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SOUTH PACIFIC REGIONAL ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME (SPREP) Apia, Samoa

Press Release February 29, 2000

UNDERSTANDING FOR CAPACITY BUILDING
ACTIVITIES IN THE PACIFIC

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) signed today in Apia, a Memorandum of Understanding that aims to improve the capacity of three Pacific Island countries to better manage their natural resources.

The Regional Technical Assistance for Capacity Building for Promoting Traditional Environmental Management in the Pacific Developing Member Countries will allocate a total of US$ 550,000 to the implementation of activities in education, awareness raising, training and information technology that will focus on the use of traditional knowledge. ADB will provide US$ 300,000, SPREP will contribute US$ 190,000 and the participating governments will contribute a total of US$ 60,000 through in-kind contributions.

Before signing the...

By Craig DeSilva

WASHINGTON, D.C. (February 29, 2000 – PIDP/CPIS)---American pop singer Mariah Carey has told Guam Congressman Robert A. Underwood that she wants to help dispel the bad publicity Guam is getting over its problems with brown tree snakes.

"This was pursuant to a letter that I had written to her two weeks ago regarding her comments in Rolling Stone," Underwood said in a press release.

In a February 17 Rolling Stone article, Carey said she had a life-long fascination with the word "Guam" and that she had wanted to kick off her world tour from Guam, but had also heard that "there are lots of snakes in Guam, which fall out of the trees" and that they’ve eaten all the birds.

In his February 10 letter inviting the star to visit, Congressman Underwood wrote:

"To Guam’s dismay, the island’s snake problem and its portrayal in the American mainstream media have overshadowed our island paradise. I believe that your visit to Guam can serve many...

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (March 2, 2000 – Post-Courier)---Papua New Guinea expects to earn K 45 million (US$ 15.1 million) by the end of this year from South Korean and Taiwanese vessels that catch skipjack tuna and yellow fin in PNG waters.

Papua New Guinea renewed its fishing agreements with Korea and Taiwan, allowing the resumption of commercial fishing of skipjack and yellow fin tuna after a delay of two years.

Fisheries and Marine Resources Minister Ron Ganarafo said yesterday that the agreements were signed in Seoul last month during an inaugural meeting of the Parliamentary Association on Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.

He said the previous agreements expired in 1997, and were not renewed immediately because PNG could not decide on certain parts of the agreements at the time. He said PNG will earn a total of K45 million from the two countries this year from, mostly, access fees.

He said the amount is not higher because fish market...

Suva, Fiji Islands

NEWS RELEASE February 28, 2000

SOUTH PACIFIC TOURISM ORGANIZATION COORDINATING PACIFIC PARTICIPATION IN BERLIN 2000 INTERNATIONAL TOURISM EXCHANGE

As part of its work program activities under the European Union (EU) funded Pacific Regional Tourism Development Program Phase III, the South Pacific Tourism Organization (SPTO) coordinates the participation of its 13 member countries at international trade fairs. One of these shows is The Internationale Tourismus - Borse (ITB) or the International Tourism Exchange.

ITB will be held March 11-15, 2000 at the Messe Berlin Exhibition Center, Berlin, Germany.

This Travel and Tourism World Trade Fair will be opened by the Federal Minister of Economics and Technology, Dr. Werner Muller. The guests at the opening ceremonies will include more than 5,000 travel trade professionals from around the world, who will be officially welcomed by the Governing Mayor of Berlin, Mr. Eberhard Diepgen...