4 July 2025, Apia- From shared challenges to shared solutions, Pacific island countries have strengthened regional cooperation on the application of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) principles for transboundary management and movement of hazardous waste.
This followed a four-day subregional workshop on Environmental Impact Assessment principles in transboundary movements of waste under Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs). Held at the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) from 23-26 June 2025, it brought together 14 officers from the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, and Solomon Islands to address one of the region's most pressing environmental challenges.
Participants engaged in practical exercises and discussions on applying core Environmental Impact Assessment principles to realistic transboundary waste scenarios. Papua New Guinea's delegation highlighted the innovative Indo-Pacific Regional Information Sharing (IORIS) platform for real-time vessel monitoring, while emphasising a challenge familiar to all participants: the importance of inter-agency coordination.
"Different government agencies have overlapping legislations, so sometimes it's very difficult to coordinate and collaborate," said Mr Pawa Limu, Marine Manager with the National Maritime Safety Authority in PNG.
Through structured group discussions, participants identified opportunities to strengthen existing EIA mechanisms and develop new approaches for waste movement assessment. Cook Islands noted the need to upgrade their 2003 environmental law to address emerging waste types, while Solomon Islands shared progress in developing environmental legislation with specific EIA provisions for transboundary waste movements.
Fiji emphasised the importance of working together with other stakeholders in processing applications regarding transboundary movement of waste and incorporation of the EIA process, demonstrating growing recognition of EIA's central role in environmental safeguarding.
Kiribati proposed reviving joint enforcement task forces that could apply EIA principles across multiple agencies, while Marshall Islands highlighted opportunities to integrate traditional knowledge within EIA frameworks—showing how Pacific approaches can enhance conventional assessment methodologies.
The workshop addressed inconsistent application of environmental assessment principles across the region and how regional EIA guidelines could be adapted specifically for transboundary waste movements, ensuring consistent environmental protection standards while respecting national sovereignty.
Participants concluded with concrete commitments, with each country delegation presenting preliminary action plans for implementing enhanced EIA approaches to transboundary waste movements.
"I hope we'll put this into action,” said Samoa's representative, Ms Fiasosoitamalii Sioasi, reflecting broad sentiment among participants. “We've been attending meetings, talking, sharing, and when we go back, nothing is done. So, I am hoping we can put this good discussion and way forward into action.”
During the opening session, SPREP’s Acting Director General, Ms Easter Chu Shing, spoke about the importance of the work participants were in Samoa to progress while the Chief Executive Officer of Samoa’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE), Ms. Lealaisalanoa Frances Brown-Reupena, welcomed all the participants to Samoa, and highlighted why the meeting was important to Samoa.
The workshop focussed on how EIA principles offer a structured approach to identifying, assessing, and mitigating environmental risks—principles that can significantly strengthen decisions on the movement of transboundary waste. International bodies such as the International Seabed Authority, and global instruments such as the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the Treaty on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) commonly called ‘the High Seas Treaty’ increasingly adopt EIA principles in their decision-making processes for integration of environmental considerations.
"EIA has been increasingly applied to activities that may potentially cause harm or impose adverse effects on the environment across state borders," explained Mr Puta Tofinga, SPREP’s Environmental Assessment and Planning Officer. "By applying EIA methodologies to Prior Informed Consent procedures, competent authorities can more effectively evaluate potential environmental impacts along transportation routes, develop appropriate conditions for approval, and establish monitoring requirements."
The workshop built on SPREP's extensive EIA capacity building work, including Regional EIA Guidelines for Pacific Island Countries and Territories developed in 2016, Strategic Environmental Assessment Guidelines developed in 2020, and sector-specific guidelines supporting member countries in implementing national EIA requirements.
Ms Amy Kin Mee Choi from the Espoo Convention Secretariat with the United Nation Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) was amongst expert speakers. She was joined by Ms Yvonne Ewang-Sanvicenti, Legal Affairs Officer with the Basel Convention Secretariat, Mr Boyne Drummond, Director of P.O.P.S Environmental Consultants Limited and other speakers who shared expertise on transboundary Environmental Impact Assessment frameworks, providing valuable guidance for Pacific regional systematic environmental management approaches.
MEAs Coordinator at SPREP, Ms Anastacia Amoa-Stowers, closed the workshop.
"We witnessed this week the strengths of regional coordination and collaboration through regional mechanisms and the importance of being part of these legal frameworks as platforms to strengthen regional enforcement and compliance," she said.
The Subregional Workshop on Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Principles in Transboundary Movements of Waste under Multilateral Environmental Agreements Cook Island Strategic Environmental Assessment workshop is supported through the European Union initiated capacity building project phase 3 titled, "Capacity Building related to Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) in African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Countries", implemented by UN Environment executed by SPREP. The ACP MEAs Programme is a global initiative addressing capacity building to implement and enforce multilateral environmental agreements, which began in 2001. Having completed two phases, the third phase ends in December 2025. The programme supports 79 countries across Africa, Caribbean and Pacific regions, representing innovative partnership between the European Union, Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States, UNEP, and FAO.
For more information on the workshop, please contact Jope Davetanivalu, Director of Environmental Monitoring and Governance Programme, joped@sprep.org and Mr Puta Tofinga, Environmental Assessment and Planning Officer, putat@sprep.org