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The Government of Papua New Guinea and FAO will host the Eleventh Meeting of Southwest Pacific Ministers of Agriculture at Port Moresby, PNG. Progress on the development of agriculture, forestry and fisheries within the FAO Pacific member states will be discussed and recommendations will be presented Ministers and representatives in attendance. The decisions by the Ministers will then help guide activities in these sectors by FAO, the member countries, and...

Celebrating the International Day of Forests (IDF) is gaining momentum in the Pacific. The theme this year, Forests and Climate Change was chosen to highlight the ways in which forests and climate change are linked, and to rally global support for greater action and change. Some countries used variations of the global theme. Fiji commemorated IDF under its national theme, Healthy Forests, Resilient Communities. IDF was preceded by a weeklong awareness...

FAO has launched a photo contest #soils4life on Instagram as part of the commemoration of the International Year of Soils 2015.  The contest invites followers to share photos related to soils, their potential, their functions, but also instances of exploitation or abuse to help draw attention to the numerous issues concerning this valuable resource. The contest will run from 1 April until 17 May 2015. All photos posted during this time with...

20 March 2015, Rome -- Strong winds, heavy rains and floods resulting from Tropical Cyclone Pam have caused extensive damage to agriculture throughout Vanuatu, including the main food and export crops, livestock, and fisheries infrastructure, FAO said today. According to initial rapid assessments that the Vanuatu government led in four provinces, the banana crop throughout the country has been almost entirely destroyed, as havemost coconuts and all of the inland cabbage...

Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing continues to threaten effective conservation and management of fish stocks in the wider Pacific Region. IUU fishing is causing economic and social losses for the Pacific Countries and negatively impacts their food security and livelihoods. FAO, Pacific Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) and the Tongan Ministry of Agriculture, Food, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFFF) are working together to implement the 2009 FAO Agreement on Port State Measures...

FAO is cooperating with a local non-government organization to promote and up-scale organic farming and food production for farming communities with protected areas in Savaii, Samoa. Women in Business Development (WIBDI) is an NGO that helps rural families develop sustainable businesses which will make the most of their farm-based resources. Villages recently decided to conserve the cloud forests by establishing Community Conservation Areas in the highlands of Savaii. In order to improve...

FAO provides technical assistance towards improved management of conservation and protected areas in Fiji, Vanuatu, Samoa and Niue. In Fiji, the Greater Delaikoro Area is an upland region spanning the main mountain range of Vanua Levu, encompassing Mt Sorolevu (1,032m) Mt Delaikoro (928m), and the Waisali Reserve. This region is under consideration as a Protected Area. The 2014 Rapid Biodiversity Assessment, Socioeconomic Study and Archaeological Survey of the Greater Delaikoro Area is...

Forests and trees sustain and protect us in invaluable ways. They provide the clean air that we breathe and the water that we drink. They host and safeguard the planet’s biodiversity and act as our natural defence against climate change. First observed in 2013, the International Day of Forests (IDF) provides a platform to raise awareness of the importance of all types of forests and of trees outside forests. The theme...

FAO presented Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small Scale Fisheries (SSF Guidelines) at the Ninth Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) Heads of Fisheries Meeting recently in Noumea, New Caledonia. Chief of FAO’s Development Law Service, Mr. Blaise Kuemlangan, highlighted the merits of the SSF Guidelines, referring to it as “the first international instrument that is dedicated entirely to the immensely important – but until now often neglected – small scale...

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) will fund an animal surveillance project for Vanuatu. The FAO Vanuatu Animal Disease Surveillance Project will last for four months and will cost $US100,000 or approximately Vt10 million. FAO is working in partnership with the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) to bring our global expertise to the Pacific and to harness locally relevant skills and experience from SPC as the key...