In this bulletin:
1. PACFIC — Pacific justice leaders urged to unite against organised crime
2. PACIFIC — No community too remote for an effective warning: Tonga’s deputy PM
3. PACIFIC — Pacific needs stronger early warnings as climate risks grow
4. PACIFIC — Pacific climate plans may be built on the wrong picture of rising sea levels, experts say
5. PACIFIC — Fiji to hold Pre-COP31 summit with or without global leaders
6. PACIFIC — Pacific film festival highlights human rights, women’s empowerment
7. PACNEWS BIZ — Pacific leaders say kava is theirs but the name is already being claimed in the United States
8. PACNEWS BIZ — Solomon Islands sets out economic priorities at national trade fair
9. PACNEWS BIZ — AUSTRAC trains Pacific Island intelligence agencies in combating financial crimes
10. PACNEWS BIZ — Solomon Islands sends first students to China under 1,000-student initiative
11. PACNEWS DIGEST — Pacific partners unite in Tonga to strengthen sustainable early warning systems and deal with climate data crisis
12. PACNEWS DIGEST — Pacific Communities move from Climate Adaptation to Action and Ownership
PACFIC – TRANSNATIONAL ORGANISED CRIME: ISLANDS BUSINESS PACNEWS 1: Fri 11 Sep 2026
Pacific justice leaders urged to unite against organised crime
SUVA, 11 SEPTEMBER 2026 (ISLANDS BUSINESS) —-Fiji’s Justice Minister and Acting Attorney General Siromi Turaga says criminal networks are exploiting the region’s borders, financial systems and institutions and warns fragmented national responses are no longer enough.
Pacific governments must move faster to share intelligence, strengthen correctional systems and coordinate their response to increasingly sophisticated criminal networks, Turaga has told a regional conference.
Opening the Pacific Exchange on Transnational Organised Crime and Correction Conference in Suva, Turaga said the region’s vast ocean spaces, small populations and limited resources created vulnerabilities that organised crime groups were ready to exploit.
“We cannot afford to approach this challenge in isolation,” he said, calling for a response that was regional, coordinated and collective.
Turaga said criminal networks were using legitimate trade, transport, communications technology and financial systems to move illicit goods and money across borders.
Drug trafficking remained a serious concern, while human trafficking, people smuggling, money laundering and illicit financial flows also demanded closer regional attention.
The conference brings together Pacific partners, international organisations, development agencies, law-enforcement bodies and correctional authorities to exchange practical lessons and identify opportunities for joint training, capacity building and secure information sharing.
Turaga said corrections should be viewed simply as custodial management.
Prisons could themselves become targets for criminal networks unless strong safeguards, intelligence systems, security procedures, staff integrity measures and appropriate technology were in place.
But he warned that tighter security could not come at the expense of rehabilitation.
“Public safety is strengthened when we address the cause of offending and support people in custody to successfully return to society,” he said.
Education, vocational training, counselling and community support were essential to reducing reoffending, he added.
Reintegration required cooperation among corrections, police, social services, civil society, communities and families, with programmes designed to reflect Pacific cultures and support systems.
Turaga referred to a recent Mercy Commission discussion over a pardon application as an example of the difficult balance between punishment, criminal records and a person’s chance to rebuild a life after serving a sentence.
He placed the conference within the wider 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent and the regional ambition for an “ocean of peace”. Organised crime, he said, directly challenged that vision by undermining community safety, weakening institutions, fuelling corruption and threatening economic and social progress.
The work also supported United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 16 and 17, which focus on peace, justice, strong institutions and partnerships, as well as Fiji’s National Development Plan 2025–2029 and longer-term Vision 2050.
Turaga argued that investment in justice and corrections was not only a security priority but a development imperative.
Strong institutions protected human rights, reinforced public confidence and created the stability needed for investment and sustainable growth.
He urged delegates to move beyond presentations and produce practical, lasting cooperation among corrections, police, border agencies, customs, immigration, financial intelligence bodies and the wider justice sector.
“No single country, no single agency, no single institution can address transnational organised crime alone,” he said.
Invoking Fiji’s tradition of collective action, Turaga challenged participants to share both successes and failures, build professional networks and agree on measures that could continue after the conference closed.
“The true value of conferences such as this will not be measured by the number of presentations delivered or discussions had,” he said. “It will be measured by the cooperation, the partnership and the action that will follow,” said Turaga …….PACNEWS
PACIFIC – MET MEET: ISLANDS BUSINESS PACNEWS 1: Fri 11 Sep 2026
No community too remote for an effective warning: Tonga’s deputy PM
NUKU’ALOFA, 11 SEPTEMBER 2026 (ISLANDS BUSINESS)—PACIFIC nations and their development partners must ensure that meteorological and multi-hazard warning systems are maintained, financed and accessible to every community across the region.
