Partnerships

The World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD) – Rio+10, held in Johannesburg in 2002 had as its major outcomes the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (JPOI) and the Declaration for Sustainable Development but it also initiated partnership/initiatives between governments and non-state actors called Type II Partnerships. It represented a fundamental shift in the governance of sustainable development from the top-down, state-centred approach favoured at the 1992 Rio Summit to a more collaborative, multi-stakeholder approach. It was hoped that establishing such participatory multi-stakeholder governance mechanisms would increase flexibility and enhance the implementation of sustainable development policy through collaboration between states, international organisations and other non-state actors. Partnerships were seen as a key means of achieving the Millennium Development Goals in particular those related to Goal 7: Environmental Sustainability.

Pacific Leaders launched 14 Pacific Umbrella Initiatives as part of these Type II Partnerships. Concurrently facilitators for each of these Partnerships were assigned and each would develop their respective initiatives by developing individual 'roadmaps' for their long term development.

Pacific Partnerships Launched in Johannesburg, 2002

1. Pacific Island Adaptation Initiative to Climate Change, Variability and Sea level rise

8. Capacity Building and Distance Education

2. Pacific Islands Energy for Sustainable Development (PIESD)

9. Pacific Islands Governance Initiative

3. Pacific Islands Health for Sustainable Development

10. Pacific Islands Information Communication & Technology for Development

4. Sustainable Land Resources Development for the Pacific

11. Mainstreaming Conservation (Biodiversity, Genetic Resources and Traditional Knowledge) in the Pacific

5. Pacific Islands Oceans Initiative

12. Planning for Sustainable Community Lifestyles in the Pacific

6. Sustainable Tourism Development for the Pacific

13. Managing Vulnerability and Resilience to Natural Disasters in the Pacific

7. Pacific Islands Waste Management Initiative

14. Sustainable Water Management in the Pacific



What we do

SPREP has been responsible for establishing the following two partnerships.

  • The Pacific Islands Roundtable for Nature Conservation addresses Initiative 11 (Mainstreaming Conservation). Formed by SPREP in 1997 it is the Pacific's largest cross-sectoral coalition of organizations working to increase effective conservation action in the region in particular with coordinating the implementation of the Action Strategy for Nature Conservation in the Pacific Islands Region.
  • The Pacific Climate Change Roundtable (PCCR) addresses initiative 1 (adaptation to climate change). The establishment of the Climate Change Roundtable in 2008 is to assist in the implementation of the Pacific Islands Framework for Action on Climate Change (PIFACC).

The partnerships bring together different stakeholders such as technical staff and policy makers from national and regional institutions, regional offices of international organisations, NGOs, Churches and key experts from the region involved in involved in conservation and climate change issues. They facilitate the exchange of experiences (lessons learnt, good practices, impacts and benefits) and the use of these experiences as a basis for longer term strengthening of national, regional and inter-regional collaboration.

SPREP is currently working with partners to build partnerships for Oceans (Initiative 5) and Waste Management (Initiative 7).