16 October 2024, Nadi Fiji - The role played by environmental law professionals in implementing and enforcing Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) to ensure compliance, and address legal disputes related to environmental degradation, is critical in fostering regional cooperation to address the unique environmental challenges faced by Pacific countries.
For this reason, the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Natural Resources coordinated a three-day workshop held in Fiji recently.
Attended by lawyers from Fiji, Kiribati, Niue, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu, Samoa, Tuvalu, and Nauru, the workshop equipped participants with skills and knowledge needed to support their countries to address pressing environmental challenges including pollution, biodiversity loss and climate change.
Ms Georgina Lloyd, of UNEP in her opening remarks, highlighted the key role of legal professionals in addressing the triple planetary crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.
“Underpinning these topics is an urgent need to address ongoing challenges to achieve environmental sustainability and halt the continuing number of environmental injustices that are affecting communities and to advance and improve environmental governance and increase ambition in international commitments,” she said. “”We must do this to address the triple planetary crises and ensure a sustainable future for people and the planet.”
The UN Environment Assembly held in February 2024, as the world’s highest-level decision-making body for environment matters with all 193 Member States, marked a pivotal moment by emphasising the importance of MEAs in accelerating global commitments and action to address key environmental issues.
Strengthening environmental rule of law, particularly through capacity building of lawyers in the Pacific region, supports the achievement of obligations under international environmental law and aligns with the priorities set during the Inaugural IUCN Oceania Environmental Law Conference held in 2021.
SPREP Director General, Mr Sefanaia Nawadra, emphasised that understanding MEAs leads to stronger, effective, laws, policies and frameworks to apply nationally and support states obligations, contributing to reducing impacts of the accelerating environmental crisis caused by the triple planetary crises.
Ms Aurelie Godfrey, Deputy Head of Unit, International Partnerships, European Commission, added: “The European Union remains committed to supporting efforts to safeguard the Pacific environment and strengthen their capacity.”
The workshop covered a range of topics, starting from the fundamentals of international law and extending to the domestication of States Parties' obligations under MEAs. It also focused on critical aspects of enforcement and compliance with these agreements, ensuring that legal frameworks are robust enough to support environmental protection at national and local levels.
The Pacific region has been fortunate with the ACP MEA Phase III project and its support to revive the Noumea Convention as our Regional Seas Convention having direct linkages to the newly adopted High Seas Agreement (BBNJ) where we can protect and manage our marine biodiversity in the high seas’ pockets.
This is an example of an existing regional legal instrument that remains relevant and applicable to global environmental contemporary and emerging issues.
During the workshop, participants engaged in a simulation exercise focused on negotiating a draft decision text, which is a key part of the intergovernmental process under a MEA through the Conferences of Parties (COP) or Meetings of the Parties (MOP). The simulation allowed participants to experience first-hand the complexities of international environmental negotiations, enhancing their understanding of how such decisions are made within the framework of MEAs.
The session provided representatives with a step-by-step overview of the rules of procedure governing the intergovernmental process. Participants were briefed on how to effectively make interventions during negotiations, propose changes to draft text, and navigate the dynamics of international discussions.
Capacity building for Pacific lawyers is a foundational step toward advancing environmental protection and conservation efforts in the region and strengthening domestic environmental governance, but also ensures that countries are better equipped to mitigate and adapt to the global environmental crisis, reinforcing their role in international environmental efforts.
The workshop was supported by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) through the Third Phase of the Project on Capacity Building related to Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) in African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Countries (ACP MEA Phase III) and the Pacific Climate Change Centre, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), International Union for Conservation on Nature (IUCN) through its Marine Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Project funded by Bloomberg Ocean Initiative and Arcadia.