Tongan Deputy Prime Minister, Dr Viliami Uasike Latu, made the call Thursday at the opening of the Pacific Meteorological Council (PMC-8).
Latu said the value of weather and climate services should be measured not by the sophistication of their technology, but by whether people receive information they can understand and use to protect their lives and livelihoods.
“The true measure of a meteorological service is not simply the sophistication of its technology. It is whether the right information reaches the right person in a form they understand and can act upon,” he said.
Latu said forecasts must serve farmers deciding when to plant, fishers preparing to go to sea, shipping operators, pilots, schools and families considering whether to evacuate.
“No village should be considered too small. No community should be considered too remote to receive an effective warning,” Latu said.
The deputy prime minister pointed to Tonga’s experience with tropical cyclones, droughts, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis as evidence of the need for stronger coordination across government agencies and communities.
He cited the January 2022 eruption of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai and the tsunami that followed, saying the disaster showed how quickly a single hazard could develop into a wider regional emergency.
“The volcanic eruption became an atmospheric event, an ocean event, a tsunami emergency, a communications crisis and a network disaster,” he said.
The experience, he added, demonstrated the need for a genuinely integrated, multi-hazard early-warning system.
“Meteorological services, geological and ocean agencies, disaster-management authorities and communications providers could not work in isolation, he said, because the hazards facing Pacific communities do not occur separately.
Latu also warned that major investments in weather stations, ocean-observing systems, telecommunications, forecasting platforms and warning infrastructure would fail to build long-term resilience if governments and partners did not plan for their upkeep.
“An early-warning system that cannot be maintained will eventually cease to be an early-warning system,” he said.
He urged governments and development partners to consider maintenance, replacement, operating costs, national technical capacity and sustainable financing from the beginning of every project, rather than waiting for infrastructure to deteriorate.
“Every piece of infrastructure creates a responsibility that extends beyond its installation,” Latu said.
“We must think about maintenance, replacement, life-cycle costs, national capacity and sustainable financing from the moment an investment is conceived.”
The deputy prime minister welcomed the PMC-8 focus on sustainable approaches to maintaining and financing meteorological and early-warning infrastructure.
He said partners had made important contributions to strengthening Pacific meteorological services, but future assistance should also ensure systems can be operated and maintained locally.
“The next stage is for partners to ensure that what we put together can also be operated, maintained and sustained by the people and institutions of the Pacific,” he said.
Latu said advances in satellites, forecasting systems and artificial intelligence would continue to improve scientific capability, but technology alone would not make Pacific communities safer.
The region’s most important investment, he said, remained its people: meteorologists, hydrologists, technicians, observers, forecasters, disaster managers, communicators and community leaders.
He called for continued regional sharing of observations, expertise, technology and resources, saying weather systems and hazards crossed national borders even when the institutions responding to them did not.
Latu urged delegates to keep one question at the centre of the council’s discussions: whether their decisions would ultimately make Pacific communities safer.
“If the answer is yes, then our work is worthwhile,” he said.
He formally opened the eighth meeting of the Pacific Meteorological Council, calling for a Pacific that was informed, prepared, sustainable and secure….PACNEWS
PACIFIC – MET MEET: ISLANDS BUSINESS PACNEWS 1: Fri 11 Sep 2026
Pacific needs stronger early warnings as climate risks grow
NUKU’ALOFA, 11 SEPTEMBER 2026 (ISLANDS BUSINESS)—Pacific meteorological leaders opened the Eighth Pacific Meteorological Council meeting (PCM-8) in Tonga with calls for stronger early-warning systems, greater regional cooperation and investment in weather, climate, water and ocean services as communities face growing climate-related risks.
Levu Antfalo, director of Vanuatu’s Meteorological and Geohazard Division, said the council had become an important regional platform since its establishment in 2011, allowing Pacific national meteorological and hydrological services to set shared priorities and strengthen partnerships.
“Since then, the PMC has grown into an important Pacific platform, through which our national hydrological services speak collectively, set our regional priorities, and strengthen partnerships to protect our people and communities,” Antfalo said.
He thanked Tonga for hosting the meeting and praised the hospitality extended to delegates, saying the gathering reflected the “warmth and fellowship” that strengthened cooperation across the Pacific.
Antfalo said the council had made progress since he assumed its chairmanship in 2013 but warned that significant work remained.
“Over the course of this meeting, we will hear those reports, reflect on what has been achieved, identify the remaining gaps, and agree on the actions that we must take forward together,” he said.
The meeting comes as Pacific island countries continue to contend with tropical cyclones, flooding, droughts, sea-level rise and the wider effects of climate variability and change.
