Resilience in the face of environmental challenge will be atop the agenda for this week's 29^th biannual Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (S.P.R.E.P) meeting, from Tuesday till Thursday.

Deputy Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Matafa will open the meeting on Monday evening at Tanoa Tustitala Hotel.The region’s Environment Ministers will gather on Friday for high level talks on ‘a resilient blue Pacific.’

The Ministers will also officially open the Pacific Climate Change Centre, built by the Japanese Government.

The Centre, built next to the S.P.R.E.P offices in Vailima will be used by researchers and experts, improve information flow between meteorological services, policy makers, and climate practitioners.

Representatives from 21 Pacific Islands, including their environment Ministers, will spend five days working towards the 2020-2021 work plan, and the organisations own issues.

Already members have been working on two S.P.R.E.P conventions on waste and environment, the Noumea and Waigani Conventions.

The meeting will cover climate finance, the Pacific Island Forum leaders' decisions from their last meeting, and climate change resilience programs. 

There will also be several side events, covering recycling, sustainability, the Greening of the Games, data collection, and conservation.

Japan’s technical assistance program J-PRISM II (Japan Promotion of Regional Initiative on Solid Waste Management) is delivering a workshop on disaster waste management guidelines for the region.

The Pacific Environment Forum on Monday will focus on plastic pollution and its effect on the environment, and work done to curb it.

Speakers will discuss collective global action on plastic pollution, and how the Pacific Islands are trying to remove plastic from the waste stream. They will cover the link between plastic pollution and governance, and informed decision making and advocacy on pollution.