1. Green Growth Potential in the Pacific
Islands: Why, Where and How?
Iosefa Maiava
Head , ESCAP Sub-regional Office for the Pacific
Suva, FIJI

3. 2011 Pacific Regional MDGs Tracking Report (PIFS)

4. The Pacific Ocean:
Big and Critical
• 165.2 million square
kilometres, about
one-third of the
Earth’s total surface
area, and larger than
all of the Earth's land
area combined
• Rich resource base
(fishery, biodiversity,
minerals) and
provides
ecosystems services
(e.g., climate
regulator) critical to
the survival of the
planet

5. Islands:
Small and Vulnerable

6. Size and GDP-weighted Distance from
Production (World Bank, 2012)
11,000 World
GDP weighted distance (km)
PICs
TON VUT
FJI
9,000
TUV WSM SLB Carribeans
KIR TMP
MHL
PLW FSM
7,000
5,000
Log (pop)
3,000
(1k)
-3 -2 (1m)
-1 0 (1bn)1 2 3 4

7. High production costs!
World Bank, 2012
Costs of Production by Country Size as Percent of Costs in Large Economy
70
Costs of Production as % Costs in Median
60
50
40
Economy
30
20
10
0
Electronic Assembly Clothing Hotels and Tourism
Small economy (4 million) Threshold (1.6 million)
Very small economy (200,000) Micro economy (12,000)

8. Impact of the GEC!
IMF, 2012
Annual Average Real GDP Growth
(In percent)
7.0
LICs Small States ECCU PICs
6.0
5.0
4.0
3.0
2.0
1.0
0.0
1971-80 1981-90 1991-00 2001-10

9. WHEN and H0W:
“Turning crises into opportunities is like surfing
waves,
not drowning! Only the Brave jumping into the
water can swim and/or surf”

10. New Consumers still want MORE, but they are defining
that differently. Not more shiny trifles and mountains of
consumer goods but, rather, more meaning, more
deeply felt connections, more substance and a greater
sense of purpose.
•72% say they are trying to improve the way they live
•71% are trying to improve who they are as individuals
•59% worry that society has grown too disconnected from the
natural world
•55% worry more about their future or that of their family that they
used to
•51% would like to be part of some important cause
•67% believe most people would be better off if they lived more
simply
•69% claim to be smarter shoppers than they were a few years
ago
•64% say that making environmentally friendly choices makes
them feel good about themselves.

11. Nature Business Opportunities

12. Patterns of Coral Diversity: The Coral
Triangle
Source: J.E.N. Veron and Mary Stafford-Smith. Corals of the World (Cape Ferguson: AIMS, 2000)

13. Marine Management Sites

14. Tuna: Scope for better “returns” from, and
sustainability of, the stocks
60% global tuna stocks;
Total landed value annually of around US$2
billion and an estimated market value of
US$3-4 billion;
Access agreements for distant-water fishing
nations US$60–70 million annually and
increasing;
Uneven proportion of catch value retained
by PICs;
Yellowfin and bigeye tuna at serious risk of
overfishing.

15. THE RISK TO FOOD SECURITY
IN THE PACIFIC HAS BEEN
Local Produce
RECOGNIZED AT THE HIGHEST
POLITICAL LEVEL.
At the 39th Pacifi c Islands Forum, held
in Niue from 19 to 20 August 2008,
Forum Leaders:
“Acknowledged the high importance of
food security as an emerging issue
which poses challenges for the future
well- being of people across the
region” and “called on all countries to
maintain open markets and, where
possible, to increase the production
and supply of healthy food”.
Leaders “committed their
governments to immediate action to
address
food security issues nationally and,
where possible, regionally through a
range of measures across key sectors
such as agriculture, fisheries, trade
and transport”.

16. THE RISK TO FOOD SECURITY Tuna fishing boats damaged by a cyclone in
IN THE PACIFIC HAS BEEN French Polynesia (Ph. F. Sodter)
RECOGNIZED AT THE HIGHEST
POLITICAL LEVEL.
At the 39th Pacifi c Islands Forum, held
in Niue from 19 to 20 August 2008,
Forum Leaders:
“Acknowledged the high importance of
food security as an emerging issue
which poses challenges for the future
well- being of people across the
region” and “called on all countries to
maintain open markets and, where
possible, to increase the production
and supply of healthy food”.
Leaders “committed their
governments to immediate action to
address
food security issues nationally and,
where possible, regionally through a
range of measures across key sectors
such as agriculture, fisheries, trade
and transport”.

17. THE RISK TO FOOD SECURITY
IN THE PACIFIC HAS BEEN
Traditional Fishing Method
RECOGNIZED AT THE HIGHEST
POLITICAL LEVEL.
At the 39th Pacifi c Islands Forum, held
in Niue from 19 to 20 August 2008,
Forum Leaders:
“Acknowledged the high importance of
food security as an emerging issue
which poses challenges for the future
well- being of people across the
region” and “called on all countries to
maintain open markets and, where
possible, to increase the production
and supply of healthy food”.
Leaders “committed their
governments to immediate action to
address
food security issues nationally and,
where possible, regionally through a
range of measures across key sectors
such as agriculture, fisheries, trade
and transport”.

18. Fuel: scope for lessening vulnerability
including through bulk buying
Total Oil Oil Oil Oil Imports as %
Consum Compone Component of GDP
ption nt of of Goods
(Ktoe) Imports of and Services
Goods and Exports %
Services %
Cook 19.4 31.4 2070.1 28.8
Islands
PNG 840 3.3 3.3 2.1
Samoa 69.2 17.9 30.1 9.4
Tonga 45 29.6 103.1 15.1
Vanuatu 33 14.3 15.9 6.9

19. And Renewables: Several PICs
have ambitious targets
• Tokelau: independence from imported fuels by progressively
increasing the use of renewable energy with the ultimate goal
of 100% renewable energy;
• Cook Islands: 50% of electricity from renewable energy
sources by 2015 and 100% by 2020;
• Nauru: 50% of energy demand provided by ‘…alternative
sources of energy, including through renewable sources…’ by
2015;
• Tonga: 50% of electricity generation through renewable
resources by 2012; and,
• Tuvalu: 100% renewable energy for power generation by
2020.

20. Regionalism: scope for managing cross-
border and production issues
Shared regional • Achieve economies of scale
institutions • Help overcome capacity constraints
Harmonization of laws • Ease cross-border business
and regulations • Help overcome capacity constraints
Labor market • Allow people to move to areas where
integration opportunities exist
• Allow access to necessary skills and
capacities
Better transport and • Reduce costs of business
communication links • Facilitate flow of knowledge and ideas

21. Government have to jump start GG
• By closing 2 gaps
Price Gap: by internalizing Ecological Price into
Market Price by Ecological Tax Reform (ETR)
Time Gap: by investing in long term gains
through Green Budget Reform (GBR)
• GG is not just an incremental change promoting
green technologies, agro-forestry and removing
subsidies, it should be greening whole economy.

22. Economic
Social Ecological