Antfalo noted that communities in the Solomon Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia had faced the impacts of tropical cyclones earlier this year, while the region also continued to deal with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“These events remind us that the services we provide are about protecting life, livelihoods, and the future security of our Pacific people,” he said.
Antfalo identified strengthening national services, sustaining observation and warning systems, investing in personnel and adopting innovation as key priorities for the meeting.
He also stressed the need to ensure that warnings and other information reach the most remote communities.
The director of the World Meteorological Organisation’s (WMO) Regional Coordination Office, Ishaam Abader, told delegates that regional cooperation remained central to building resilience in the Pacific.
“The Pacific has consistently demonstrated that regional cooperation is one of the most powerful tools for building resilience in the face of weather, climate and water-related hazards,” Abader said in remarks delivered on behalf of the WMO Secretary-General.
Abader said the Pacific remained on the front line of climate risks, with extreme weather, tropical cyclones, coastal flooding, droughts and sea-level rise continuing to threaten communities, economies and ecosystems.
“The work of the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services has never been more important,” he said.
The meeting is considering the Pacific Island Meteorological Strategy 2027-2036, which is intended to support the region’s long-term vision for a resilient, secure and prosperous Blue Pacific.
The strategy promotes people-centred, impact-based and inclusive meteorological, climate and hydrological services.
Abader said success should not be judged only by scientific advances, but by whether those advances improve outcomes for Pacific communities.
“Our success will be measured not simply by the quality of our science, but by our ability to translate that science into services that deliver tangible benefits for people and communities,” he said.
He called for progress on the Early Warnings for All initiative, stronger hydrological services, digital transformation, greater technical capacity and preparation for emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence.
But Abader cautioned that international initiatives would matter only if they were converted into practical measures suited to Pacific realities.
“The global initiatives succeed only when they are transformed into practical actions,” he said.
He also urged closer cooperation between Pacific regional mechanisms, WMO regional structures and technical experts, saying stronger Pacific participation in regional and global decision-making would help ensure that local priorities were reflected and limited resources were used efficiently.
The two speakers highlighted the importance of sharing data, knowledge and expertise across the region.
Abader said continued investment in observation networks, forecasting, climate monitoring and hydrological services was essential to effective early warnings and climate-informed development.
“Without them, there can be no effective early warning systems, no climate-informed decision-making, and no resilient development,” he said.
The meeting’s theme, “Weather Ready for a Secure and Sustainable Pacific,” reflects the council’s focus on turning scientific capability into services that protect people, livelihoods and national development across the Pacific…..PACNEWS
PACIFIC – SEALEVEL RISE: PMN PACNEWS 1: Fri 11 Sep 2026
Pacific climate plans may be built on the wrong picture of rising sea levels, experts say
NUKU’ALOFA, 11 SEPTEMBER 2026 (PMN)—Pacific climate experts are warning that some of the region’s plans for rising seas may be based on the wrong picture of how high the land actually is.
The warning comes as a new United Nations report says the world is now expected to overshoot the 1.5°C warming limit, leaving Pacific island nations facing a future of higher seas and greater coastal flooding.
But at a Pacific Meteorological Council media mana class in Tonga this week, Herve Damlamian ocean prediction and monitoring team leader at Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), said there is another problem: the data being used to map the region’s vulnerability can be seriously wrong.
“While satellites have revolutionised earth observation, they remain limited in providing accurate land elevation, especially in densely vegetated areas commonly found in the tropics.
“In many cases, they measure the tops of trees rather than the ground beneath them, resulting in large elevation errors,” Damlamian said.
That matters in a region where many communities live only metres above sea level.
International data assumes around 70 percent of Kiribati’s population and 60 percent of Tuvalu’s population live above five metres. But Tuvalu’s actual average land elevation is just 1.5 metres.
“There is a very wrong perception internationally about the vulnerability of Pacific Island communities to sea level rise,” Damlamian told the masterclass.
“How can science support a community adapting to sea level rise if the data can’t tell us if the community is living with its feet in the water or on a five-metre hill?”
Damlamian said the gap between the maps and the reality could have major consequences for billions of dollars of climate adaptation work.
The region is planning for 50 centimetres to a metre of sea-level rise using maps that can be three to five metres out, he said.
One solution is already being used in parts of the Pacific: airborne LiDAR, which uses laser pulses from aircraft to measure the actual height of the ground.
Salesa Nihmei, Director of Climate Science and Information at Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), says accurate science is only useful if it reaches communities in a form they can understand and trust.
“When a cyclone is approaching, when a drought is affecting our communities, when flood threatens our homes, when an El Niño event changes rainfall patterns, people need to know the information, and they need to know it from sources that they trust. Good science must be communicated effectively.”
Cook Islands has invested in the technology while Tonga completed airborne mapping across its low-lying islands in April.
