Conservation and sustainable development efforts in the Pacific were strengthened this week thanks to a new agreement between the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Pacific Community (SPC). The agreement will see both organisations working to identify common work areas with greatest potential impact for the Pacific region, and pooling their efforts for the benefit of the entire region.
SPC’s Director-General, Dr Stuart Minchin highlighted the importance of the agreement and the urgency of the issue for the Pacific saying, “The Pacific Community and the IUCN recognize the serious challenges posed by biodiversity loss and climate change in the Pacific, challenges that will take coordinated and complementary action to be overcome. Through this agreement, our respective organisations are demonstrating their determination in supporting the future sustainability of this region and its people”.
In 2020, SPC and IUCN engaged in collaboration through Pacific platforms, frameworks and initiatives such as the Pacific Islands Roundtable for Nature Conservation (PIRT), the 10th Pacific Island Conference on nature conservation and the Kiwa Initiative. This new MOU further commits and strengthens ties between the two respective organisations in the coming year.
IUCN Oceania Regional Director Mr Mason Smith called the agreement a milestone for the region and beyond. “There is a need now, more than ever before, for regional and international organizations to collaborate, share resources and technical knowhow when addressing issues that are critical to the survival and resilience of our communities and I look forward to working with our colleagues from SPC in the years ahead.”
The agreement recognises the unique and complementary roles of SPC and IUCN in identifying, developing and carrying out collaborative projects and activities. Specific areas of collaboration, activities and projects will be identified based on geographic, programmatic, and other relevant criteria, with early work focused on strategies to mobilize the international community in the lead-up to the World Conservation Congress, the Fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 15) and the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26).
Media contact(s):
IUCN contact: +679 331 9084 (Fiji) - [email protected]
SPC Media contacts: +679 337 9250 (Fiji) or +687 26 20 00 (Noumea) - [email protected]
Sonia Nguyen, Information, Communication and Knowledge Management Officer, Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability Programme, Pacific Community (SPC) | [email protected]
About SPC:
The Pacific Community has been supporting sustainable development in the Pacific, through science, knowledge and innovation since 1947. It is the principal intergovernmental organization in the region, owned and governed by its 26 member countries and territories. www.spc.int
About IUCN:
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is a membership Union composed of both government and civil society organisations. It harnesses the experience, resources and reach of its more than 1,400 Member organisations and the input of more than 17,000 experts. This diversity and vast expertise makes IUCN the global authority on the status of the natural world and the measures needed to safeguard it. www.iucn.org
