Staff:

Of the 291 staff as of 15 September 2005, we have:
- 164 staff based in Noumea
- 127 based in, or managed out of, Suva.

Women:

- Women comprise 45.70% (133) of all staff.

Professional staff:

- 154 or 52.92% are professional staff; and
- 30.52% (47) of all professional staff are women.

Islander/staff ratio:

Those who have joined us recently in Noumea are:

Those who have left us in Noumea are:

Those who have joined us recently in Suva are:

Those who have left us in Suva are:

[Go back to the top]
 

Provisional calendar
of SPC meetings 
October to December 2005

3–6 October: Investing in Forests and Trees for a Secure Future for Our Future – Regional Awareness Raising Tour, Nadi, Fiji Islands
3–7 October: Improved Plant Protection in Solomon Islands Start-up workshop, Honiara, Solomon Islands
24–28 October: Regional Border Biosecurity Meeting, Nadi, Fiji Islands
24–28 October: Review Workshop on Waste & Management, Suva, Fiji Islands
26–29 October: Pacific Agricultural Plant Genetic Resources Network (PAPGREN) Annual Meeting, Santo, Vanuatu
14-17 November: 35th meeting of the Committee of Representatives of Governments and Administrations (CRGA), Koror Palau
18 November: 4th Conference of the Pacific Community
21–25 November: Regional Container Inspection Workshop, Papua New Guinea
28 November–2 December: Regional Workshop on Sandalwood Research, Development and Extension in the Pacific Islands and Asia, Nadi, Fiji Islands
28 November – 2 December: Heads of Veterinary & Animal Production Meeting, Nadi, Fiji Islands
28 November - 2 December: Pest Risk Analysis Training, Suva, Fiji Islands

[Go back to the top]
 

  Decision-makers will get an up-close look at Pacific forests during an innovative gathering in Nadi, Fiji, 3-6 October 2005. Participants from six Pacific island countries have been invited to go on a tour themed, ‘Investing in forests and trees for a balanced and secure economic, socially and environmentally sustainable future.’
      By-passing forestry professionals, invitations are going out to around 40 non-forestry decision makers from the region. The participants will represent both public and private sector interests. While these people are not directly involved in forestry, their decisions can significantly affect the future of our forest resources and of Pacific Islanders.
     The forestry-friendly tour, jointly organized by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community’s Land Resources Division, the FAO National Forest Programme Facility and the SPC/GTZ Pacific-German Regional Forestry Project, will involve activities at the Mocambo Hotel, Nadi, including traditional songs and dances, drama, and plenary discussions focusing on the beneficial contributions of forests and trees to Pacific Islanders’ livelihoods. This will be followed by tours to Koroyanitu Ecotourism Park, villages of pine plantation landowners, small/medium-scale forest product processing industries and a number of other sites on Fiji’s main island. Participants will have the opportunity to see for themselves the links between forestry and sustainable development. They will meet people who depend on forests, who make a living from processing and marketing forest products, and who are doing their utmost for the future of our forests.
      The tour will highlight examples of good forestry management by rural villages which go largely unnoticed. By the end of the tour, participants will have a deeper understanding of the role of forests in underpinning sustainable development, reducing poverty, and conserving the environment.
     Organisers of the tour are excited about its potential to extend high-level awareness of the Pacific’s forest resources. The combination of dialogue with forestry representatives and social and cultural interaction with villagers promises to leave participants with a lasting appreciation of the dependence of Pacific societies on proper management of their forests.
Further information: Forests and Trees programme, Tel: 679 3300 432
[Go to Table of contents]

