SIDS (Pacific Island Counties) Capacity Building Training Programme on 3R and Circular Economy (21-25 July 2025, Suva, Fiji)

Event Date: From 21 Jul 2025 to 25 Jul 2025
Time: All day
Location: Suva, Fiji

The United Nations Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD)-Division for Sustainable Development Goals (DSDG) / United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), co-organized the SIDS (Pacific Island Countries) Capacity-Building Training Programme on the Implementation of the Jaipur Declaration on 3R and Circular Economy (2025-2035) in conjunction with the Consultation on the New Cleaner Pacific 2035 Regional Waste and Pollution Management Strategy in Suva, Fiji, in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, Government of Fiji and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP). Aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the main objective of the integrated event was to strengthen the capacity of PICs towards implementation of the Jaipur 3R and CE Declaration (2025-2035). The workshop was supported by the Ministry of the Environment, Government of Japan, the African Caribbean and Pacific Multilateral Environmental Agreements (ACPMEA), the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), th e International Labour Organization (ILO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and the Pacific Recyclers Alliance, among others.

The workshop brought together over 60 participants from Asia and the Pacific, including government representatives from Small Island Developing States (SIDS) - Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu as well as UN agencies, civil society, academia, and the private sector. Among the dignitaries, H.E. Mr. Sivendra Michael, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, Republic of Fiji; H.E. Mr. Rokuichiro Michii, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Fiji; Mr. Dirk Wagener, UN Resident Coordinator to Fiji, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu, delivered their addresses at the workshop. The training programme focused on key thematic areas relevant to Pacific Island Countries, including circularity in construction and demolition (C&D) sector, e-waste management, bio-circular economy, plastic waste and extended producer responsibility (EPR), among others. Participating countries presented various challenges, policy initiatives, programmes, and projects aligned with the Jaipur 3R and Circular Economy (CE) Declaration (2025-2035). The sessions featured interactive lectures, learning insights, exercises in breakout groups, and case studies to facilitate policy dialogue and knowledge exchange on advancing circularity in PICs, including implementation of the Jaipur Declaration towards achieving sustainable, resilient, inclusive, circular and zero-waste societies.

Report

The following reports are published by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).

Cleaner Pacific consultation shapes next decade of Pacific Regional Waste and Pollution Management Strategy (22 July 2025) / (in pdf)
Pacific capacity building programme advances Jaipur Declaration goals (23 July 2025) / (in pdf)

Documentation

WORKSHOP-RELATED DOCUMENTS

PRESENTATIONS AND SPEECHES

Session 2: Circularity and Electronic Waste (e-waste) in Pacific Island Countries

Lead Lecture 1: Advancing circularity in e-waste in Pacific Island Countries -- Kiribati Solid Waste Management Programme
Lead Lecture 2: Circularity of WEEE in the context of Implementation of Jaipur Declaration (2025-2035) -- Griffith University
Case Study Presentation 1: Role of EPR in moving towards resource-efficient, circular, and zero-waste societies - Learning from e-waste management in ASEAN and Japan -- Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA)
Case Study Presentation 2: Safeguarding the Blue Pacific: Strengthening EIA for the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Waste -- SPREP

Session 3: Promoting Circularity in Construction and Demolition (C&D) in Pacific Island Countries

Lead Lecture 1: Promoting Circularity in Construction and Demolition in Pacific Island Countries -- CSIRO
Lead Lecture 2: Opportunities for advancing circularity in construction and demolition sector: The role of extended producer responsibility (EPR) -- ERIA
Case Study Presentation 1: Towards Zero-Waste Construction: Circular Solutions for Pacific Island Countries -- ILO
Case Study Presentation 2: Construction and demolition practices in Pacific Island Countries: Insights from community-led projects -- Pacific Recycling Foundation

Session 4: Country Presentation in addressing the Jaipur Declaration on 3R and Circular Economy in Asia and the Pacific

Country presentations

Session 5: Bio-circular Economy in the Context of Pacific Island Countries

Lead Lecture: Bio-based materials and services in the circular economy transition: Leverage points for regenerative change -- CSIRO
Case study Presentation 1: Unlocking the potential of bio-circular economy pathways in Pacific Island Countries: Challenges and opportunities -- FAO
Case study Presentation 2: Scaling-up bio-circular economy solutions: Learning from Asia and Europe -- SWICH Asia

Session 6: Circularity and Plastics Waste in Pacific Island Countries

Lead Lecture 1: Circularity of Plastic Waste
Lead Lecture 2: Circular Solutions to Plastic Pollution: UNEP-GEF Integrated Program in Action -- United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Lead Lecture 3: Towards Zero Plastic Waste: Policy, Innovation, and Community Action – ERIA
Case Study Presentation 1: Circularity and Plastics Waste: Cases from Pacific Island Countries -- International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
Case Study Presentation 2:SPREP's Clean Pacific Roundtable - A regional platform advancing cooperation on circular economy and plastics governance – SPREP