Chemical contaminants in food in Pacific Island countries

The presence in foods of chemical contaminants such as heavy metals, pesticides, aflatoxins and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) has been of international concern for decades. Since most of these are associated with intensive industrial and agricultural activity, the minimal existence of such activities in Pacific island countries has led to the conclusion that the consumption of these contaminants in food is unlikely to be a health problem in the Pacific. Because of this little effort has been expended in studying the level of these contarnlnants in Pacific foods. Most of the data are from environmental studies in which some of the analytes are edible. These have mainly been performed at the three major universities in the region, the University of the South Pacific, the University of Guam and the University of Papua New Guinea. Some data are also available from a Japanese study. More recently the United States Environmental Protection Agency has been studying sites potentially contaminated by PCBs in the forrner United States Trust Territories. It should be emphasized that these are scientific studies of the incidence of pollution and not country-driven analyses of the status of these pollutants in the food supply. It is also important to recognize that for the tropical Pacific islands the most important chemical food contaminants are a variety of marine toxins, especially ciguatoxins, that affect health and economies of a significant percentage of Pacific islanders

Sustainable coastal resource management for Fiji: a background paper prepared for the Fiji National Workshop on Integrated Coastal Management

There are a number of important initiatives to address the sustainable development and conservation of coastal resources throughout the island countries and provinces of the Western Pacific, including the South Pacific, the Philippines and Indonesia. Coastal managers based in these sites unfortunately do not have the opportunity to share their lessons learned with each other, nor with government agencies at different levels. Yet such interaction is essential for the communication of ideas and lessons that can lead to the success of integrated coastal management projects. A practitioner learning network is emerging in the region, primarily incorporating managers of conservation sites. This network of site managers recognizes that for their ambitious effort to be sustainable, lessons must be effectively communicated and integrated into the mainstream of government activities and programs. The Institute of Applied Science (IAS) at the University of the South Pacific (USP) is working in partnership with the University of Rhode Island Coastal Resources Center and the Government of Fiji to hold a workshop at the national level that will provide a valuable opportunity for exchanging information on lessons learned about successful site management to date. The meeting will also examine the potential for government and citizen support for a sustainable and replicable coastal program, and whether such an initiative is appropriate at this time for Fiji. The overall project, funded by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, incorporates an examination of experiences in two provinces in the central Philippines, and the nation of Fiji. This work will complement an on-going, similar initiative in North Sulawesi, Indonesia. All three locations have successful local site projects on-going and all recognize the need for more government involvement in linking together individual, site-based projects. This paper provides important background information for the Sustainable Coastal Resources Management Workshop scheduled for April 9-11, 2002. Section I indicates the importance of coastal resources in the past, present and future well-being of Fiji. Section II points out that there are some important early initiatives as well as pending legal and policy proposals that reveal how many different groups and government offices are coming to similar conclusions about important next steps in creating a framework and viable local programs to care for coastal areas and communities. Section III examines the special area of the Coral Coast in more detail, a region which shares many of the problems and concerns of other coastal areas, including small outlying islands. Several important initiatives are described as well as how coastal management might look in Fiji at this scale. The final section offers some reflections on possible directions for Fiji to consider taking in the near and medium term