Impacts and Benefits of the Montreal Protocol for the Republic of the Fiji Islands 19th Anniversary of the SEAP Network, 2002 Stockholm, Sweden

Facts about Fiji - n Habitable islands- about 100 n Desert islands and forming, forested but no freshwater n National Area - 230,000 sq km and 18, 270 sqkm n Population - around 800,000 and growing n Population distribution - 60% live in villages of < than 600 (42/sqm)

Facts about Fiji - n Capital city - Suva, +71, 600 (20% of population n Principal Trading Partners - Australia and New Zealand n Language - Fijian, Hindi, English n Climate: Average temp of 27 to 32 degrees C n Cool times (May to November) n FJD $1 : 0.51US

Facts about Fiji - n Foreign Exchange Earner: Tourism, Sugar, Forestry, Mining, Fishing n Main Imports: Petroleum, Machinery and Food n Locality: Extremely isolated geographically. n Current Status: Recovering from the events and impacts of May 1987,May 1990,and May 2000 coups.

Impact and Benefit of Introducing Montreal Protocol in Fiji n Previously, was not a priority (1989) n Today, the only environmental policy in the country(2002) with an independent legislation

n The only Environmental Issue in Fiji with a fully fledged program in process. n The Program involves a major collaboration effort with various government departments and relevant industries. E.g Customs, OHS, Transport, Agriculture

Reason for Successful Existence in Fiji n The aggressive drive of the United Nations Environmental Agencies involved in the implementation of the Montreal Protocol (UNEP, UNDP) coupled with n The bilateral assistance of Developed Countries. (Australia, Japan and Sweden.)

A perspective on the ”Swedish Approach” n Seen as Interactive,integrative, dynamic n Seen to have the perseverance to continue to fund a tiny island, on the other side of the planet n Able to consolidate the efforts of Japan and Australia and other countries (May 2000 Customs Workshop) n Maintain communication links through UNEP

A perspective on the ”Swedish Approach” n Seen as ensuring visible support and availability for their assistance.

Other Reasons n Excellent dissemination of Awareness materials and technical information by UNEP n The impact of Australia and New Zealand in the Region n The major center for import and export of Ozone Depleting substances in the Region to Pacific Island Countries. (bridging the gap)

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