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The Council of Regional Organisations in the Pacific (CROP) is an inter-organisational consultative process which aims to prevent either overlaps, or gaps, appearing between the work-programmes of its various members.
Membership includes the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, the Pacific Community (SPC), the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency, the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), the South Pacific Tourism Organisation, the University of the South Pacific (USP), the Pacific Islands Development Programme, and the Pacific Power Association (PPA). Before their integration into SPC in 2010 and 2011, the South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission and the South Pacific Board for Educational Assessment had been individual members. The Fiji School of Medicine was a member before its merger into Fiji National University in 2010.
CROP heads of organisations meet once each year, but the main consultative work is done by a series of sectoral working groups, including Marine Resources, Health and Population, Land Resources, Education, Information and Communication Technologies, etc. These working groups are responsible for collaboratively working on various regional projects and policy initiatives. For example, the CROP Marine Sector Working Group has shepherded the intergovernmental agreement and promotion of the Pacific Islands Regional Ocean Policy [1] while the CROP ICT Working Group has shepherded the Pacific Islands ICT Policy and Strategic Plan (PIIPP).
The CROP interagency working groups also provide technical advice to Pacific Islands Forum intergovernmental working groups taking part in United Nations and other international negotiations and processes, on request.
Since the implementation of the Pacific Plan [2] and its replacement, the Framework for Pacific Regionalism, [3] the role of the CROP working groups has diminished. Their role was reviewed in 2015. [4]
The Colombo Plan is a regional organisation that represents a collective intergovernmental effort to strengthen economic and social development of member countries in the Asia-Pacific region. The primary focus of Colombo Plan activities is on the development of human resources in the region.
The Pacific Community (SPC) is an international development organisation owned and governed by its 26 country and territory members. The organisation's headquarters are in Nouméa, New Caledonia, and it has regional offices in Suva, Fiji, and Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia, and Port Vila, Vanuatu, and field staff in other Pacific locations. Its working languages are English and French. It primarily provides technical and scientific advice, and acts as a conduit for funding of development projects from donor nations. Unlike the slightly smaller Pacific Islands Forum, SPC is not a trade bloc, and does not deal with military or security issues.
The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) is an inter-governmental organization that aims to enhance cooperation between countries and territories of the Pacific Ocean, including formation of a trade bloc and regional peacekeeping operations. It was founded in 1971 as the South Pacific Forum (SPF), and changed its name in 1999 to "Pacific Islands Forum", so as to be more inclusive of the Forum's Oceania-spanning membership of both north and south Pacific island countries, including Australia. It is a United Nations General Assembly observer.
The Pacific Islands Chapter of the Internet Society (PICISOC) serves the Internet Society’s purposes by serving the interests of the global Internet community through its presence in the Pacific Islands. In addition to ISOC interests, PICISOC also focuses on local issues and developments, and acts as an impartial advisor to governments and the public on matters of significant interest to Pacific Island people concerning the Internet and ICT technology in general.
The Pacific Union is a proposed development of the Pacific Islands Forum, suggested in 2003 by a committee of the Australian Senate, into a political and economic intergovernmental community. The union, if formed, will have a common charter, institutions and currency. Although former Prime Minister of Australia John Howard spoke of a Pacific Union whilst in office, his government's emphasis was focused on bilateral relations and agreements with the individual states of the Forum.
The Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA) was established in 1983 under the Lomé Convention between the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States and EU member states. Since 2000 CTA has operated within the framework of the ACP-EU Cotonou Agreement with a mission to “strengthen policy and institutional capacity development and information and communication management capacities of ACP agricultural and rural development organisations. It assists such organisations in formulating and implementing policies and programmes to reduce poverty, promote sustainable food security, preserve the natural resource base and thus contribute to building self-reliance in ACP rural and agricultural development.”
The South Pacific Tourism Organisation (STPO) is an intergovernmental organisation for the tourism sector in the South Pacific. The STPO markets, promotes, and develops tourism in the South Pacific in overseas markets. The main office is located in Suva, Fiji.
