New Partnership Formed For A Sustainable Pacific Environment

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The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the sidelines of the Clean Pacific Roundtable and associated events this week in Suva, Fiji. The new partnership will see the organisations working together to support Pacific island countries as they steer towards environmental stewardship and sustainable growth.

“We look forward to our two organisations working together, translating this collaboration from paper to tangible outcomes and actions on the ground in our Pacific islands, for our Pacific islands,” said Mr Kosi Latu, Director General of SPREP.

Amongst other outcomes, this partnership will help strengthen national, sub-national and local green growth planning, financing and institutional frameworks, as well as increase green public and private investment flows to convert green growth strategies and investment plans into practical action. “The Global Green Growth Institute and SPREP champion common objectives and it makes sense for us to be working together in the Pacific region harnessing our complementary skills to deliver high-quality outcomes for our member countries,” said Ms Katerina Syngellakis, Pacific Regional Representative for GGGI.

GGGI supports economic growth that is both environmentally sustainable and socially inclusive, also known as green growth.  The organisation works in over 25 countries worldwide, and has offices in Fiji, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu.  In the Pacific, GGGI has supported the mainstreaming of green growth into the National Development Plan of Fiji, developed the Fiji’s Nationally Determined Contributions Roadmap and Low Emissions Development Strategy, helped set up the National Green Energy Fund in Vanuatu and is supporting green entrepreneurship capacity building in Vanuatu, Fiji and Kiribati amongst other activities. SPREP has worked extensively across the Pacific islands region for 25 years, supporting Member countries to achieve a sustainable environment and resilient Pacific.  Currently guided by the SPREP Strategic Plan 2017 – 2026, SPREP has four key programmes; Climate Change Resilience, Environmental Monitoring and Governance, Island and Oceans Ecosystems, and Waste Management and Pollution Control. The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding took place on 23 August, 2018 at the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat in Suva, Fiji.