Fiji launches land use policy

SPC’s governing body will meet in Koror, Palau, this year to discuss several important issues including the appointment of SPC’s next Director-General. Lourdes Pangelinan, the current Director-General, will finish her third two-year term next year in January 2006. The 35th meeting of the Committee of Representatives of Governments and Administrations (CRGA), scheduled from 14-17 November 2005, will be followed by the 4th Conference of the Pacific Community on 18 November.
    A key issue to be discussed is the outcome of the corporate review.  SPC commissioned an independent, external review of the organisation to help guide its future directions. The review team included Senator Caleb Otto from Palau, Bernadette Papilio from the Wallis and Futuna Territorial Assembly, Margaret Regnault, Adviser in AusAID, Jean Sese, Director-General of the Prime Minister's office in Vanuatu, and Epa Tuioti from KVA Consultants in Samoa. The team will present their recommendations at the meeting.
     The theme for this year's Conference chosen by Palau government and the Secretariat is Youth empowerment for a secure, prosperous and sustainable future. The Conference will also discuss the Pacific Plan and related regional issues including Tony Hughes’ report, Strengthening regional management – a review of the architecture for regional co-operation in the Pacific.
[Go to Table of contents]

For the newly appointed head of SPC’s Pacific Women’s Bureau, an early priority will be closer partnerships on gender initiatives amongst regional agencies.
     Linda Petersen, from the Fiji Islands, is no stranger to development and gender equality issues in this part of the world. She brings more than a decade of UN work to her new role, and leaves the job of Millennium Development Goals Coordinator and Assistant Resident Representative for the UNDP’s Fiji multi-country office in Suva to take up her Noumea-based position.
    She says that as well as working closely with the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, she aims to build on and diversify the Bureau’s links with regional and global initiatives involving Pacific women, from UN agencies to regional organisations and other programmes at SPC.
     She plans to act on recommendations on the Pacific Platform for Action made by SPC’s 9th Pacific Women’s Conference in 2004. The conference’s review of the PPA updated critical areas of concern first endorsed by the Pacific Ministers for Women in 1994. The 2004 meeting also identified emerging gender issues relating to media, ICT, globalization and HIV/AIDS.
    “I’m coming into this to take a lot of the really excellent work that has come out of the review of the PPA to the next level,” she says.
     Linda will lead the Bureau’s new strategic plan, which will run from 2006-2009. Among the key policy issues she plans to take forward are implementing CEDAW (Convention for the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women) in the Pacific, and institutional strengthening programmes. She is also keen to strengthen efforts at the national and regional level to integrate gender into all aspects of plans to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, particularly as they relate to gender and HIV/AIDS, poverty and the environment.
Further information: Linda Petersen, SPC Women’s Development Adviser, Tel: 260 133
[Go to Table of contents]

Larry Thomas is the new coordinator of SPC’s Regional Media Centre (RMC) in Suva, Fiji.
     Notable throughout the region as a popular Pacific playwright/writer and documentary filmmaker, Larry brings a wealth of knowledge and managerial skills to the position. He holds a degree in Media and Communications from the University of Canberra.
     Larry’s most recent position before joining the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) was head of the Literature and Language Department at the University of the South Pacific (USP) and director of the Pacific Writing Forum.
     Over the years he has worked with RMC on a number of projects, the latest as script editor for a documentary on the South Pacific Festival of Arts. With RMC, he did postproduction work on his recent documentary Bitter Sweet Hope, about the history of the sugar industry in Fiji and the expiry of land leases and how this is affecting both cane farmers and landowners.
    Larry has worked for various other organisations, including the Fiji Broadcasting Commission in the early 1980s as a radio producer and presenter, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in 1986 as a communications officer, and USP’s Information Office in 1987. He then rejoined USP’s Extension Services (now DFL), first as Course Development Assistant and later as Course Developer.
    Larry says RMC has a very important role in the region and he hopes to develop new methods to assist its transition to being more in tune and current with modern media practices and technology. He says there is a heavy reliance of Pacific television broadcasters on imported broadcast programs.
    He admits there are financial and resource constraints; however, ‘There are a lot of skilled and talented people and professionals out there who could be utilised by these broadcasters to produce programs that are both relevant and entertaining to Pacific societies.’
    Larry says he would like to see more local content on Pacific television stations and this is an avenue where professional production organisations like the RMC can assist.
    Speaking on RMC’s flagship production, The Pacific Way, he said he could assist in making the programme ‘even more dynamic’: ‘In consultation with the RMC team, we will be relooking at how we would want to market The Pacific Way in the region.’
Further information: Etivina Lovo, Project Assistant of the Regional Media Centre Tel: +679 337 0733
[Go to Table of contents]

