10 December 2023, Dubai, UAE – The recently completed 2023 Pacific Games in the Solomon Islands left behind a lasting legacy through catalysing actions to address climate change amongst not only the 6,000 athletes and officials who attended and participated in the Games, but the residents of the Solomon Islands capital of Honiara.
Through a consolidated effort by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) through the Pacific Climate Change Centre (PCCC) and the Waste Management and Pollution Control (WMPC) programme, the Greening of the Games initiative spearheaded by the government of Solomon Islands was successfully implemented, with the long-term goal of contributing to a greener and more resilient Honiara.
“The PCCC was happy to provide the support in response to the request received from the Solomon Islands government as a leverage to contribute to the long-term goal of a greener and more resilient Honiara and to drive interventions that will result in transformative impacts,” said Ms. Ofa Kaisamy, PCCC Manager.
Ms Kaisamy stated that their aim to engage young people who can amplify the initiative in the long-run was the reason they engaged with Tenaru Primary and Secondary schools and the Solomon Islands National University. This was also in line with her role as the SPREP Champion for Gender Equality and Social Inclusion.
The Centre’s support for the Greening of the Games involved support for innovation through carbon offsetting and carbon-neutral Games villages, which was achieved through the planting of trees by all participating countries and athletes who travelled to Honiara, as well as in and around the Athletes’ villages.
Capacity building, knowledge brokerage, and science to services, which are the other three key areas of the Centre were also aligned with the support rendered to the government and people of Solomon Islands through the Greening of the Games initiative.
Mr Anthony Talouli, Director of SPREP’s WMPC programme, highlighted that the Greening of the Games also aimed to provide athletes and officials with safe, clean drinking water without the use of single-use plastic bottles.
This is in line with a legislation that has been passed by the Solomon Islands government that will come into effect in March 2024, banning the use and importation of single use plastic bag, packaging, straws, and bottles less than 1.5 litres.
“In the Pacific, there are only a few ways to get through to our communities and change people’s behaviours – through the pulpit and church, through sports, and through social media,” he said.
“We saw the Pacific Games as an opportunity to bring about long-term behavioural change in Solomon Islands, and we would like to thank the Government of Solomon Islands for working with us to extend the boundaries of this initiative beyond the field of play by extending it to the community through the change in legislation.”
Mr Henry Tufah, Deputy Director of the Solomon Islands’ Climate Change division, acknowledged the kind assistance from SPREP through PCCC and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia-funded Pacific Ocean Litter Project within the WMPC programme, which enabled the Government of Solomon Islands to carry out its Greening of the Games initiative.
“SPREP answered our request for support through capacity building and technical assistance that helped us promote climate change adaptation and mitigation through nature-based solutions, which is a priority for the Government of Solomon Islands,” Mr Tufah said.
“Through the support of SPREP we’ve enhanced not only the capacity of the government but of our partners. These are important capacities and transformational changes in terms of behaviour that the government was promoting through its usual activities that through the Pacific Games have been amplified to another level.”
“We believe this will have a lasting impact on the people of Solomon Islands,” Mr Tufah concluded.
The Moana Blue Pacific Pavilion at COP28 is a Pacific partnership with Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia managed by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).
The Pavilion was featured at the twenty-eighth Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change hosted in Dubai, UAE from 30 November – 12 December 2023.
To learn more about the Moana Blue Pacific Pavilion please visit: www.sprep.org/moana-blue-pacific/