DG Sefanaia Nawadra
Speeches

Welcome

Attending the pre-COP are representatives from:

  • 14 PICs from environment departments, as well as agriculture, fisheries and forestry – in person;  
  • Australia and New Zealand as metropolitan SPREP members – in person,
  • PIRT partners including TNC, CI, WWF, Island Conservation -in person and virtual; and
  • One CROP – SPC, SPREP and OPOC – in person and virtual
  • And input from a few additional partners including FAO (in-person), and virtually from UNEP; SCBD, GLISAP, and University of NSW.

Acknowledge financial support for pre-COP and COP from NZ MFAT under the CC grant.  Collaboration with FAO to engage agriculture sector for this meeting, and for input into mainstreaming biodiversity into agriculture sector.  Support also from SPREP’s and FAO ACP MEA3 project.

SPREP has organised Pacific pre-COPs for a long time, not just for CBD but also UNFCC, INC, CITES and Ramsar.  A key mechanism for supporting a coordinated Pacific approach including Pacific Voice and OneCROP.

Since COP15 and GBF adoption

Since adoption of GBF at COP15 in 2022, SPREP has actively engaged in supporting PICs in the many resulting processes and opportunities including:

  • engaging in working groups developing the indicators for the GBF Monitoring Framework;
  • Informal Advisory Group for Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas (EBSAs);
  • Capacity building needs for the Pacific including through SOI and  around Ocean-related Capacity-building needs for the GBF;
  • Engaging in various Target 3 and OECM partnerships and discussions; and
  • Pacific Sub-regional Technical and Scientific Cooperation Centre to support implementation of the GBF  -  a role SPREP has always played, but strengthens our work as we look forward to utilising this status to enhance and grow our support to Members by leveraging additional support from partners and donors.  Relies on partnerships including PIRT.

SPREP liaising with Vanuatu as current Chair of PSIDs, and encourage PICs to engage with their Missions to the UN regarding their desire to participate in CBD process for the upcoming COP.