Connecting rural communities in the Solomon Islands

  Solomon Islanders in remote rural communities will be able to communicate and access information online through email stations funded by SPC.
     SPC provided funding to set up two rural email stations in Shortlands, at the boarder of Papua New Guinea, and Masupa, in the southern region of the Malaita Province, Solomon Islands. The additional email stations will expand the network of email stations connecting rural communities and will support agricultural information and quarantine monitoring activities undertaken by the Solomon Islands Department of Agriculture and Livestock.
      In the Solomon Islands, where most of the population lives in isolated rural communities and relies on subsistence agriculture, the availability of communication technologies is crucial to achieving agricultural development objectives.
      Farmers will be able to obtain the latest agricultural information as well as maintain contact with their clients and suppliers online. They will also be able to readily access quarantine information and advice as well as notify local authorities of pests or disease incursions in their area. The email stations will also assist with community consultation activities and the coordination of rural projects by local ministries and development agencies.
      The wider community will also benefit greatly from the email stations which will enable people to communicate and obtain important information and advice on health, education and legal issues online. People will no longer need to travel to major town centers to access such technologies.
      Collaborations on this project with the Department have led to the possibility of the network to be used by farmers through the Agriculture Farmers Market Information Project – an initiative to strengthen delivery of market information to farmers.
      Using a short wave radio, computer and solar power, the email stations are inexpensive to install and operate making them sustainable and accessible. The use of wireless networking in HF band enables inexpensive, fast and more reliable connections than afforded by expensive satellite phones and unreliable short wave radios. The remote email stations work by automatically connecting to a hub station in Honiara several times each day to transfer incoming and outgoing emails between the hub and the Internet.
      Both SPC funded rural email stations will be ready to use by September 2005 and will form part of a wide network of rural email stations being installed throughout the Solomon Islands by the not-for-profit organistation – People First Network (PFnet).
     PFnet is a project of the Rural Development Volunteers Association (RDVA) a non-profit organization established by the Solomon Islands Department of Provincial Government and Constituency Development.
Further information: Stephen Hazelman, Coordinator, Information and Extension services or go to the PFnet website, Tel: +679 337 0733
[Go to Table of contents]

Inaugural meeting of the Scientific Committee of the WCPFC

The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) held its first scientific meeting at SPC Headquarters last August (8-19).
      Approximately 100 fishery scientists from coastal states and territories in the region and from major fishing countries, including Japan, Korea, Chinese Taipei, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Canada, the European Union and the USA. met to discuss the current status of the region’s fisheries.

      The new Commission’s aim is to ensure the long-term conservation and sustainable use of the region’s migratory fish stocks through effective management. The main goal of this meeting was to provide scientific advice to the Commission on the status of tuna stocks and by-catch species. The Commission, established by the Convention on the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean, was agreed to by Pacific Island countries among others in 2000, and entered into force in June 2004.
      “SPC has a long history and ongoing involvement in tuna fisheries research and monitoring in the western Pacific region. It is therefore a pleasure for us, in partnership with the Government of New Caledonia, to host this inaugural meeting of the Scientific Committee at our headquarters”, says Ms Lourdes Pangelinan, SPC’s Director-General.
      SPC is the interim provider of scientific advice to the Commission, which has specifically requested two scientific papers. The first provides estimates of sustainable catch and effort levels for the tuna fishery and compares the effects of various management options on stocks, and the second estimates the impacts of the fisheries on non-target species. These and other papers presented at the meeting can be found on the SPC Oceanic Fisheries Programme website.
Further information: John Hampton, Oceanic Fisheries Programme Manager, Tel: +687 262000.
[Go to Table of contents]

