Background Document
Costa Rica, 18 - 22 January, 1999

Oceania Region

The Oceania Regional Workshop was held in conjunction with the South Pacific Heads of Forestry meeting. Representatives from 15 South Pacific nations were in attendance, including Heads of Forestry, non-government organizations and other institutions.

The key focus of the workshop was to identify issues, define objectives and actions, and then to determine responsibilities for carrying out the actions to address the underlying causes of deforestation and forest degradation.

The workshop was officially opened by Mr Peniasi Kunatuba, Permanent Secretary to the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forests, Fiji. He underscored the fact that the growing global market meant that economic pressures from outside the region were influencing our ability to manage our natural resources. He hoped that other regions of the world would learn from the Oceania workshop and thanked the governments of Australia and New Zealand for their financial contribution to the workshop.

Issues, Objectives and Actions

As result of a series of small working groups, the workshop came forward with the following (non-inclusive) thematic key set of issues, objectives and actions associated with underlying causes.

Lack of stakeholder resources and involvement

Objective: To establish full and adequate stakeholder involvement

Suggested Actions:

• Provide properly resourced on-going mechanisms to facilitate full and inclusive participation in natural resource management and policy;
• Improved access to information and sharing these effectively with all partners.

Poorly directed foreign assistance programmes

Objective: Encourage better stakeholder access to international financial institutions and issues, promote

Suggested Actions:

• Involvement of all stakeholders in the development, planning and implementation of foreign assistance programmes;
• Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) criteria used to assess all aid loans/grants and assistance in forests with full consultation and transparency.

International and domestic trade pressures

Objectives: Encourage consumer education and promote FSC criteria in key timber products markets (e.g., Japan). Encourage participation in and community awareness of the effect of globalisation on timber trade in the region.

Suggested Actions:

• Strengthen extension services and directly involve landowners in monitoring activities;
• Increase awareness at the global market level in order to rationalise the consumption of timber and timber products and to increase demand for sustainably produced timber;
• National authorities to liaise with the South Pacific Forum to raise the issue of liberalisation of timber trade on Pacific Island economies.

Domestic financial pressures

Objective: To create alternative models for development that address peoples’ needs and aspirations, develop effective programs of poverty alleviation, create alternative means of income generation that don’t involve deforestation and forest degradation; and utilise forest resources in a sustainable way for the benefit of future generations.

Suggested Actions:

• Create development funds for poverty alleviation programs through non-governmental and community-based organisations;
• Develop reserves and sanctuaries for eco-tourism and other economic alternatives to logging.

Unsustainable population growth

Objective: To address population growth issues and ensure equitable resource distribution.

Suggested Actions:

• Establish education programmes explaining the connection between population increase, land use and resource issues.

Lack of recognition of cultural values and land tenure systems

Objective: To respect, encourage, recognise and preserve all aspects of indigenous cultures and explore methods of sustainable forest management, appropriate to the land tenure system of each country.

Suggested Actions:

• Integrate the principles of the UN Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in programmes on forestry, land use and economic development;
• Establish mechanisms and institutions to enable full and effective participation by Indigenous Peoples in decision making at local, national and regional levels;
• Ensure all legal and contractual documents are translated and well understood by all parties

Inappropriate development policies and practices

Objective: To develop agricultural systems which acknowledge and appropriately integrate both production and non-market values and uses of forests.

Suggested Actions:

• Identify and implement positive economic incentives to encourage and facilitate appropriate regimes of forest and remnant vegetation management (e.g., through taxes, local rates, stewardship payments);
• Develop and implement appropriate/acceptable farming systems, agroforestry;
• Conduct inventories to determine areas of high biodiversity;
• Coordinate all national and provincial development plans through a central agency.

Inadequate valuation of forests

Objective: To raise awareness amongst stakeholders of the total value of forests in both the short and the long term, including economic, social and ecological elements.

Suggested Actions:

• Undertake quantitative and qualitative valuation and assessment of forest values (timber, watershed, gene pool);
• Incorporate forestry awareness programmes at all levels of education

Inadequate policies and capacity to manage resources

Objective: To review and formulate appropriate natural resources use policy and legislation in addition to strengthening human resource capacity to enable the proper implementation of such policy.

Suggested Actions:

• Evaluate current management and socio-economic policies with the view of identifying those which are inappropriate to natural resource management;
• Develop and implement national, provincial and local government development plans;
• Review infrastructure development strategies to avoid problems of deforestation.

Case Studies

Case studies were written from a national perspective, in an attempt to cover all the underlying causes of one particular country or nation. The following case studies were carried out:

• Maori. This study pointed at the need for recognition of indigenous rights combined with the need for indigenous peoples to foster their own traditional sustainable land management practices.
• Papua New Guinea. This study as well as that on Australia tried to encompass all the different UC and possible solutions to them in their countries.
• Australia. See above.
• Tonga. This case study as well as that of the Solomon Islands, concentrated on a limited number of UC, which were analysed comprehensively. Both case studies resulted in some remarkable conclusions and recommendations.
• Solomon Islands. As above.

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