31 August 2020, Apia, Samoa – The Second Executive Board Meeting (EBM) of the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) will be held virtually this week.
The EBM replaces the larger SPREP Meeting of Officials, after members made the decision in 2016 to shift the larger SPREP meeting to be held biennially, with the EBM to be held in the alternate years.
This year, the meeting will be held virtually, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to plague most of the world, forcing most countries in the Pacific to close their borders to non-residents, and ultimately halting air travel across the region.
SPREP Director General, Mr Kosi Latu, says, “Despite Pacific-wide border closures due to COVID-19, our work continues with our Members. As such, we are forging ahead with our second EBM as SPREP’s most important meeting of the year.”
The SPREP Executive Board is comprised of eight members. This includes the Troika of past and present chairpersons of the SPREP Meeting, with Dr Melchior Mataki of the Solomon Islands as the incoming Chair, Peseta Noumea Simi of Samoa as the outgoing Chair, and Ms Lucy Bogari of Papua New Guinea as the past Chair.
The remaining members of the Executive Board are comprised of the three sub-regions of SPREP’s 26 Member countries – Mr Engel Raygadas of French Polynesia as the Polynesian rep, Dr Austin Shelton of Guam as the Micronesian rep, and Mr Jimmy Naouna of New Caledonia as the Melanesian rep.
The Metropolitan Members of SPREP will be represented by Mr Llewellyn Roberts of New Zealand.
The virtual EBM will be held over the course of two days, from 3 – 4 September and will be a closed meeting. The 2019 SPREP Annual Report will also be tabled at the meeting, which outlines the highlights of the Secretariat’s work in the region over the past year.
For more information please visit www.sprep.org or contact Ms Audrey Brown-Pereira, SPREP Executive Officer, at [email protected].