“Mr Right Guy”, a multimedia CD-ROM focusing on youthful risk-taking and HIV/AIDS issues, is about to be released. The CD-ROM, based on a film called Mr Right Guy - about a night out and a chance encounter with a lead singer - is the result of collaboration between SPC’s HIV/AIDS programme and Vanuatu theatre group, Wan Smolbag. It was produced with funding support from the Global Fund to fight AIDS Tuberculosis and Malaria.
    Using the Wan Smolbag film as a springboard, the multimedia CD-ROM is designed to provide educators, peer educators, community and health workers with useful approaches in working with young people on behaviours that reduce their vulnerability to HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Young people can also use the resources themselves. The CD-ROM includes follow up activities and support materials with scenes and songs from Mr Right Guy providing a starting point for discussing issues, finding facts, breaking down myths, and making posters.
      CD-ROM users can navigate through different themes including sexual harassment; safe sex; condom use; HIV/AIDS and STIs; relationships; parents, children and sex; prostitution; alcohol and risks; and consequences. Or they can go directly to resource materials such as FAQs, scenes, songs, fact sheets, posters, and myths.
      Copies of the CD-ROM will be released with the film from Wan Smolbag in Vanuatu in October. It will also be distributed at the Pan Pacific HIV/AIDS conference in Auckland, October 25-28.
Further information:
For copies of the Mr Right Guy CD-ROM (© SPC/ WSB 2005) send your request to SPC’s HIV/AIDS programme.
[Go to Table of contents]

There is a general belief that a future influenza pandemic is inevitable. Although the timing of this pandemic is uncertain, the current epidemics of avian influenza in and outside South East Asia pose a significant risk of developing into the next pandemic.
      The need to reinforce the Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs) capacities to respond effectively to this threat is therefore urgent. The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003 highlighted the high vulnerability of the Pacific Island region to future epidemics of emerging diseases, due to their limited resources and response capacities.
      Regionally, partners of the Pacific Public Health Surveillance Network (PPHSN) have already developed pandemic preparedness guidelines, but more work needs to be done, especially at the country level.

Early this month, SPC’s Public Health Surveillance and Communicable Disease Control Section recruited an Infection Control Specialist, Mrs Peta-Anne Zimmerman, for a period of 6 months. The objective of this consultancy is to reinforce infection control capacities in the region and strengthen hospital infection control in Pacific Island countries and territories healthcare facilities.
      Peta-Anne will visit PICTs and try to address their needs individually. Her activities will consist in reviewing existing in-country infection control procedures and policies and give appropriate, realistic and practical recommendations, performing a training needs analysis in the area of infection control and proposing surveillance mechanisms for infection control.
      This new PPHSN project funded by ADB will not only benefit broad communicable diseases prevention and control, but also assist PICTs in their influenza pandemic preparedness plan activities.
Further information: Dr Tom Kiedrzynski, Epidemiologist, Tel: +687 262000
[Go to Table of contents]

Solomon Islands Minister of Finance, the Hon. Peter Boyers, launched the Household Income and Expenditure Survey. The survey will collect data on such issues as family income and expenditure, demographic characteristics of households, and various indicators of poverty.
      The survey forms the greater part of a statistical development project that is being supported by SPC.
     “It is crucial to have an active national statistical system in place,” says Mr Boyers. “The data collected will provide a strong basis for policy planning and decision making as well as setting targets for meeting the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals.”
      The Solomon Islands Statistics Development Project is funded jointly by AusAID and NZAID with both providing AU$400,000 towards the project. SPC is administering the project, which is being implemented by the Solomon Islands National Statistics Office. At the launch, AusAID and NZAID officials affirmed the Minister’s sentiments, adding that they are pleased to be able to contribute to such a worthwhile undertaking and look forward to seeing the outputs of the survey.
      Willie Lahari, SPC in-country Technical Adviser and manager of the project, comments, “It is exciting to be involved in such a beneficial activity. I am confident that the combined expertise and enthusiasm of everyone involved will contribute to the successful conduct of the survey and thus help Solomon Islands to continue moving forward.”
     The Solomon Islands Government is taking advantage of the survey to add a set of health questions that will provide invaluable information on child immunization coverage, infant and maternal mortality, and the incidence of specific diseases with a focus on malaria and chronic illnesses.
      The survey will take place over six months from October this year to March 2006. Preliminary results are expected to be available by September 2006.
Further information: Chris Ryan, SPC Acting Statistician, Tel: +687 262000
[Go to Table of contents]

