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Environment Conference registration now open
The 29th Pacific Islands Environmental Conference, to be held on June 13-15, 2017 on Saipan, CNMI is now open for registration.
The theme of this year’s conference is “A Sustainable Pacific: Preparing for Change, Voyaging with Knowledge.” The conference agenda will focus on climate change and island resilience, approaches to sustainable development, and the connections between public health and the environment.
Interested persons can register at becq.gov.mp. The registration fee is $50 for the three days, or $20 for one day.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Alexis Straus, Acting Administrator for Region 9, will give the Opening Keynote for the three-day conference. EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region (Region 9) is home to more than 50 million people and spans the Pacific Islands, 148 tribal nations, and the states of Arizona, California, Hawaii, and Nevada. The U.S. EPA partners with state and local agencies to administer and enforce federal environmental laws that address safe drinking, public health, toxic waste, and air pollution. Each of these are a challenge to islands that are complicated by climate change, development, and emerging health concerns.
The first PIEC session convened 55 years ago in 1961 to assess how to better preserve and protect the natural resources of Oceania that were being threatened by rapid economic, social and environmental changes. As a result of PIEC meetings, our leaders made sustainable decisions that aimed to conserve and restore the natural resources of our island homes.
During the 29th PIEC, more than 300 delegates from the environmental protection professions including managers, field representatives, government officials, private companies, and non-profit groups are expected to be in attendance. Attendees will come from across the Pacific, American Samoa, Guam, the Republic of Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands. There will also be representatives from the U.S. mainland and international locations. (PR)
