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Press Release: International Waters Project

Prime Minister of Samoa says Waste Management Vital to Growth of Pacific Tourism

8/10/2005

The Prime Minister of Samoa, Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi, says better waste management is vital to the growth of tourism in the Pacific region.

Speaking at a special event to highlight the “2005 Year of Action Against Waste”, he said the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), which is headquartered in Apia, needed to promote greater collaboration to improve waste management in the region.

The Prime Minister, who is also the current Chair of the Pacific Islands Forum, said the Pacific Plan was helping to promote truly sustainable development throughout the entire Pacific region.

”Poorly managed wastes can have negative effects on tourism – an area that my Government is very actively promoting as a cornerstone for future economic development. The numerous health and environmental hazards that arise when wastes are poorly managed and disposed threaten our endeavours to stimulate tourism. This concern is not isolated to Samoa – it is a concern shared by all my colleagues in the Pacific Island Forum,” he said.

The Prime Minister said increased regional collaboration and the pooling of limited resources would help to address urgent environmental issues such as waste management that were common among all Pacific Island countries.

He said the development of SPREP’s International Waters Project provided a clear sign that waste was now the most significant environmental issue facing the region. The IWP is SPREP’s largest single programme and most of the participating countries have chosen to address waste as their priority environmental concern. These countries include: Fiji, Kiribati, Tonga, Marshall Islands, Palau, Tuvalu, Papua New Guinea and Nauru.

SPREP Director, Asterio Takesy, said practical lessons from the International Waters Project’s community pilots were now helping SPREP to develop a Master Plan to improve the management of solid waste throughout the region.

The Prime Minister said that Samoa is also taking a very active role to promote best practice in waste reduction as part of SPREP’s “Year of Action Against Waste”. He said the Tafaigata Semi-Aerobic Landfill and Recycling Facility is now providing a model for other Pacific Island countries looking to improve their waste management systems.


ENDS.

Contact Name	Steve Menzies
e-mail	stevem@sprep.org
Phone	(685) 21929
Fax	(685) 20231

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