14 Mar 2006

Pacific official hopes tech talks can sway development policy

4:12 pm on 14 March 2006

An official at the Secretariat of the Pacific Community hopes recent discussions on technology will help to sway regional policy and make technology a driving force in sustainable development.

The regional advisor on genetic resources of crops, Mary Taylor, says development decisions in the Pacific are based on limited scientific evidence.

The SPC has been hosting informal meetings with the aim of persuading policy makers to incorporate science and technology into their decisions on development.

Ms Taylor says the stakes have become much higher since a top level meeting on the same subject in Samoa in the late 1980s.

"Nothing really has been done, but the challenges now for the region are much more and also in order to meet those challenges, there is more of a need for science and technology."

Ms Taylor says regional research institutions must be more active in raising awareness of their work and how it can be put to use as a tool for development.