Pacific Community Director-General on first official visit to French Polynesia

The Pacific Community Director-General, Dr Colin Tukuitonga, will visitFrench Polynesia next week where he will meet with government representatives to discuss development priorities for the Pacific Island territory.

High on the agenda of his five-day visit (12 to 16 December) is a meeting with the French High Commissioner for French Polynesia, Rene Bidal, as well as the President of the French Polynesia Assembly, the Hon Marcel Tuisani, and cabinet members.

Technical and scientific assistance from the Pacific Community (SPC)in areas such as health, gender, transport and the sustainable use of natural resources will be discussed, including a visit to aquaculture farms and IFREMER on Tahiti Peninsula.

The official visit also provides the opportunity to review the INTEGRE and RESCCUE projects, implemented by SPC in partnership with the institutions of French Polynesia and local communities, through a visit to a shared project pilot site at Opunohu on Moorea.

INTEGRE is funded by the European Union, while RESCCUE is made possible with funding from the French Development Agency (AFD) and theFrench Facility for Global Environment (FFEM).

These projects are developing a range of actions as part of an integrated coastal management approach and with a view to increasing resilience to climate change.

The main work areas are organic farming, developing tourism and sustainable management of natural resources, based on sharing expertise and experience between overseas countries and territories (OCT) and with countries in the region.

Media contacts:

Peggy Roudaut, INTEGRE Regional Coordinator, [email protected]
Jean-Noël Royer, Communication Officer, [email protected], +687 87 70 63

Division

Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability (CCES)
RESCCUE