EU hosts water seminar in Samoa
APIA - Scarcity of water and how best to manage it is the focus of a regional meeting which opens today in Samoa. The seminar is organised by the European Commission Directorate-General Europe Aid with support from the Suva-based Delegation of the European Union for the Pacific and the EU’s country office in Apia. Some 35 delegates, representing water departments and agencies of government and inter-governmental organizations from 12 countries in the Pacific region are attending the three-day event.
“The geographic makeup of the islands of the Pacific and a fast growing urban population place enormous stresses on scarce water resources of the islands,” says Ambassador Wiepke van der Goot, Head of the EU Delegation for the Pacific.
“Water management is also being threatened by natural disasters, which this region is frequently exposed to, not to mention the increasing threats of climate change. The seminar is therefore very timely,” added Ambassador van der Goot.
Key objectives of the regional water seminar include disseminating wider knowledge and understanding about sector-wider approach (SWAp) and through integrated water resources management (IWRM). Cross-cutting issues like governance in the water sector and climate change adaptation measures will also be discussed.
Countries and territories that are being represented at the Apia seminar are Cook Islands, East Timor, Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, Samoa, Tonga, Papua New Guinea and Tuvalu.....EU PR