Secretariat of the Pacific RegionalEnvironmentProgramme

Proposed CROP Restructuring and the Impact on CROP

LibrariesAn introduction to the Regional Institutional Framework (RIF)

prepared by Peter Murgatroyd. IRC manager, SPREP

Secretariat of the Pacific RegionalEnvironmentProgramme

The report on a new regional institutional framework was commissioned by the Pacific Plan Action Committee (PPAC).

The report went through drafts before

agreement was reached at the 2007 Pacific Forum in October 2008 on proceeding with a revised version of the RIF

Secretariat of the Pacific RegionalEnvironmentProgramme

Objectives of the RIF

the creation of a framework that will facilitate further development, implementation and monitoring of the Pacific Plan

assist in advancing the needs of the countries and territories of the region in pursuit of a broader vision, which is similar across the range of regional organisations

Secretariat of the Pacific RegionalEnvironmentProgramme

Council of Regional Organisations in the Pacific (CROP):• Fiji School of Medicine (FSM)• Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA)• Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS)• Pacific Islands Development Programme (PIDP)• Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC)• Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment

Agency (SPREP)• South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission

(SOPAC)• South Pacific Board for Educational Assessment

(SPBEA)• South Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO)• The University of the South Pacific (USP)

Secretariat of the Pacific RegionalEnvironmentProgramme

Original concept

Development of a three pillar structure Original concept:  a. a political and general policy institution – the Pacific Islands

Forum and its secretariat;

b. a sector-focused technical institution – the Pacific Community and its secretariat; and

c. academic and training organisations, namely the Fiji School of Medicine, the Pacific Islands Development Programme and The University of the South Pacific.

Secretariat of the Pacific RegionalEnvironmentProgramme

Agreed framework for restructuring(a) the inclusion of the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) into Pillar

1, in order to recognise the Agency’s central regional role and to provide fisheries issues with the political profile they require;

  (b) the need to rationalise the functions of the Pacific Islands Applied

Geoscience Commission (SOPAC) with the work programmes of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) with the view to absorbing those functions of SOPAC into SPC and SPREP;

  (c) the South Pacific Bureau for Education Assessment (SPBEA) merging into SPC; and   (d) the University of the South Pacific (USP) and the Fiji School of Medicine

forming part of Pillar 3 (Education).

Secretariat of the Pacific RegionalEnvironmentProgramme

Note

CROP agencies are sovereign organizations and decisions are made by the governing councils made up of country members.

SOPAC is to have its Council Meeting at the end of November. Any process of change would need approval by the governing councils of the CROPS that are affected.

This process will take time. The timeline of meetings for governing councils to discuss the proposal is as follows: SOPAC – Nov. 2007; FFA – May 2008; SPBEA – Sept 2008; SPREP – Sept. 2008.

If there was agreement, terms would then have to be negotiated and Treaties and Agreements amended. It is a complex process.

Secretariat of the Pacific RegionalEnvironmentProgramme

Key implications for CROP Libraries – if final agreement is reachedRationalising of library functions of SOPAC

RE-Allocation of library resources from SOPAC Library to SPC / SPREP Libraries

Increased integration and co-operation among Pillar II Libraries

CROP Libraries support objective of a more cohesive regional framework – a broader and more cohesive vision of information resource development across CROPS