24 November 2025, Suva, Fiji - Pacific Island Representatives are gathering in Suva this week to celebrate the successful completion of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) Phase III Programme.
The event marks another significant milestone in the region’s ongoing efforts to strengthen environmental governance and meet commitments under key multilateral environmental agreements.
Implemented in the Pacific from 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ACP MEAs 3 navigated unprecedented challenges while remaining focused on three core areas essential to effective MEA implementation, enforcement and compliance. These include building national capacity, developing legislation and policy frameworks, and strengthening knowledge management across the region as well as increasing the membership of key regional legal instruments such as the Noumea Convention.
In her keynote address, the Permanent Secretary for Fiji’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Raijeli Taga, underscored the importance of this work and its relevance for the region’s future, “Ecosystems are not simply an environmental imperative. They are a cornerstone of our resilience and a moral obligation to future generations. Climate change is not an abstract debate for the Pacific; it is an existential threat to our homes, our health, and our food security. The unity of the Pacific remains our greatest leverage, and the scale of the threat we face demands policy coherence and collaboration.”
Guided by the theme “Sustaining the Gains: Celebrating Our Achievements and Looking Beyond the ACP MEA Phase III Project,” this week highlights several years of collaboration that have supported Pacific countries in improving compliance, strengthening national systems, and building regional capacity across biodiversity, chemicals and waste and environmental information management.
“The closure of the ACP MEAs 3 is not an ending, it is merely a declaration of successful transition. We are celebrating the transfer of capacity, the cementing of essential legal frameworks and the strengthening of the institutionalisation of global environmental commitments within our national governments” said Mr. Jope Davetanivlu, Director of the Environmental Governance Programme at the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).
One of the key features of the meeting is the country panel discussion, where country representatives are sharing experiences, lessons and success stories from project implementation. Their insights underscore the project’s impact in improving environmental reporting systems, enhancing coordination, and supporting countries to meet their MEA obligations.
In her reflection, Ms. Crispina Konelio Senior Environmental Officer from Niue, noted the significant benefits the programme, “As a small island nation, this project has been truly transformative for Niue. It has significantly strengthened our capacity through training our officials in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), environmental safeguards and effective stakeholder engagement. Most importantly, it has enhanced Niue’s ability to participate more actively and confidently in regional and global environmental forums.”
The celebration also features the official launch of two major regional products that will continue to support Pacific nations well into the future. These include the MANA Toolkit, designed to strengthen environmental monitoring and reporting and representing a key legacy output of the ACP MEA’s 3 programme, and the Pacific Regional Environmental Indicator Guidebook 2025, which provides a harmonised set of regionally aligned indicators to enhance national reporting and guide evidence-based policy making.
“This project has been incredibly rewarding, even as we navigated the complexities of working across multiple countries. One of our biggest successes has been building the capacity and confidence of our members to actively engage and negotiate in international, multilateral spaces and fora,” said Ms Anastacia Amoa – Stowers, ACP MEA3 project coordinator.
“We’re sailing forward with optimism, taking with us the valuable lessons and strengthened partnerships gained along the way.”
Throughout the three-day gathering, discussions will also centre on sustaining project gains, including conversations around the Pacific Islands Roundtable for Sustainable Development and options for long-term financing to help maintain the strengthened governance frameworks built through the project.
As the ACP MEA’s 3 project formally concludes, SPREP and its Members are using this moment to celebrate a successful chapter and reaffirm their commitment to continuing the progress made.
The Phase III of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Multilateral Environmental Agreements Programme (ACP MEAs 3) Completion Meeting is held at the Grand Pacific Hotel in Suva Fiji from 24 to 26 November, 2025.
The ACP MEA3 programme is funded by the European Union through the United Nations Environment Programme. For more information, please contact the ACP MEA project coordinator, Ms Anastacia Amoa – Stowers at [email protected]. For more information regarding SPREP’s Environmental Governance (EG) Programme, please contact Mr Jope Davetanivalu, Environmental Governance Director at [email protected]