Page 4 - IB May 2018 Edition

PACIFIC CONVERSATION WITH SPREP
Letters

Pacific Protected Areas – protecting our

natural heritage for future generations

Our protected areas were established to protect the best of our remaining natural terrestrial, wetlands and marine areas for current
generations, they are our key legacy to gift to future generations of Pacific islanders. However, only about 5% of the Pacific’s land
and 2% of the marine area currently have some form of protection, and few protected areas are adequately managed.
Managing Director / Publisher
Samisoni Pareti Did you know?
Group Editor-in-Chief
Samisoni Pareti by Samisoni Pareti ƒ Our global target for protected areas is the conservation and effective management of 10% of coastal and marine and 17% of
terrestrial areas

Staff Writer ƒ The Pacific has a one of the highest rates of species extinctions of any region in the world especially for birds, and in recent history
Nanise Volau islands have had 80% of all known species extinctions.
Design Consultant Speak up for free media
Dick Lee
Main Correspondents Why should Pacific islanders care?
Fiji Anish Chand World Media Freedom Day this year well now in the media landscape in Fiji Our protected areas help safeguard our native, endemic and threatened plants and animals, they also help maintain healthy and
Australia Nic Maclellan falls on 3 May, but it a came two weeks or the Pacific for that matter. As I write functioning ecosystems such as rainforests, mangroves and coral reefs, maintain regular and clean water supply, protect our soils
Cook Islands Helen Greig early for us at the magazine when the this, Fiji Times’ publisher, Hank Arts, from erosion and increase the resilience of our islands to climate change.
Kiribati Taberannang Korauaba director of Fiji’s office of public prosecu- his managing editor, Fred Wesley, their
French Polynesia Nic Maclellan tions ruled that there was no sufficient Fijian language newspaper’s editor Anare Pacific island cultures have a deep spiritual connection with nature. Our cultures, society and livelihoods evolved from an intimate
evidence to pursue a criminal trial against Ravula and letter to the editor writer Josaia connection with nature which supplied all our needs and continues to provide most of the resources our economies depend on.
New Caledonia Nic Maclellan
myself as editor and publisher, my prede- Waqabaca are standing trial for sedition.
New Zealand Jason Brown Pacific island cultures have historically set aside land and sea for temporary or permanent protection of natural resources such as
cessor Netani Rika and our staff writer, Media freedom is under attack wherever
Niue Naea Michael Jackson rahui or raui, and tapu or tabu areas. Modern methods of protected area management enhance and complement our Pacific island
Nanise Volau. we may look in the islands, from Papua
Papua New Guinea Sam Vulum Since our interrogation by Fijian police New Guinea to Samoa, from Nauru to the traditional approaches.
Patrick Matbob on Sunday, 11 February over a story we Kingdom of Tonga, which incidentally is
Samoa Taina Kami-Enoka had published online about the contract hosting the biennial Pacific Media Sum-
Solomon Islands Priestly Habru of the Australian magistrate that had ruled mit of the Pacific Islands News Associa-
Tonga Iliesa Tora in favour of locked-out airport workers, tion, PINA this month.
Vanuatu Bob Makin our file was handed over to the office of There is hope that media bosses and
the DPP for a decision on whether to lay practitioners will use their sojourn at the
charges or not. kingdom to issue a strong call in sup-
Islands Business is published monthly by
Front Page Limited That he had ruled to close the file was a port for a free and independent media.
Editorial & Advertising Offices relief in itself, although we had protested We should not expect society to support
117 Amy Street, about our innocence all along. In fact media freedom if we are being timorous
PO Box 12718, Suva, Fiji Islands. in the final round of interviews, police
Tel: +679 330 3108 or patsy ourselves. This is our battle, and
themselves disclosed that the magistrate’s we should not expect others to fight it for
Emails contract was ending next month. us. Its either we speak up now or forever
Editorial: editor@islandsbusiness.com
Subscriptions: subs@islandsbusiness.com This is not to say however that all is keep our peace.
Advertising: marketing@islandsbusiness.com
Our choices, our actions, our protected areas.
Printing:
PrintHouse, Suva, Fiji. To learn more about protected areas in your
RUGBY FAIRNESS: PUSH FOR BIG GUNS TO GIVE BETTER DEAL P24 country, why they are important and what you Make the right choice, have that
BUSINESS
ISLANDS DECEMBER 2017 FJD $4.35
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The vote on Pacific conversation today.
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Fiji elections:
New battleground for
Fiji politicians- P15 © Stuart Chape
pipap.sprep.org and www.biopama.org
New Caledonia
at the crossroad Let’s all work together to make a difference!
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P20-21
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Copyright © 2018 Front Page Ltd. PO Box 240 Programme (BIOPAMA). BIOPAMA aims to improve the long-term conservation and
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be sustainable use of natural resources in African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries,
reproduced without the written permission of the publisher. The LATEST news one click away Apia, Samoa in protected areas and surrounding communities. It is an initiative of the ACP Group
www.islandsbusiness.com +685 21929 of States financed by the European Union’s 11th European Development Fund (EDF),
jointly implemented by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and
sprep@sprep.org the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (JRC). In the Pacific region it
4 Islands Business, May 2018 www.sprep.org is implemented in partnership by IUCN’s Oceania Regional Office (IUCN ORO) and the
Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).