Transcript
COLIN TUKUITONGA: (Laughs)...Well it is a significant milestone obviously Don. We are excited about it. Longevity these days is something to celebrate and we are planning a few things to mark the occasion of SPC being around 70 years assisting the members with development activities.
DON WISEMAN: When the organisation looks back over those 70 years what have been the key things for it and the region?
CT: Tuna stock assessment. The tuna fisheries database measurement is a significant world class activity and that's helped inform members on decisions they might make ion licensing and management of the tuna resource. The South Pacific Games was an SPC initiative all those years ago. It is self governing these days and one could say that that is an example of good development. The Arts Festival was an SPC initiative, again it is managed by the members, but if you just look at public health. SPC scientists first started describing emerging diabetes, obesity and heart problems in island communities in the seventies, and we continue to do that work now. SPC has been providing information on surveillance on dengue and so on over the years. We have done a lot of work with young people on gender, and empowerment of women, on education standards and human rights legislation and support - a whole manner of things.
DW: Yes it is almost a never ending list isn't it?
CT: Sometimes I say to people it is easier to say what we are not involved in, rather than try to list everything because inevitably you lose a few significant developments but I hope from those few examples people get the feeling of what SPC has done over the years.
DW: One of the critical issues right now is the work to combat climate change but you have a difficulty there because one of your members, a key member, a founding member, the United States, appears to be led by an administration that doesn't accept that climate change exists, so how do you combat that?
CT: Well the first thing to say is that the government of the United States is a valuable member and we have worked very constructively over the years and this change of course, it is fair to say, is a concern. But the momentum is there we like to think and we like to believe the global community will continue to support the agreements that have been signed. And certainly from our point of view we look forward to continuing the work and recognising the change in priorities. But we are confident that there is sufficient momentum, there is sufficient concern, and that we push ahead and honour those commitments that have been made by the global community.
DW: Do you have any concerns about funding from the US?
CT: Oh absolutely. The contribution is significant and if we don't get that funding resource, either directly through to us, as we have done, or through the bilateral agreement, or indeed through the Green Climate Fund. It is clearly a concern and that is going to be a subject for continued conversation.
DW: Now the Pacific Islands Forum at its summit last year, brought in a couple of new members and it's talking about others, and it's broadening this organisation - the Pacific Islands Forum - and it is looking increasingly like the Pacific Community. Do you see it that way?
CT: No I don't because the Forum deals primarily with the support for the leaders' political issues. And for the most part we are the technical/scientific agency, and for the most part, despite what people might say, we work very well with the Forum. They lead the work on the Framework for Regionalism, for example, but when it comes to the design and implementation of the practical responses to, sa, the priorities adopted by leaders, that's our work. So for example on cervical cancer, that's the health, and public health issues are led by the SPC. So I think in the climate change area there is potential for some murkiness and confusion, but again, we are meeting with SPREP and other colleagues early next month in Honiara to continue to try and make clear who does what.
