Pacific Islands News Roundup - Jan. 26 - Feb. 1, 2024

Political Leadership and Regionalism, Peace and Security

• Cook Islands Prime Minister calls for defense and security arrangement with Australia and New Zealand (Cook Islands News)
• Reports from Funafuti suggest new government in the making in Tuvalu (Islands Business)
• Tonga and Austria establish diplomatic relations (Matangi Tonga)
• Guam’s Free Association Task Force inactive, without leadership (Pacific Daily News)
• Papua New Guinea becomes party to United Nations Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (Loop PNG)
• Election day set for Solomon Islands on April 17, 2024 (PACNEWS)
• Japan to host Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting in July (Islands Business)

People-Centered Development

• More than 5,300 benefit from ‘Jobs for Nature Initiative’ by Fiji Government and World Bank (FBC News)
• Report identifies lack of legal protections for LGBTQ individuals in Palau (Island Times)
• Pacific Island governments tax unhealthy foods to tackle non-communicable diseases (Samoa News)
• Samoa Government announces plan to address teacher shortage (RNZ)
• Workshop tackles mental health stigma in Cook Islands (Cook Islands News)
• Proposed amendment to Hawai?i constitution would let state use property taxes to fund schools (Civil Beat)
• American Samoa education system essentially funded through US grants, per report (Samoa News)

Climate Change and Disasters, Ocean and Environment

• US Government Accountability Office: US needs to build Marshall Islands’ trust over Cold War nuclear dump (Fiji Times)
• Hawai?i lawmakers push back on state’s $2 million request to fight youth-led climate change lawsuit (HPR)
• Youth club in Fiji to plant 1,500 trees in bid to tackle climate change and restore biodiversity (Fiji Village)
• Palau Government’s proposal to shrink marine sanctuary for fishing upsets environmental groups (ABC Pacific)?
• Vanuatu special envoy unveils Vanuatu Oceans Roadmap for 2024 to 2030 (Vanuatu Daily Post)
• Solomon Islands National Disaster Management Office calls for precautions amidst bad weather (SBIC)

Resources and Economic Development, Technology and Connectivity

• American Samoa to host its first-ever regional resiliency assessment (Samoa News)
• French Polynesia President confirms Tahiti to host as many as five trans-Pacific undersea cables (RNZ)
• Northern Mariana Islands Senate supports unlimited air services from China (Saipan Tribune)
• Tonga reaches 27 percent renewable energy usage, per Department of Energy (Matangi Tonga)
• Fiji Ministry of Fisheries holds training to help protect Fiji’s food security (Fiji Village)
• Backup generators to power water pumps in Marshall Islands during power outages (Marshall Islands Journal)
• US envoy urges Pacific to keep Chinese-owned technology out of undersea cables (Islands Business)

Announcement

Calling all voices passionate about the Pacific Islands!

Join our inaugural issue of Visions & Voices as we delve into the theme ‘Tides of Change in the Pacific Islands.’ Share your 800 to 1,200-word submission on any topic relevant to the Pacific Islands region by March 31, 2024.*

Learn more: pireport.org/submissions

Theme: Tides of Change in the Pacific Islands

Prompt: Dive into the tides of change across the Pacific Islands. Share your submission on any topic relevant to the region. How does your exploration contribute to a deeper understanding of the dynamic issues we face in the Pacific Islands region, and what insights or solutions might inform how we navigate these tides of change?

*To reference current priorities, issues, and concerns relevant to the Pacific Islands region, we encourage you to visit the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent (www.forumsec.org/2050strategy), which is driven by the following holistic thematic priorities: (1) political leadership and regionalism, peace and security; (2) people-centered development; (3) climate change and disasters, oceans and environment; and (4) resources and economic development, technology and connectivity.

The Pacific Islands Report (PIR) is a collaborative project of the Pacific Islands Development Program (PIDP) at the East-West Center and?the?Center for Pacific Islands Studies?(CPIS) at the University of Hawai?i at Mānoa.

This non-exhaustive news roundup is organized with the thematic areas of the?2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent?and its implementation plan.

Subscribe?to get our news roundups delivered to your email inbox and explore our archives at?pireport.org.?We value your feedback.