Strengthening our Pacific Island Voice Internationally
Negotiations Training
As the impacts of climate change are increasing in both frequency, and severity, countries are coming together to develop international policies to address this global threat. This is done within the context of the United Nations, where countries are working to strengthen the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and Kyoto Protocol.
© WWFSPPO 2006.
Participant in the negotiations training workshop held in the Cook Islands.
For the smaller island states of the South Pacific, paticipating in international negotiations on climate change policy is particularly important, as our very survival may depend on how strong these international agreements on climate change are.
But for smaller countries, participating in these processes is not always easy. United Nations negotiations are very technical and complex, and require strong negotiating skills.
To help ehance the participation of Pacific Island goverments in these international climate policy negotiations, WWF South Pacific has been working to train Pacific Island goverment delegates in climate change negotiations. WWF has worked at the regional level with the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) , and the Foundation for International Environmental Law and Development (FIELD) to provide on hands training for both experienced and new negotiators, from the Pacific.
WWF has also organised national level negotiations training events in the Cook Islands, and will soon be expanding this work to Tuvalu also.
Related articles:
Training workshop for Pacific negotiators participating in the United Nations International Climate Meeting in Montreal from November 28th to December 9th, 2005.
Interview with Mr Charlie Numanga, of the Cook Islands, on his experience attending the 1st Meeting of Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (fondly called COP11/MOP1)in Montreal in 2005.