FIJI FIRST IN PACIFIC TO JOIN BIODIVERSITY AND DEVELOPMENT PILOT PROGRAMME

Fiji is the first Pacific Island country to become part of the Biodiversity and Development (BIODEV) 2030 global pilot programme.

It aims to help tackle the biodiversity crisis through three main goals:

■ Updating the science that underpins decision making on biodiversity;

■ Supporting private sector commitment and actions for biodiversity; and

■ Developing a global apex target for biodiversity.

Here, the project will be looked after by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Fiji, with the support from French Development Agency and Expertise France. It will be conducted in partnership with the Fijian Government.

IUCN BIODEV 2030 project officer Tavenisa Luisa said their focus was trying to help mainstream biodiversity into the economic sector.

“First we will do assessments and with this will drive the threats of biodiversity in Fiji. From those threats, we will identify which economic sector is contributing to that threat and we will work voluntarily with that economic sector, so that they can halt the decline,” she said.

Ms Tavenisa hopes that whatever they will learn from the project will be taken up to the global level.

“We are aiming to halt the decline of biodiversity by 2030,” she said.

The project was launched by the Permanent Secretary for Environment, Joshua Wycliffe, on Wednesday at the Holiday Inn, Suva.

Apart from Fiji, 15 other countries are part of the project.