23 November 2024, Rarotonga, Cook Islands – The Cook Islands National Environment Service (NES) has taken a significant step forward in strengthening its environmental governance in national decision-making processes through a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) training delivered by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP). The five-day workshop, which was held from 18 – 22 November 2024, brought together fifteen staff of the service to discuss and build crucial capacity in strategic environmental planning.
The timing of the training proved particularly significant, coinciding with major environmental policy reforms in the Cook Islands. As part of the workshop, NES officials presented their new National Environment Policy 2022-2032, which outlines the pathway for strengthening environmental protection in the country. A key priority under this policy is the repeal of the Environment Act 2003, with a draft Environment Bill already developed to replace it.
"What makes this particularly noteworthy, is the draft Bill includes specific provisions for Strategic Environmental Assessment. These provisions were developed using SPREP's Regional SEA Guidelines, demonstrating the practical application of our regional frameworks at the national level", noted Ms Roselyn Strickland, Environmental Legal Counsel for NES.
Throughout the week, participants immersed themselves in comprehensive technical sessions covering the entire SEA process.
A highlight of the workshop was a strategic mapping exercise where participants charted the path forward for SEA implementation in the Cook Islands. Mr. Vavia Tangatataia, Manager for the Environmental Compliance Division at NES, emphasised the practical value of the training, "We appreciate the SPREP team for this collaboration and knowledge sharing. This workshop has equipped our team with essential tools for strategic environmental planning. The mapping exercise has also helped us identify practical steps in improving and strengthening our systems to better integrate SEA into our planning processes and ensure that NES is well equipped to fulfill its role.”
The workshop concluded with a forward-looking session that outlined clear next steps for implementing SEA in the Cook Islands. "The enthusiasm and engagement from the NES team throughout this training has been remarkable", observed Mr Jope Davetanivalu, Director for SPREP’s Environmental Monitoring and Governance Programme.
"Their deep understanding of local environmental challenges, combined with these new SEA skills, positions them well to enhance strategic environmental planning in the Cook Islands".
SPREP and NES remain committed to continue the strong collaboration on environmental assessment and planning processes to meet the key objectives and targets set in the National Environmental Policy and regionally through the 2050 Strategy for a Blue Pacific Continent.
The Cook Island Strategic Environmental Assessment workshop is supported through the European Union initiated capacity building project phase 3 titled, "Capacity Building related to Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) in African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Countries", implemented by UN Environment executed by SPREP.
For more information on the workshop, please contact Jope Davetanivalu, Director of Environmental Monitoring and Governance Programme, [email protected] and Mr Puta Tofinga, Environmental Assessment and Planning Officer, [email protected]
To learn more about the ACPMEA 3 project, please visit http://www.sprep.org/Projects/acp-meas-project