Two shared challenges of Pacific nations are solid waste management and energy security. In
many countries, rapid development and population growth have outpaced the capacity to deal
with the waste produced. In parallel, large sections of communities lack access to clean,
affordable energy sources.
Addressing a lack of energy with an abundance of waste is a truly innovative way to make
needed progress toward the aspirations of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the
guiding regional frameworks of the Framework for Energy Security and Resilience in the Pacific
(FESRIP) and the Pacific Regional Waste and Pollution Management Strategy 2016-2025, as well
as country commitments to the Paris Agreement (2016) through Nationally Determined
Contributions (NDCs), national priorities in their climate change National Action Plans (NAPs) and
and achieving a carbon neutral region by 2050 through the Strategy for the Blue Pacific
Continet.
In response, the Pacific Adoption of Waste to Energy Solutions (PAWES) Project is committed to
supporting enhanced solid waste management and energy security in the Pacific region. With a
focus on sustainability, the PAWES project aims to improve the livelihoods of the people of the
Pacific with affordable, reliable and environmentally sound waste management and energy.
The PAWES project is led by the Pacific Community (SPC) in partnership with South Pacific
Regional Environmental Program (SPREP) and supported with the financial contribution of the
European Union and the support of the Secretariat of the OACPS, Organisation of African,
Caribbean and Pacific States.
The project will deliver waste management and energy security solutions in Samoa, Solomon
Islands, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Papua New Guinea,
Description