III. EXISTING INSTITUTIONS AND MEASURES FOR INTEGRATING ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS INTO DEVELOPMENT PLANNING AND DECISION-MAKING FOR SUVA CITY

[ A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H ]

E. National government agencies that have an impact on the Suva environment

[ E-1 | E-2 | E-3 | E-4 | E-5 | E-6 | E-7 ]

1. Department of the Environment

The DOE currently is expected to perform the following functions:

• Provide a secretariat for the EMC;
  
  
• Develop a national environmental policies;
  
  
• Coordinate EIAs of development projects;
  
  
• Develop environmental education and awareness programmes;
  
  
• Maintain an environmental information database.
  
  

Under the Sustainable Development Bill it will take on additional functions, including:

• The assumption of secretariat responsibilities for NCSD;
  
  
• National environmental planning and management;
  
  
• Implementation of the national environmental assessment process;
  
  
• The development, monitoring and enforcement of environmental standards and codes of practice;
  
  
• The development of waste management and pollution abatement programmes for the public and private sectors and local authorities.
  
  

All those functions are important to maintaining the quality of the Suva environment. However, the implementation and enforcement mechanisms are weak, and have been increasingly constrained by inadequate financial and staffing resources. The low and decreasing level of funding to the Department of the Environment, indicates the low priority given to the environment by the national government. The 1997 budget allocated F$ 394,000 to the Department of the Environment, down from F$ 426,000 in the previous year. That compares, for example, with some F$ 25 million allocated to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forests (with an additional F$ 97 million over the past four years to the Ministry with the objective to "kick starting" the agricultural sector). Those figures reflect the relative importance of the environment with respect to public expenditure, the decision-making structure, and the relative power and influence of the ministers concerned.

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