Intensive introduction to longline fishing on Niue

Sea safety, rigging fishing gear, setting and hauling longline gear, and on-board handling of the catch were among the topics covered at a longline fishing workshop on Niue. Nineteen fishermen took part in the workshop which was led by Steve Beverly, an SPC Fisheries Development Officer. The workshop ran from 24 August to 1 September.
      The first sessions emphasised sea safety with a demonstration of a sea-safety bag containing a mini EPIRB (emergency position indicating radio beacon), hand-held GPS and VHF radio, water-proof torch, range of batteries, all-purpose tool, signal mirror, See-Rescue Streamer and first-aid kit ― all in a small waterproof bag.
      Steve then covered basic gear configuration and terminology, and explained how to set the gear, and how to find fish by using charts, bird piles, plankton, temperature breaks and scum lines. He also discussed the depth of line setting and where different target species are found in the water column. Participants were shown how to rig floats and floatlines, and make up two types of branchline.
      During the second part of the workshop, trainees were able to sign up for real fishing sessions. They were split into two groups to ensure everyone had a turn at every job involved in line setting and hauling operations. Despite the weather conditions, each group of trainees set and hauled 230 hooks in 40 hook baskets without mishap aided by a helpful captain and crew who instructed trainees on baiting, snapping and coiling branchlines, and other aspects of a tuna longline operation.
     Along with gaining practical experience, trainees had the opportunity to view several videos and DVDs including Longline fishing, Handling of sashimi grade tuna, Hawaiian tuna action and Crossing the line (turtle handling for longline fisheries). Reading materials including longline manuals, brochures on sea safety equipment, and a booklet on using marine radios were also distributed.
 Further information: Steve Beverly, Fisheries Development Officer, Tel: +687 262000
[Go to Table of contents]

Training regional fisheries observers in Samoa

Fisheries observers play an essential part in monitoring and managing tuna resources in the Central and Western Pacific. Observers work on board industrial tuna boats where they observe, record and report data, providing first-hand unbiased information. A three week sub-regional observer course held recently in Apia, Samoa, was attended by trainees from Samoa, Kiribati, Fiji and Solomon Islands.
      Siosifa Fukofuka of SPC, who is responsible for training port sampling staff and fisheries observers for the Pacific, had the task of coordinating the course which included presentations by several agencies. The syllabus covered tuna harvesting procedures and use of fishing gear, sea safety and first aid, life on board a tuna boat, the role of the observer, data safe keeping and confidentiality, report writing, and identification of marine species and mammals. Similar courses aimed at providing training in all aspects of observer work have been presented by SPC and the Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) since 1995 with FFA focusing on compliance and management issues and SPC on scientific aspects.
      Local presenters covered components of the course with sea safety being presented by the School of Maritime Training (Samoa Polytechnic) and basic first aid by the Samoa Red Cross, who demonstrated airway, breathing and circulation (ABC) techniques, CPR, and treatment of fractures and bleeding. A SPREP adviser gave a presentation on marine pollution.
      Staff from the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), based in American Samoa, presented an overview for observers boarding US Treaty vessels out of Pago Pago. They also gave a preview of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) observer forms. All US purse seine vessels fishing in the Eastern Pacific Ocean (east of 150°W) must have observers onboard who are required to complete the IATTC forms.
      Training in identifying marine mammals and sea turtles was provided by the American National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), who also gave trainees an overview of Hawaii‘s longline observer programme. NMFS will continue to take part in future courses mainly because identification of marine mammals is required for all US flag vessels including, in this case, US purse seiners.
     Assessments were carried out throughout the course which ended with a final examination with nine out of twelve trainees succeeding in gaining SPC/FFA observer certification. To validate their training, the successful trainees will be sent to sea by their national observer programmes. These trips will range from a day trip on a Samoan Alia fishing boat to 45–100 days or more at sea on purse-seine and longline vessels.
     To date, more than 1000 observers have been trained. Just over 200 of them remain either with their national programme or with regional programmes managed and monitored by FFA and SPC.
     The programme wishes to acknowledge the funding agencies - the European Union as well as the US Tuna Foundation for their support.
Further information: Siosifa Fukofuka, Observer and Port Sampling Trainer, Tel: +687 262000.
[Go to Table of contents]