The National Environment Service (NES) continues to strengthen its commitment to multi-lateral environmental agreements, with the recent participation to the Rotterdam Convention Training for Pacific Small Island Development States, held in Nadi, Fiji, 21-23 October 2025. The training was organised by the Secretariat of the Rotterdam Convention, the Pacific Regional Centre for Training and Technology Transfer for the Joint Implementation of the Basel and Waigani Conventions in the South Pacific region, and hosted by the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).
Vavia Tangatataia, Environmental Compliance Manager at NES, with William Wigmore, and Victor Mataora from the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) attended the workshop titled “Strengthening Implementation of the Rotterdam Convention in Pacific Small Island Developing States.” The event organised by the Rotterdam Convention Secretariat brought together Designated National Authorities (DNA) and other relevant government representatives of Pacific-SIDS that are Parties to the Rotterdam Convention (Cook Islands, Marshall Islands, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu) as well as Fiji, Kiribati and Solomon Islands. Representatives from SPREP office Samoa, the Rotterdam Convention Secretariat (Geneva and Rome offices) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) were also present at the training.
The overarching objective of this workshop is to strengthen the capacities of the participating SIDS to implement the Rotterdam Convention and to fully comply with its provisions. The workshop also provides an opportunity to Fiji, Kiribati and Solomon Islands to learn about the provisions and mechanisms of the Rotterdam Convention and the necessary steps to take for becoming a party
Parties also encounters challenges with the implementation of the convention, these include varying capacities in submitting import responses, notifications of final regulatory actions (FRAs), proposals for severely hazardous pesticide formulations (SHPFs), and in executing the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) procedure. Additionally, the development of National Action Plans (NAPs) for Convention implementation remains incomplete across Parties.
The training provided significant capacity-building benefits to the National Environment Service (NES), and the Cook Islands as a whole, enhancing its ability to fulfill its obligations under the Rotterdam Convention.
