the Secretary-General of Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS),  the Pacific Director of the World Health Organisation, the High Commissioner of Australia to Fiji, and SPC's own Deputy Director-General, on the significance of the flight and the impact of PHP-C for the region. 

The two-week Women in Agriculture Campaign concludes today with an awards ceremony recognising the hard work of Women who have contributed more than 15 years of service towards the Pacific Community’s (SPC) Land Resources Division (LRD).

Collectively, the four women awarded today have more than 80 years of experience in the agriculture field, ranging from programme management to working with genetic resources at LRD’s Centre for Pacific Crops and Trees (CePaCT).

Over the two-week campaign SPC has showed the work of these women with the aim to inspire more women and girls to join the different aspects of the agriculture sector but more importantly, bring the work that women do in the agriculture sector to forefront and recognise their contributions to the Pacific’s most important commodity, agriculture.