Island and Ocean Ecosystems
1 June 2015, Papeete, Tahiti - The week-long Blue Days regional conference on ecotourism and iconic marine species opened in Papeete, Tahiti, with a French Polynesian-style media conference, under a tree in a fragrant garden with croissants and coffee, featuring the Minister for the Environment and Culture of French Polynesia, Hon. Heremoana Maamaatuaiahutapu and Mr. Stuart Chape of the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).
The conference was the initiative of the Government of French Polynesia, who partnered with SPREP to deliver a comprehensive assessment of the development of ecotourism in the Pacific Islands; its impacts positive and negative on the dugong, turtles, whales, dolphins and sharks; and to set a roadmap for its further development over the next decade, including guidelines for best international practice.
After the media conference and welcoming speeches, the conference got down to business with a day packed full of informative presentations by representatives of the eleven Pacific Island countries attending the meeting, international experts in wildlife and tourism, and NGOs.
While some countries, such as Fiji and Palau, host multi-million dollar industries based on encounters with marine wildlife, others, like the Solomon Islands and Kiribati, are barely beginning to scrape the surface of what might be possible for them in the future.
Animated discussions between delegates sharing their experiences at the evening reception at the Presidential Palace seemed to indicate that the conference was off to a great start, and is on track to deliver an opportunity for SPREP members to bring together tourism and conservation interests, through community engagement in species conservation, to deliver economic benefits to all member countries and territories.
The conference was the initiative of the Government of French Polynesia, who partnered with SPREP to deliver a comprehensive assessment of the development of ecotourism in the Pacific Islands; its impacts positive and negative on the dugong, turtles, whales, dolphins and sharks; and to set a roadmap for its further development over the next decade, including guidelines for best international practice.
After the media conference and welcoming speeches, the conference got down to business with a day packed full of informative presentations by representatives of the eleven Pacific Island countries attending the meeting, international experts in wildlife and tourism, and NGOs.
While some countries, such as Fiji and Palau, host multi-million dollar industries based on encounters with marine wildlife, others, like the Solomon Islands and Kiribati, are barely beginning to scrape the surface of what might be possible for them in the future.
Animated discussions between delegates sharing their experiences at the evening reception at the Presidential Palace seemed to indicate that the conference was off to a great start, and is on track to deliver an opportunity for SPREP members to bring together tourism and conservation interests, through community engagement in species conservation, to deliver economic benefits to all member countries and territories.
For more information please contact Mr. Mike Donoghue, SPREP's Threatened and Migratory Species Officer or Ms. Pascale Salaun of the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Management Division of SPREP.