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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 ]
7. Ad hoc environmental coordinating committees
Several ad hoc committees concerned with important environmental issues
of interest to Suva have been formed over the past decade, including:
-
The Environmental
Management Committee, which was established in 1980 under the Ministry
of Housing, Urban Development and the Environment. Its functions are to
coordinate, and provide advice on, the implications of development proposals;
-
The National Environment
Steering Committee, the purpose of which was to oversee the National
Environment Management Project which began in late 1991 under the Ministry
of Housing, Urban Development and the Environment;
-
The Mangrove Management
Committee, which was established in 1983 under the Ministry
of Lands, Mineral Resources and Energy. Its function is to advise the Director
of Lands on development proposals which affect mangrove areas;
-
The Rubbish Dump Committee, which
was established under the Ministry of Housing, Urban Development and the
Environment in 1989 for the purpose of finding an alternative solid waste
disposal site for Suva's current rubbish dump;
-
The National Oil Pollution
Committee, which comes under the umbrella of the Marine
Department. It was formed in 1991 for the purpose of coordinating the preparations
and implementation of a national disaster response plan;
-
The Consultative
Committee on Ozone Depleting Substances, which was established under the
Ministry of Housing, Urban Development and the Environment to supervise
the implementation of government commitments under the Montreal
Protocol to phase out ozone depleting substances in Fiji.
The above committees meet on a regular or "when needed" basis to consider
particular issues or problems. There are no set procedures for the work
of the committees but, in general, the secretariat is provided by the responsible
government department. Special working groups meet to discuss and formulate
policies or programmes and to discuss papers prepared by concerned government
departments. The approval for any policy programme or initiative is obtained
by general consensus of the members present at each meeting. The effectiveness
of the committees tends to depend on the capability and enthusiasm of the
secretariat serving them.
Under the draft Sustainable
Development Bill, the ad hoc committees described above will come under
the aegis of NCSD. In turn, NCSD will provide the opportunity to coordinate
and integrate the operations and human resources of the smaller existing
committees that are attempting to address the sustainable use of resources
in particular sectors within a comprehensive institutional framework for
reporting to the minister. The Bill also provides for the consolidation,
where appropriate, of existing committees and the establishment, where
necessary, of additional committees (such as the National
Waste Management Committee).
The South
Pacific Action Committee on Human Ecology and the Environment (SPACHEE)
is based in Suva at the University
of the South Pacific. The organisation, which provides a central focal
point for expert knowledge on environmental issues, has worked to raise
government and popular awareness of environmental issues. Nevertheless,
it is sometimes regarded as limiting its audience to like-minded academics
and is thought to lack grass-roots membership. It is nonetheless the only
active organization and has a very wide resource base of expertise. Because
it is based in Suva SPACHEE has given a great deal of attention to urban
environmental problems.
The Fiji Council of Social
Services is a community-oriented umbrella organization of NGOs concerned
with social welfare issues. The Council is concerned with urban environment
issues, given the interrelationship between poverty and urban environmental
problems. It has initiated environmental programmes that are educational
and participatory at the local community level.
A number of international and regional NGOs have located their regional
offices in Suva, including the World Wide Fund for Nature, Green Peace
and Pacific Resource Centre. The presence of such NGOs has contributed
to the environmental consciousness of the community.
The National Trust for Fiji was set up in 1970, and although it is a
statutory body it possesses attributes that are associated with NGOs. According
to the National
State of the Environment Report, the National Trust seems to be well placed
as an effective catalyst for environmental awareness in environmental,
physical, cultural and heritage conservation. Unfortunately, the National
Trust has consistently failed to attract significant government support.
As a result, other agencies and departments have moved into the areas
of environmental protection and national and heritage conservation which
were formerly the exclusive domain of the National Trust.
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