The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) is an intergovernmental organisation based in Apia, Samoa with more than 90 staff members. The organisation is held accountable by the governments and administrations of the Pacific region to ensure the protection and sustainable development of the region's natural resources. The organisation actively promotes the understanding of the connection between Pacific island people and their natural environment and the impact that these have on their sustenance and livelihoods. The organisation was established in 1982. Previously "South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)", the word "South" was replaced with "Secretariat" in 2004, in recognition of the Members north of the equator. The French equivalent name is PROE, Programme régional océanien de l’environnement.
The Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) is a FATF style regional inter-governmental (international) body, the members of which are committed to implement international standards against money laundering (AML), the financing of terrorism (CTF) and financing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. APG was founded in 1997 in Bangkok, Thailand, and currently consists of 41 member jurisdictions in the Asia-Pacific region and a number of observer jurisdictions and international/regional observer organisations.
The Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation (IPEEC) is a high-level international forum which includes developed and developing countries. Its purpose is to enhance global cooperation in the field of energy efficiency and to facilitate policies that yield energy efficiency gains across all sectors globally. IPEEC provides information to decision-makers in major economies, facilitating candid discussions for exchanging ideas and experiences and helping countries undertake joint projects to develop and implement energy efficiency policies and measures at a global scale. It is also a forum for member and non-member economies to share information about various bilateral and multilateral initiatives. IPEEC supported initiatives are open to both member and non-member nations as well as the private sector. IPEEC is coordinating the implementation of the Group of 20 (G20) Energy Efficiency Action Plan, which was agreed by G20 leaders in late 2014 as a practical approach to strengthening voluntary international energy efficiency collaboration. Since July 2016, IPEEC is coordinating the Energy Efficiency Leading Programme (EELP) that provides the basis for a ‘comprehensive, flexible, and adequately-resourced’ framework for strengthened voluntary collaboration on energy efficiency among G20 members and beyond.
The Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat is the Chief Executive Officer of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS). The Secretariat is based in Suva, Fiji.
The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) is a treaty-based organisation established to conserve and manage tuna and other highly migratory fish stocks across the western and central areas of the Pacific Ocean. Its full name is Commission for the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean. It commenced operations in late 2005, and its secretariat is based in Pohnpei, in the northern Pacific state of the Federated States of Micronesia.
The Coordinating Working Party on Fishery Statistics (CWP) provides a mechanism to coordinate fishery statistical programmes of regional fishery bodies and other inter-governmental organizations with a remit for fishery statistics.
The Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) is an intergovernmental agency established in 1979 to facilitate regional co-operation and co-ordination on fisheries policies between its member states in order to achieve conservation and optimum utilisation of living marine resources, in particular highly migratory fish stocks, for the benefit of the peoples of the region, in particular the developing countries. The office campus is located in Honiara, Solomon Islands
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the Conservation of Cetaceans and their Habitats in the Pacific Island Region is a Multilateral Environmental Memorandum of Understanding concluded under the auspices of the Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), also known as the Bonn Convention, and in collaboration with the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP). The MoU provides an international framework for coordinated conservation efforts to improve the conservation status of the Pacific Islands Cetaceans and came into effect on 15 September 2006.
The 45th Pacific Islands Forum was held from 29 July to 1 August 2014 in Palau. The forum's official opening was held in the capital Ngerulmud, in Melekeok State, but the majority of events were held in Koror, Palau's largest city and former capital. The official theme of the meeting was "The Ocean: Life & Future". Topics under discussion include climate change, commercial fishing, non-communicable diseases and the possibility of readmitting Fiji to the forum.
The Pacific Islands Private Sector Organisation (PIPSO) was established in 2007 to promote the private sector’s role in policy making and to encourage business development through effective partnerships with governments, regional organisations, development partners and NGOs. Its headquarters are in Suva, Fiji.