BY NIGEL SANDY, Island Sun Newspaper, Solomon Islands
Apia, 1 November 2011 – The recent Pacific Emerging Environmental leaders (PEEL) symposium in Apia, Samoa from 16 to 20 October has set the foundations for strong leadership in environment action in the Pacific islands region.
The 20 participants of the PEEL symposium have agreed to an action plan, which will see a network of environmental activities being organized in different countries around the Pacific on the same day.
The "PEEL Day of Action" will be the first of its kind to be organized around the Pacific and is proposed to be held in the days leading up to World Environment Day held on 5 June of each year. If successful, PEEL Day will become an annual event. The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), which initiated and hosted the Symposium, will work closely with the group to help coordinate their proposed activities.
The PEEL Initiative, established and agreed to as an outcome of the Symposium, is a longer-term approach to building capacity of young emerging leaders to bring about increased environmental issues at national, regional and international level. Activities under the Initiative will focus on mobilizing the PEEL Network, providing training and internship opportunities and sharing skills within the network itself.
The 2011 PEEL symposium has been hailed as a successful meeting with all the participants gaining much needed training on effective leadership within their own communities in their country.
Keoni Kuoha, Hawaiian participant at the symposium, said, "The symposium has been a win-win situation for the participants and for SPREP – both groups have a lot to gain by working together and sharing our knowledge, skills and passion for environmental protection and sustainable development."
The Symposium participants have a wide range of interests including energy, health, marine conservation and agriculture and come from media, government, civil society and the private sector.
They spent the week developing leadership skills, identifying clear pathways for action and developing a framework for a capacity building programme for young professionals in the region.
For more information, please contact Ms. Seema Deo, [email protected]