NUKU’ALOFA – August 24, 2018: 1.30pm (Enviro News): The second State of Environment report, prepared by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), was today presented to the Chief Executive Officer Mr Paula Ma’u here at the Department of Environment’s conference room in Nuku’alofa this morning.
A three member team led by Mr Jope Davetanivalu made the presentation to Mr Ma’u and representatives from other government departments and Non Government Organisations (NGOs).
Mr Davetanivalu said the report was a working document that they are putting together with the assistance of the UN Environment.
This was a follow up to the first national dialogue held earlier this year.
The national dialogue, held on May 16-17, reviewed the National Environmental Management Strategy (NEMS) and prepare the first ever national State of the Environment (SOE) Report in Tonga.
The NEMS provides policy guidance and direction on key policy measures to address key environmental concerns and challenges, while the SOE reporting process is an important tool for environment planning and management, providing a periodic review of changes in the environment. Both strategic tools go hand-in-hand and are critical for the Pacific region in navigating a country’s environmental priorities and the way forward.
From the national to the global context, mapping and reporting on national environmental priorities supports how countries report back on commitments such as multilateral environmental agreements, the Sustainable Development Goals, and the strategic direction for Small Island Developing States outlined in the SAMOA Pathway, among others.
SPREP’s team facilitated the discussions between the different sectors such as agriculture, fisheries, forestry, land and natural resources, statistics, tourism and waste management.