Tuvalu has also spent US$2 million (NZ$3.42 million) on LiDAR mapping across its nine islands to build a more accurate picture of its coastal risks.
The findings are stark. A coastal inundation event that would happen once in 100 years today is expected to occur once every decade by 2050 in Tuvalu, and more than once every five years by 2100.
Annual damage from coastal flooding to government infrastructure is also projected to rise from US$15m (NZ$25.66m) now to four times that amount by 2100, equivalent to about 110 percent of Tuvalu’s current GDP.
Damlamian said getting the basic data right is critical before Pacific countries spend heavily on coastal protection.
“There is a big risk that all the millions of dollars that are going to be invested into this will actually be thrown into the water.”
The warning comes alongside the release of the UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Limiting Overshoot report, which says the world must prepare for a period when global temperatures rise above 1.5°C before eventually coming back down.
The UNEP report says overshooting 1.5°C should not mean abandoning the target, with UN Secretary-General António Guterres calling for any period above the limit to be “as small and short as possible”.
Mirey Atallah, UNEP’s Adaptation and Resilience Branch chief, says countries must now think of 1.5°C as a goal they may have to return to from above, while cutting emissions and adapting to climate impacts at the same time.
For Pacific nations, Damlamian said some sea-level rise is already locked in.
“Reducing emissions is essential, but it will not stop sea-level rise. Some rise is already locked in and will continue for centuries. For Pacific Island countries, adaptation is no longer optional.
‘Every fraction of a degree of warming avoided matters because it slows sea-level rise and reduces how much future generations will face.”
The message from the Pacific is clear: countries cannot properly prepare for rising seas if they do not first have an accurate picture of the ground their communities are standing on…..PACNEWS
PACIFIC – PRE COP-PREP: FIJI SUN PACNEWS 1: Fri 11 Sep 2026
Fiji to hold Pre-COP31 summit with or without global leaders
SUVA, 11 SEPTEMBER 2026 (FIJI SUN)—Fiji’s Pacific-led Pre-COP31 summit will proceed in October “with or without” major world leaders, Environment Minister Lynda Tabuya says, even as organisers continue efforts to secure global attendance.
Speaking ahead of the 05-8 October gathering in Nadi and Tuvalu, Tabuya said the event was fundamentally a Pacific platform and not a substitute for the main COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye, in November.
“This is really a gathering of Pacific peoples, governments, NGOs, civil society, children, youth, women, you name it,” she said.
Invitations remain open to global leaders, including China, India, Japan and Southeast Asian nations, and were sent directly by Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka.
“Global leaders are very busy people, but we haven’t given up hope yet,”Tabuya said.
She said digital platforms would allow organisers to broadcast Pacific voices worldwide regardless of who attends in person, including a possible live link from Tuvalu.
“We can even go live from Tuvalu and meet with Fiji, and our world leaders can join virtually as well,” she said.
Countries unable to send heads of state have been invited to send ministers instead, she added.
The comments follow reports that Australia, which is funding the summit, had struggled to confirm the attendance of non-Pacific leaders.
The Ministry of Environment said last week that some leaders from the Caribbean and Europe had already confirmed for the Tuvalu leaders’ event, with discussions continuing to secure Japan’s Prime Minister.
“We can only hope, but otherwise it will proceed with or without them,” Tabuya said……PACNEWS
PACIFIC – FILM FESTIVVALS: FIJI SUN PACNEWS 1: Fri 11 Sep 2026
Pacific film festival highlights human rights, women’s empowerment
LABASA, 11 SEPTEMBER 2026 (FIJI SUN)—-A Pacific human rights film festival was presented at the University of the South Pacific (USP) campus in Labasa, using films to raise awareness and encourage discussion on human rights issues.
The festival creates safe spaces for discussions and provides a platform for Pacific filmmakers to showcase their work to audiences across the region.
It also encourages the film sector to understand the importance of human rights issues.
The two films shown were Breaking Ground: The Rise of Women’s Rugby and Remathau: People of the Ocean.
Pacific Community (SPC) Human Rights and Social Development Division knowledge and engagement officer Karine Gatellier said the Labasa screening was part of the sixth Pacific Human Rights Film Festival, which is taking place across the Pacific this month and next.
“This free annual festival is open to all, brings human rights to the big screen and provides a space for Pacific people to engage with these stories and build their awareness about human rights issues in the Pacific region and beyond,” Gatellier said.
“Story telling through movies and talanoa (discussions) on the issues depicted in the films have the power to open people’s minds to new perspectives.”
Breaking Ground is a documentary that chronicles the journeys of Fijiana athletes as they overcome societal stereotypes to transform women’s rugby in Fiji.
The film highlights sport as a tool for female empowerment and a movement against gender-based violence.
