SPREP’s journey started in New Caledonia as a joint environmental programme of the South Pacific Forum, and South Pacific Commission, with funding from the United Nations Environment Programme and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. SPREP relocated to Samoa in 1992, operating with a small team of three professional officers and four support staff inside an old copra factory at Vaitele. On 16 June 1993, SPREP gained autonomy as an independent intergovernmental organisation following the signing of the Agreement Establishing SPREP in Apia. Since then, every year on 16 June, SPREP celebrates the anniversary of the Treaty signing.
SPREP Day holiday will be observed on Friday, 19 June 2026. Please note that all SPREP offices will be closed, with normal operations resuming on Monday, 22 June 2026.