The first Green Climate Fund (GCF) Board meeting to be held in the Pacific, and the final for 2016, was held from 14-15 December, in Apia, Samoa approving eight new funding proposals and accredited seven new partner entities.  Pacific island related projects include an initial USD 17 million for the Pacific Islands...

More than one hundred young people turned up on Wednesday, 7 December, 2016 at the UN Compound to learn about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and share information on their interpretation and plans to implement the SDGs back at the community level.  The young people from different youth groups (five...

The Samoan Beach Fales continue to be a national icon attracting both overseas and local tourists to modest accommodation of thatched roof huts overlooking the seashore and turquoise waters only meters away. Owned and operated by individual extended families these tourism businesses are a good source of...

The tourism sector continues to be a significant driving force for the economic development of Samoa, contributing more than 20% to GDP. Associated sectors benefitting from tourism include agriculture and transport, through providing fresh products for tourists and improving accessibility and infrastructures. ...

UNDP, Global Initiatives, 600 business leaders and government officials start work on a new coalition for sustainable development Singapore – At the fifth Responsible Business Forum, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) today called on business leaders to take a greater role in the new development era in...

It is one year since every country in the world signed up to the Sustainable Development Goals. They form a blueprint for addressing the most significant challenges facing our planet and its people. Challenges like climate change. This is likely to be the hottest year on record and here in Asia, climate change is a cause of the natural disasters that have claimed half a million lives in the last decade. Challenges like inequality, which has been growing for four-fifths of Asia-Pacific’s population over the last 20 years. Challenges brought on by the accelerating process of ageing, which will make it harder for many Asian states to provide basic services to their people. The 17 SDGs will address these challenges and other interlinked issues, including education, hunger and security. But governments cannot implement this blueprint on their own. Nor can the UN and other development organizations.

There is now a new site accessible in Apia as a demonstration of the keyhole gardening (KHG) concept. Setting up a backyard garden in Apia is a big challenge with limited space from encroaching urbanization. Employees working in an office environment 40-hours a week are disconnected from nature and missing out on...

The International Labour Organization (ILO) office for Pacific Island Countries in partnership with UN Women and One UN family hosted a community Gender Based Violence Seminar on Sunday, 27th November, 2016, to mark the beginning of 16 Days of Activism to raise awareness on violence against women and children in...

Close to a 100 participants attended the 2-day national consultations with UN Agencies in an effort to engage government and key stakeholders from various NGOS and the private sector in a consultative process to build linkages and to contribute national priorities in the development of the new UN Pacific Strategy 2018-2022. The discussions also placed significant importance on the comparative advantage and mandate of the UN in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Global Agenda.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Asia-Pacific Development Effectiveness Facility (AP-DEF) opened a two-day meeting on aid ahead of the upcoming Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation. More than 100 government delegates and development experts are exploring how to design integrated national financing frameworks for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Asia-Pacific. “Domestic sources of finance are emerging as a key driving force for sustainable development in Asia-Pacific,” said Haoliang Xu, UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP Director for Asia and the Pacific. “These new sources of finance allow us to expand the existing development cooperation and partnership.”

The One UN team and the Government of Niue completed 2-days (05-06 October) of national multi-stakeholder consultations and reached an understanding on potential areas of UN support strongly linked to the Niue National Strategic Plan. The consultations engaged government and key stakeholders from various...

Coastal communities in Samoa suffer the greatest impact of climate change in the country. Sapapalii, a coastal community on southeast Savaii is one of the many rural communities experiencing the extremes of weather. The most recent disaster was in 2012 when Cyclone Evan completely damaged the only bridge...

National Project managers and Coordinators of UNDP Global Environment Fund (GEF) and Adaptation Fund (AF) projects implemented by UNDP Samoa Multi-County Office for Cook Islands, Niue, Samoa and Tokelau are meeting for three days this week in Apia, from 29th – 30th August 2016 at the Taumeasina Island Resort....

Senior public servants of Tokelau have deliberated in a participatory forum and have recommended for the UN to focus development assistance on its five key thematic and priority areas - Good Governance and Partnerships; Infrastructure Development; Human Development; Sustainability; and, Resilience against...