The documentary Remathau: People of the Ocean follows Nicole Yamase, a young marine biologist from Micronesia, as she ventures to the deepest part of the ocean and begins an even deeper journey of self-discovery, reconnecting with her people’s resilience and oceanic roots.
“After watching the films, the students and other attendees had the opportunity to discuss the themes highlighted in the films,” Gatellier said.
“The festival is presented as a part of the social citizenship education programme, under the Pacific partnership to end violence against women and girls, engaging schools and communities on human rights, social inclusion, gender equality, and ending violence against women and girls.”
This year, SPC partnered with USP and the Pacific UN Human Rights Office, with support from the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the delegation of the European Union to the Pacific, together with Ambassade de France à Fidji, Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga et Tuvalu (the French Embassy in Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga and Tuvalu), the British High Commission in Fiji, Embassy of Spain in Fiji, Oceania Centre for Arts, Culture and Pacific Studies and Centre for Sustainable Futures.
USP students Zahra Khan and Lavenia Bukakeilekutu, who attended the festival, said both films were motivating and carried messages for young girls that they could pursue their lives, dreams and ambitions.
The festival will continue until next month at other campuses and venues, including Damodar Cinema in Suva…..PACNEWS
PACNEWS BIZ
PAC – KAVA INDUSTRY: PMN PACNEWS BIZ: Fri 11 Sep 2026
Pacific leaders say kava is theirs but the name is already being claimed in the United States
AUCKLAND/KOROR, 11 SEPTEMBER 2026 (PMN)—-Pacific leaders say kava is theirs but the name is already being claimed in the United States.
The new Kava Declaration gives the region a united position on protecting the cultural and economic value of kava. But growers, exporters and experts say the harder fight is still ahead.
Pacific leaders have drawn a line around kava, declaring it a unique Pacific cultural and economic asset and calling for its origins, traditional knowledge and heritage to be protected.
But the declaration comes as the name ‘Pacific Kava’ is already being claimed in the United States while island nations themselves remain divided over how kava should be traded.
That leaves a big question after last week’s Pacific Islands Forum in Palau: what does the new KAVA Declaration actually mean for growers and communities that have cultivated and used kava for generations?
Leaders formally endorsed the KAVA Declaration at the Forum, recognising kava as a Pacific cultural and economic asset and saying protecting its Pacific origins was important to its future international trade.
But turning that political agreement into protection on the ground will not be simple.
One of the biggest challenges is already outside the Pacific.
The American Kava Association has filed a U.S trademark application for ‘Pacific Kava Certified’, which covers dried kava and live kava plants grown on or near California’s Pacific Coast.
The application remains live and pending. That means the Pacific’s push to protect the name is happening alongside a growing commercial kava industry thousands of kilometres away.
Dr Apo Aporosa, Waikato University Senior Lecturer in Pacific Health and a kava expert, supports the Forum’s move but says much more work is needed.
“I definitely support the intent of the Kava Declaration and recognise that it is a work in progress,” he said.
“Protecting the name kava is important, but protecting the name also requires clear understanding about what is entitled to carry that name.”
Aporosa says the issue goes beyond trade.
“While kava has great economic value and supports Pacific small-holder farmers and national economies, more importantly, it is arguably our most important Pacific cultural keystone species.
“Safeguarding that cultural value is as important as protecting the economic value,” he said.
The other challenge is inside the Pacific itself.
Tonga has pushed for restrictions on kava being exported for extraction while major producers such as Fiji and Vanuatu have taken a different view as demand for kava extracts continues to grow.
Caroline-Scott Fanamanu Kava’onau ‘o Tapululululu, a Tongan kava practitioner, says the plant cannot simply be treated as another export crop.
“Kava is more than just a product it is for Tongans also a pronoun. Kava is the name of a woman in Tonga and the origin story of Kava in Tonga.”
Former Pacific Islands Forum Secretary-General, Henry Puna, has also argued that countries outside the Pacific should not be able to simply use the name.
“It’s not for everybody else to use. If they’re selling a similar product, well, they can use a different name. But we have to be realistic and accept that there are other tropical zones in the world where they grow this product.”
The Pacific has been working towards a regional approach for several years.
The Forum’s Kava Working Group, co-chaired by Vanuatu and Fiji, has worked on the declaration while regional standards bodies are also developing a kava quality and safety standard.
In April, the Pacific Islands Standards Committee brought together 20 experts from nine Pacific countries in Sydney for its first Kava Technical Committee meeting, with work now mapped across the next year and beyond.
Forum Chair and Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr said the declaration would help elevate kava as a distinct Pacific product and create greater value and market opportunities.
But the declaration itself does not settle the hardest questions.
It does not determine how Pacific producers should treat kava extracts. It does not automatically stop overseas businesses from using the word kava. And it does not settle who should have the right to call a product ‘Pacific Kava’.
