http://www.sprep.org
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Pacific countries
continue to list the prevention of pollution as the major environmental concern
within their countries. Pollution is also one of the major threats to sustainable
development in the Pacific islands region. The increase in the sources and
extent of pollution are threatening the Pacific islands’ efforts to maintain
healthy societies, to stimulate development and new investment and a sustainable
future for its people. The main types of pollution within the region are shipping-related
pollution, hazardous chemicals and hazardous wastes and solid waste management
and disposal. The region’s coastal and marine resources are threatened
by introduced marine species, ship wrecks, marine accidents and spills, ships’ waste
and antifouling paints on vessels. Increasing quantities of solid waste, poor
control of chemicals imported into the region and the lack of capacity to manage
pollutants are primary problems.
The limited land area of many of the islands combined with a lack of appropriate
technology for waste recycling has resulted in a proliferation of plastics,
paper, glass, metal and even drums of hazardous chemicals. Much of this rubbish
slowly breaks down and leaches into the soil and into drinking water. What
does not break down takes up space. The foul-smelling organic wastes attract
disease-carrying pests such as mosquitoes, rats and flies. Piles of household
rubbish may be develop on beaches and in mangrove swamps.
Tourism, a key money-earner for some Pacific island countries, is also starting
to be affected by the spread of litter. The region did have a competitive advantage
over other tourist destinations because of the reputed beauty of its lagoons
and beaches. But that advantage is shrinking under the weight of solid waste
piling up around shorelines and waterways alike.
Environmental pollution can have direct and indirect linkages to poverty.
Poor people are the most vulnerable to losses of basic food supplies for subsistence
or income earning due to contamination of land or marine resources. They are
also vulnerable to harmful pollutants and the associated health problems.
Discharges of pollutants into the environment usually represents wasted resources.
For example, smoky vehicle exhausts mean that fuel is being wasted through
inefficient combustion. Some of the materials thrown away as rubbish represent
lost resources when they could be used in other ways, for example using green
waste as compost. The recovery of some of these materials can have direct economic
benefits, like collecting aluminium cans to resell and using waste oil as a
fuel substitute.
Pollution can reduce land value and productivity due to contamination, direct
effects on fish and other marine resources. Export markets are also potentially
at risk as many developed countries continue to tighten their monitoring and
control of contaminated foods.
Effective pollution prevention brings many benefits. In the manufacturing and
energy sectors this can include reductions in raw material costs (including
fuel) and increased processing and operating efficiencies. Reducing packaging
will reduce the cost of packaged goods. The marketing advantages of "pollution-free" products
are now being widely recognised, especially in the tourism sector and for organic
agricultural produce. And waste recovery and recycling operations represent
potential business opportunities for both the public and private sectors.
There are many social aspects to environmental pollution. At a very basic
level, poorer neighbourhoods are often the "preferred" locations
for polluting industries and for rubbish dumps. The residents of these neighbourhoods
are most at risk from the pollutants, due to their generally poorer health
status compared to other groups.
Women and children are more at risk than men from many pollutants. For example,
most organic chemicals accumulate in body fats and the accumulation rates tend
to be higher for women than for men because of their generally higher fat levels.
Those same pollutants can be readily transferred from mothers to the unborn
child or via breast milk to babies. Infants and young children are especially
vulnerable to the effects of pollutants such as mercury and lead, which can
affect on both mental and physical development.
Pollution prevention is something that needs to be addressed mainly at national
and local levels, although there are also some regional and global aspects.
At a national level, there are only a very few Pacific countries and territories
with specific environment acts and associated regulations. And there are even
fewer with laws and regulations that deal with specific aspects of pollution,
such as waste management. Most authority in this and other related areas comes
from outdated and fairly generic legislation, such as the Health Act. More
progress has been made in developing national policies and strategies to address
issues such as waste management. However, much work remains to be done to turn
these into active programmes that can achieve real on-the-ground solutions.
A related issue is often the lack of any clear and unified approach within
the government systems, with responsibilities being spread across a number
of agencies.
There are a number of multilateral environmental agreements relevant to the
the Pacific Islands region. The most relevant are listed below, with links.
Convention for the Protection of the Natural Resources and Environment of the
South Pacific Region and Related Protocols, 1986 "SPREP Convention"
Convention to Ban the Importation into Forum Island Countries of Hazardous
and Radioactive Waste and to Control the Transboundary Movement and Management
of Hazardous Waste Within the South Pacific Region, 1995. "Waigani Convention"
Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other
Matter, 1972. "London Convention"
Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes
and their Disposal, 1989. "Basel Convention"
International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973 as
amended by the Protocol of 1978 relating thereto. "MARPOL Convention"
The Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain
Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade, 1998. "Rotterdam
Convention" Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, 2001 "Stockholm
Convention"
Go to Improving Ships' Waste Management in Pacific Islands Ports.