2. • Blue Pacific Narrative
• “Pacific Way”
• Cultural Values
• Blue Pacific Narrative
• Large Ocean States
• People-centered Approach
• Collectivism
2050 Strategy Vision
“As Pacific Leaders, our vision is for a resilient
Pacific region of peace, harmony, security, social
inclusion, prosperity, that ensures all Pacific
peoples can lead free, healthy and productive
lives.”
2050 Strategy Document link: https://www.forumsec.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/2050StrategyfinalWebV.pdf
5. All countries have
incorporated the SDGs into
national policies and
strategies.
None of the 21 targets
expected to be achieved by
2020 were achieved.
It is also unlikely that the
Pacific will achieve even 20%
of the SDG targets by 2030.
SDGs in the Pacific
6. Next Steps
Development of Implementation &
Monitoring Plan to be developed
following Leaders’ endorsement of
the Strategy
Implementation Plan to detail key
collective actions under thematic
areas, timeframes, implementation
partners, and resourcing
requirements.
Working with our development
partners in the implementation of
the strategy
In 2019, our Leaders endorsed the development of a 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent.
Leaders acknowledged that there was a need for urgent action against the threats and challenges of climate change and ensuring the health and wellbeing of our people as vital for a bright and prosperous future for the Pacific.
Furthermore, Forum Leaders agreed the Strategy must ensure social, cultural, environmental and economic integrity, sovereignty and security in order to protect people, place and the prospects of the Blue Pacific. (2019 Forum Leaders Communique).
In essence, the 2050 strategy endeavours to encapsulate a long-term vision for the Blue Pacific continent with key themes underpinning the vision and accompanying strategies that will strengthen our commitment to work together as one Blue Pacific to ensure the wellbeing and prosperity of our peoples.
Regionally, we have seen increasing momentum towards integration across the Pacific, the digitized era that we live in enables that, we have seen Pacific leaders through the Blue Pacific Narrative take huge strides to present our region not just as small island states but rather as a united collective of Large Ocean States.
While recognising that escalating climate change related impacts coupled with the intensification of geostrategic competition, the pandemic is exacerbating the region’s vulnerabilities, our regions political leaders, our officials, CROP partners, youth and representatives of our non state actor groups have worked for nearly 2 years to develop what is now the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent. A strategy that was endorsed at the 51st forum Leaders here in suva in July.
The vision emphasizes RESILIENCE, our need to Protect and secure our people, place and prospects.
It recognizes that as Pacific people our strength is as a united collective.
Our Pacific Way of compromise, inclusivity, mutual respect, dialogue, talanoa are the core values on how this process to develop the 2050 Strategy was framed and it was very much a people-centered approach.
Engagement across a wide range of stakeholders, an exchange of ideas, lessons learnt, identifying transformative solutions, fostering new partnerships, renewing existing ones and really contextualizing how we as a region see how we position ourselves across our islands and with the outside world.
The process was heavily informed by our cultural context and indigenous knowledge, how we face similar circumstances but are also quite unique in our own ways. And it aims to really embed pacific culture and values in all aspects of how we progress our development to 2050.
The strategy as it also, is flexible and adaptable anticipating future risks as well as good progress.
Formalising collectivism, regionalism as we see it today and the establishment of our regional institutions, SPC and then the establishment of the Pacific Islands Forum. These were all born out of innovative foresight thinking, planning acknowledging our collective potential of our shared stewardship of the Pacific Ocean, based on a shared geography, ocean identity, and resources, our cultures.
This strategy is a continuation of that.
So where are we starting from?
The Pacific played a critical role in framing SDG 13 on climate action and SDG 14 on life below water as stand-alone goals within the 2030 Agenda. And this is significant for the theme of this webinar, whilst there were many technical discussions and meetings and negotiations informed also by science, the input and political push from the Pacific, the knowledge, the talanoa and robust consultations were very based on our lived realities, our cultural values, and of course our indigenous knowledge, It really is significant moment in Pacific regionalism history because as a region there was that recognition of the importance of the ocean to us a People and the threat that climate change pose to that.
Monitoring, evaluation and learning through a cultural and indigenous lense and seeing how very different life has changed for us particularly with regard to the impact of climate change on our fragile ecosystems very much informed this work.
Use existing mechanism – 51st communique
Inclusive approach
The 2050 Strategy Document articulates the Leaders Vision, Levels of Ambition, Thematic Areas and Strategic Pathways. It sets out in high level terms our strategy as a region towards 2050.
Leaders Vision
Key Values
Leaders Commitments
Thematic Areas
Levels of Ambition
Strategic Pathways
Implementation Approach
Frames our regional cooperation around key thematic areas that inform how we will address our shared challenges and achieve our vision.
Is about how we will work together as a region, what we will work together on, and what we seek to achieve collectively.
Is our opportunity to engage with and shape the most significant dynamics and influences on our region, in order to secure our long-term wellbeing and prosperity.
At the regional level we have been monitoring and reporting consistently on our sustainable development progress from the MDGs and now continue to do so with the SDGs
There is one thing that we must keep in mind with these global development commitments: Whilst these are determined through a global process we as a region have been part of that, and our leaders have endorsed these goals and targets However our specific vulnerabilities and priorities can tend to a bit distorted when you come down to the technicalities of targets and indicators.
Our current reporting shows that:
All countries have incorporated the SDGs into national policies and strategies.
None of the 21 targets expected to be achieved by 2020 were achieved.
It is also unlikely that the Pacific will achieve even 20% of the SDG targets by 2030.
So are we get ready to present the 2nd quadarennial report to our leaders and seek their final endorsement we highlight that reporting on the SDGs whilst an important indicator for our progress it isn’t the only one that we should use. The report as a recommendation highlights the need to ensure that we as a region implements the Regional Culture strategy which is not covered specifically within the SDGs but is an important indicator of our development.
This regional MEL effort are very much centered around our partnerships at all levels, and as emphasised by Dr Frances and Valery talking, exploring and mapping. It is a consolidation of input from regional experts as well as from national efforts and lived realities.
The 2050 Strategy provides us with a unique opportunity given the political commitment and momentum, to contextualise our regional efforts of monitor, evaluate, report and learn
Whilst the SDGs and other key regional reporting mechanisms will be utilised to build and develop an implementation plan we can frame and contextualise the implementation plan around how we want to tell our story
What do we want and need to measure, and how can this be used to inform our political leadership and decision.
We of course need to keep in mind that we are an aid dependant region, geostrategic compeitions, global economic influences however I reiterate my earlier point that even while these elements inform our story, inform our diplomatic efforts the 2050 strategy provides a long term vision and it acknowledges that these things will take time and it will ake a collective efforts.
Colleagues, friends, with that I thank you for taking time to listen and I hope this was helpful, and I am happy to answer any questions you may have.