Aporosa says the region needs to be clear about what qualifies as kava in the first place.
“Call ‘products containing Piper methysticum’ whatever you want, but don’t call them kava,” he said.
For Pacific growers and communities, that may be the real test of the Forum leaders declaration. The leaders have now spoken with one voice.
The next step is turning that voice into rules that protect both the Pacific’s kava economy and the cultural knowledge and identity that gave kava its name in the first place…..PACNEWS
SOL – ECONOMIC PRIORITIES: SOL GOVT PACNEWS BIZ: Fri 11 Sep 2026
Solomon Islands sets out economic priorities at national trade fair
HONIARA, 11 SEPTEMBER 2026 (SOL GOVT) —- The Solomon Islands Government has outlined plans to boost local production, reduce import dependence and prepare the economy for the country’s graduation from Least Developed Country status in 2027.
Speaking at the opening of the 2026 Annual National Trade Fair at SINU FOPA Village, Minister for Commerce, Industry, Labour and Immigration Harry Kuma said the GREAT Coalition would focus on growing local businesses and creating more opportunities for Solomon Islanders.
Kuma said the Government would prioritise increased domestic production in food, fisheries, tourism and manufacturing, while shifting away from exporting raw resources.
“We have been exporting logs, minerals, fish and crops in raw form, leaving the value-adding and profits to foreign nations. This must change,” he said.
The Government plans to reduce import dependency, strengthen food security and create jobs through downstream processing and greater value addition.
Kuma said Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) would be central to the Government’s economic strategy, with measures planned to simplify business registration, improve access to finance, expand markets and support value-added production.
The Government will also reform public procurement to improve opportunities for SMEs and progress amendments to the MSME Act and Foreign Investment legislation.
“Small businesses today can become major employers tomorrow. When we support one Solomon Islands business to grow, we are supporting families, employees, suppliers, farmers, transport operators and communities,” Kuma said.
The GREAT Coalition will also prioritise road, maritime, aviation and digital connectivity to better link producers and tourism operators with domestic and international markets.
Kuma said improving telecommunications coverage in productive and tourism areas, implementing the National E-Commerce Strategy and expanding digital payments, online marketing and e-commerce platforms would help provincial businesses reach international customers.
“Distance must no longer be a barrier. A young entrepreneur in Choiseul or a women’s cooperative in Temotu should be able to sell to a buyer in Brisbane, Tokyo, or London with the tap of a smartphone,” he said.
The Minister said economic growth must also be inclusive and environmentally sustainable.
The Government will place greater emphasis on youth entrepreneurship, innovation, digital skills, engineering and exports, while strengthening partnerships with the Solomon Islands National University, University of the South Pacific, churches and schools.
It will also promote women entrepreneurs, rural women producers, people with disabilities and provincial businesses, while ensuring innovation respects the environment and traditional knowledge.
“A Greater Solomon Islands Tomorrow cannot be built while half of our population remains on the margins of economic opportunity,” Kuma said.
With Solomon Islands scheduled to graduate from LDC status in 2027, Kuma said innovation and stronger domestic economic capacity would be critical to sustaining growth beyond the transition.
He said the National Development Strategy’s eight pillars would guide Government action to improve livelihoods and accelerate economic development.
Kuma called on farmers to increase production and connect with markets, entrepreneurs to innovate and take calculated risks, young people to learn and lead, investors to take a long-term approach, and Solomon Islanders to buy and support locally produced goods.
“Let us add value to our resources, create opportunities for our people, strengthen our businesses, and open the Solomon Islands to the world,” he said.
The Government also acknowledged the support of development partners Australia, New Zealand and China, as well as the private sector and exhibitors participating in the 2026 National Trade Fair….PACNEWS
PAC – FINACIAL CRIMES: ABC PACIFIC PACNEWS BIZ: Fri 11 Sep 2026
AUSTRAC trains Pacific Island intelligence agencies in combating financial crimes
PORT MORESBY/ HONIARA, 11 SEPTEMBER 2026 (ABC PACIFIC)—Australia’s financial intelligence unit, AUSTRAC is facilitating two major training initiatives in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.
The training involves simulated case studies to strengthen Pacific Island nations in detecting and disrupting money laundering and organised financial crime.
“It takes a network to defeat a network, so partnership is critical and underpins all of our work in the Pacific,” said Acting National Manager for AUSTRAC’s International Engagement, Rob Buchan.
“We helped all of the intelligence units in Papua New Guinea involved in combating money laundering using real case simulations,” he said…. PACNEWS
SOL – VOCATIONAL STUDIES: SOL GOVT PACNEWS BIZ: Fri 11 Sep 2026
Solomon Islands sends first students to China under 1,000-student initiative
HONIARA, 11 SEPTEMBER 2026 (SOL GOVT)—The first five Solomon Islands Government-sponsored students under the 1,000 Students Per Year to China Initiative have departed for China to begin vocational studies.
