Pacific Urban Forum 30 November – 2 December, 2011, Nadi, Fiji

The Pacific Urban Forum, organized by UN ESCAP Pacific Office, UN Habitat and the Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF) was held between 30 November and 2 December 2011 in Nadi, Fiji. More than 60 people attended, with delegates from Pacific Island countries including Fiji, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu along with development partners (Asian Development Bank, AusAID, New

Pacific Urban Forum 2011, Delegates

Zealand Aid Programme, the Pacific Institute of Public Policy, Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, the Pacific Regional Infrastructure Facility, UNDP and UNFPA), NGOs and academia. The Pacific Urban Forum revisited the Pacific Urban Agenda 2 (2007) and moved discussion forward, centring on mobilising action to address the region’s urban challenges. click to read more

Documents

• Programme
• Concept Note
• Media Advisory

Launch of the 2011 Trade and Investment Report, 19 October 2011, Laucala Campus, University of the South Pacific (USP), Suva

Asia-Pacific Trade and Investment Report 2011 "Post-crisis Trade and Investment Opportunities" is ESCAP's annual report which provides data on trade performance indicators of the regional members of ESCAP. Mr David Smith, Deputy Head & Senior Economist commented that many Pacific Island countries are highly dependent on trade. Tourism for one needs to achieve higher rates of economic growth which in turn will require a lot of effort. Professor Biman Prasad, Dean of Faculty of Business and Economics at USP also presented the findings of the report and highlighted the challenges for investment and trade in the Asia-Pacific region. To read more about the contents in the report, click here.

[left: Prof. Biman Prasad, Mr David Smith]

Rio+20 Pacific Preparatory Meeting, 20-22 July 2011, Apia, Samoa

The meeting was hosted by the Government of Samoa and co-organised by ESCAP, DESA and SPREP. Environment Ministers and Economic/Finance Ministers from the Pacific met to consider issues relevant to the Pacific. The meeting's Outcomes Document will facilitate national, sub-regional and regional preparations and engagement in the Rio+20 Process which will be presented in the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 4-6 June, 2012. The two themes of UNCSD are: (1) a green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication; and (2) institutional framework for sustainable development.

Sixty-seventh session of the Commission, 19-25 May 2011, Bangkok

Launch of the Economic and Social Survey for Asia and the Pacific, 10 May 2011, Suva.

2011 survey looks on improving the regional connectivity and how the least developed countries can take advantage by increasing their productive capacities. The Asia-Pacific developing economies are projected to grow at 7.3% this year. The fastest-growing economies in 2011 are expected to be China at 9.5% and India at 8.7% respectively, followed by Indonesia at 6.5%. However, in 2011 most economies are likely to see an increase in inflation.

From left: Professor Biman Prasad, USP and Mr David Smith, UNESCAP Pacific Office

The return of the food-fuel crises: ESCAP estimates that up to 42 million addional people across Asia and the Paciic may remain in poverty in 2011 in addition to the 19 million already affected in 2010.

For 2010 the Pacific island developing economies had mixed growth results with Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Palau recording improved GDP growth performance while most of the other Pacific economies virtually stagnated.

Download the full report: Economic and Social Survey for Asia and the Pacific 2011

Speech by Professor Biman Prasad, Dean of the Faculty of Business and Economics, University of the South Pacific

Presentation by Mr David Smith, Deputy Head, ESCAP Pacific Office.

Tuvalu Peer Review, 26 April - 3 May 2011, Funafuti, Tuvalu

Mr David Smith, Deputy Head of ESCAP Pacific Office participated in the Peer Review Panel for the Tuvalu Peer Review under the Cairns Compact. In collaboration with Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS) under the Cairns Compact, the panel undertook the peer review of Tuvalu’s national development planning, budgeting and aid coordination processes.

Mr Smith said that 'Tuvalu, as with many other Forum Island Countries (FICs), has a sound framework for planning, budgeting and aid management. However, there are areas where these processes are not working as intended and this is creating problems in policy implementation. Development partners, through improving coordination among themselves and with the Tuvalu government, can make a significant contribution to improving the rate of policy implementation'.

'The key to success is making sure that the Tuvalu government takes the lead role in identifying problems and implementing solutions. The benefits of hearing about problems and successes from other FICs is enormous' said Mr Smith.

Preparations for the Pacific Rio+20 Roundtable, 16-18 February 2011, Apia, Samoa

Mr Iosefa Maiava, Head of ESCAP Pacific Office met with the Samoan Government, representatives from Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), UN agencies, and South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) officials in Samoa to consider options for convening the Pacific Rio+20 Roundtable in July this year.

Rio+20's two themes are: 'a green economy within the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication' and 'the institutional framework for sustainable development'.

Making data meaning workshop for the Fiji Island Bureau of Statistics, 7-10 February 2011, Suva, Fiji

Communicating statistics to a growing audience was the focus of four workshop modules run for staff of the Fiji Statistics Office. Participants discussed the difference between dissemination and communication, the varying needs of the audience or stakeholder groups they serve, how the internet is changing the way we communicatie statistics and the importance of making data meaningful so more people can understand and use them.

Fiji Islands Bureau of Statistics staff attend statistics workshop at UNESCAP Pacific Office, Suva

Developing skills to communicate statistics for effective data use for Samoa Nationa Statistics Office, 17-21 January 2011, Apia, Samoa

The Samoan statistics office is about to undergo a restructure in its statistical and IT processes most commonly known as 'Institutional Strengthening Project'.

Seizing this opportunity, Ms Jessica Gardner, Statistician, ESCAP Pacific Office, conducted a workshop for the National Statistics Office to develop their skills to communicate statsitics for effective data use. A session also covered the topic of developing gender statistics. Participants learnt different skills and ideas on dissemination and communication of statistics and the emerging methods for presenting data.