The students are the first beneficiaries of the SIG-funded programme established by Prime Minister Matthew Wale and the GREAT Coalition to strengthen the country’s skilled workforce and address critical skills shortages.
The initiative aims to provide young Solomon Islanders with technical and vocational qualifications in priority areas while building the country’s human resource capacity.
It will also support the development of qualified science teachers and certified instructors for schools and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions.
A pre-departure programme was held this week, with remarks from Director of Planning Doreen Alfred, Supervising Permanent Secretary Linda Wate and SITESA Chief Executive Officer Constance Nasi.
The students also received briefings to prepare them for their studies and stay in China.
The students expressed their appreciation at being the first cohort of SIG-sponsored students under the initiative and thanked the Government for the opportunity to study overseas.
The five students are Macson Lokumana, who will study Electrical Automation Technology; Eremina Tafilulula and Haily Catherine Au, who will study Tourism Management; Edward Piluania, who will study Industrial Robot Technology; and Rarovia Hirogyn, who will also study Tourism Management.
All five students will undertake their studies at Yantai Vocational College in China.
The Government expects the initiative to support up to 1,000 Solomon Islanders annually, making it a key investment in education, skills development and the country’s future workforce.
The programme is also expected to strengthen cooperation between Solomon Islands and China in technical and vocational education.
The Government congratulated the students and wished them success in their studies….PACNEWS
PACNEWS DIGEST
The views expressed in PACNEWS are those of agencies contributing articles and do not necessarily those of PINA and/or PACNEWS
Pacific partners unite in Tonga to strengthen sustainable early warning systems and deal with climate data crisis
NUKU’ALOFA, 10 SEPTEMBER 2026 (SPREP)–Pacific governments, regional organisations, development partners and technical agencies came together in Nukuʻalofa for the inaugural Weather Ready Pacific Liaison Platform, marking an important step towards stronger coordination and sustainable investment in Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems (MHEWS) across the Pacific.
Held from 08 to 09 September 2026 under the theme “From Warning to Action: Partnering for a Prepared and Sustainable Pacific,” the Platform brought together partners supporting weather, climate, water, ocean and multi-hazard early warning services.
The theme reflects the Platform’s focus on turning forecasts and warnings into timely action, while building partnerships capable of sustaining Pacific early warning systems over the long term.
The Platform strengthened coordination around nationally identified priorities and the Pacific-led Weather Ready Pacific (WRP) Programme, providing a forum for countries, regional organisations, technical agencies and development partners to align their support and identify practical solutions to persistent challenges.
Participants recognised the progress made in strengthening early warning systems across the Pacific, while highlighting long-term sustainability as a major challenge. Infrastructure maintenance can account for up to 70 percent of full life-cycle costs, yet maintenance and replacement are consistently underfunded.
The Platform agreed that this financing gap cannot be addressed through any single funding source. Participants also supported progressing a Pacific Hydro-Met MHEWS Sustainable Maintenance Facility as one component of a broader financing mix to protect investments, extend the life of critical infrastructure and sustain operational early warning services.
“Since 1980, we have lost one long-term climate data record in the Pacific every two years. That is not just a problem, it is a crisis. If we do not have quality data, we will never have quality warning services. It is both alarming and urgent,” said Ofa Fa’anunu, Programme Manager of WRP.
“The Pacific has endorsed the continuation of the design of a sustainable maintenance facility for Pacific hydrometeorological and multi-hazard early warning systems (MHEWS).”
The Platform also called for future investments to be anchored in a single Pacific-owned infrastructure pipeline, built from nationally identified priorities and coordinated regionally through the leaders-endorsed Weather Ready Pacific Programme. Investments should be financed across their full life cycle and measured by the sustainable capability they leave behind.
Participants emphasised that relatively modest investment in hydro-meteorological and early warning systems can deliver catalytic benefits for lives, livelihoods, resilience and economic development, including stronger disaster preparedness, aviation and maritime safety, food and water security, and resilient infrastructure.
The meeting also strengthened the regional approach to Early Warnings for All (EW4All) and considered closer integration of risk information, hazard preparedness and anticipatory action into the Weather Ready Pacific architecture.
The inaugural Liaison Platform signals a shift from fragmented interventions towards a more coordinated, Pacific-led model in which countries identify priorities, regional mechanisms support coordination, and partners align technical and financial assistance behind a shared regional direction.
The outcomes of the Platform will inform discussions of the Pacific Meteorological Council and the Fourth Pacific Ministerial Meeting on Meteorology (PMMM-4) in Nukuʻalofa.
Pacific early warning systems must not only be built, they must be maintained, financed and sustained for generations to come.
The Pacific Meteorological Council is a specialised subsidiary body of the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) established to facilitate and coordinate the scientific and technical programme and activities of Pacific National Meteorological and Hydrological Services.
The eighth meeting of the Pacific Meteorological Council (PMC-8) is held from 10 – 14 September 2026 in Nuku’alofa, Tonga. It follows a series of pre-meetings which starts on 7 September 2026 and will conclude with the convening of the fourth Pacific Ministerial Meeting on Meteorology (PMMM-4) on 16 September 2026…..PACNEWS
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The views expressed in PACNEWS are those of agencies contributing articles and do not necessarily those of PINA and/or PACNEWS
Pacific Communities move from Climate Adaptation to Action and Ownership
NOUMEA, 11 SEPTEMBER 2026 (SPREP)—-As Pacific Island countries and territories face the interconnected challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental degradation, a special side event at the 11th Pacific Islands Conference on Nature Conservation highlighted how communities can move from participating in climate adaptation projects to taking ownership of solutions that protect ecosystems, livelihoods and their future.
Organised by the Pacific Ecosystem-based Adaptation to Climate Change (PEBACC+) project, the side event, “The Participation to Ownership Framework,” was held at the Tjibaou Cultural Centre in Nouméa. It brought together practitioners, government representatives, researchers, customary leaders and community representatives from across the Pacific to explore how scientific evidence, local knowledge and community leadership can strengthen climate resilience.
A central focus was the Ecosystem and Socio-Economic Resilience Assessment and Mapping (ESRAM) methodology, which combines ecological and climate data with socio-economic information and local knowledge to identify ecosystem services, understand climate vulnerabilities and support planning for Nature-based Solutions (NbS).
The first session explored how resilience mapping can translate knowledge into practical planning and investment decisions. For communities, the value of ESRAM lies in the information it produces and the knowledge exchange it creates.
Alick Konamalefo, Malaita Fisheries Officer, Solomon Islands Ministry of Fisheries, said, “In Solomon Islands, the ESRAM brought communities and technical experts together to share knowledge. Communities brought their understanding of their resources, boundaries and important ecosystems, while technical experts brought the science. This exchange broadened their knowledge, created a shared understanding, and inspired communities to take action to protect the ecosystems they depend on.”
The discussion then moved from assessment and planning to experience of putting Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) into practice. Representatives from Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Wallis and Futuna, and New Caledonia shared examples ranging from reforestation and invasive species management to water security, agroforestry and mangrove restoration.
In Kouaoua, New Caledonia, local action is demonstrating why adaptation requires sustained community involvement. Alex Dahi, Climate Officer in the Northern Province, said, “In Kouaoua, invasive deer control has been a critical part of our work, but this requires long-term commitment; we will not see the full results in just one year. We also established participatory water monitoring so communities can assess the effectiveness of these efforts. By combining regenerative hydrology and agroforestry, we are also improving soil productivity and creating new opportunities for cultivation.”
The benefits of adaptation also extend to livelihoods. In Barana, Solomon Islands, financial literacy training helped women strengthen their businesses and diversify their products.
Alice Buko, Chairlady of the Barana Community, said, “Women in Barana faced challenges with budgeting, recording sales, and competing in the market. Through the project, 80 women received financial literacy training, which changed the way they manage their businesses. They now understand basic budgeting and sales recording and are diversifying their products from coconut buns and sewn pillowcases to dyed sarongs. Most importantly, they are sharing what they have learned with other women, creating a cycle of learning within the community.”
The importance of customary leadership was also highlighted. Hugues Vhémavhé, Customary Senator, Southern Province, New Caledonia, said, “For customary authorities, protecting nature means protecting life. Water is life, and we have a responsibility to safeguard our taboo and sacred areas and preserve them for future generations.”
Together, the experiences shared at the event showed that lasting climate resilience depends on more than technical assessments. It requires communities, governments and customary authorities to turn knowledge into action and take ownership of adaptation solutions beyond the life of individual projects.
PEBACC+ is a regional project implemented by SPREP and funded by the Kiwa Initiative through its donors, the European Union, Agence Française de Développement (AFD), Global Affairs Canada, Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), and New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT), with co-financing from the French Facility for Global Environment (FFEM).
The 11th Pacific Islands Conference for Nature Conservation and Protected Areas is held from 7 to 11 September 2026 at the Tjibaou Culturel Centre in Noumea New Caledonia. Bringing together over 400 delegates from across the Pacific, the conference is organised by New Caledonia, Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme, and the Pacific Islands Roundtable for Nature Conservation with the support of partners….PACNEWS
For more information please visit: https://www.pacificislandsroundtable.com/pacific-nature-conference
