Pacific Island students headed to the US Institute on Environment

MR: Thurs, April 16th, 2009

Six students from Fiji and one from Papua New Guinea have been chosen to go on a six-week trip to the United States, as part of the Study of the U.S. Institute on the Environment (USIE) program.

Funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the Institute is hosted by the University of Hawaii’s East-West Center, in collaboration with over twenty organizations, including the University of Hawai‘i ’s Environmental Center, Stanford University’s Woods Institute for the Environment and the Nature Conservancy.

Twenty participants will be part of the six-week course this year which will include students from Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia and Singapore.

The seven Pacific Islanders are:

Ms. Miriama Kolinisau, Fiji Institute of Technology (Environmental Science)
Ms. Amanda Malagui, University of Papua New Guinea (Biological Sciences)
Mr. Senikarawa Mar, Fiji Institute of Technology (Environmental Science)
Mr. Apisalome Movono, University of South Pacific (Marine Affairs and Tourism Studies)
Ms. Subhashni Raj, University of South Pacific (Biodiversity and Conversation)
Ms. Bindiya Rahsni, University of the South Pacific (Marine Science)
Mr. Masikerei Vunicagi, Fiji School of Medicine (Public Health)

As USIE participants, the students will achieve an understanding of the environmental movement in the United States by engaging advocacy, market, policy, cultural and scientific approaches to environmental issues, and seeing how these approaches are intertwined in the quest for developing sustainable pathways to environmental stewardship.

The Institute’s theme of environmental stewardship embraces the diversity of actors (from regulators to activists and businesses) involved in the broadly defined environmental movement. It also captures the dynamic nature of the challenges at hand and the need for active leadership to deal with these challenges.

Chargé D’affaires at the U.S. Embassy Suva, Richard Pruett after congratulating the selected students today stressed the importance of continued environmental education for Pacific Islanders.

“The challenges posed by modernity and development on fragile ecosystems, particularly in the Pacific island region, can only be effectively addressed by young Pacific island scholars who will be our future leaders”, he said. 

“The United States recognizes the pressing need to build capacity in the region and is committed to assisting Pacific islanders through programs that expose talented individuals to proven practices and new initiatives in the field of environmental protection that will make them effective policy makers in the years to come.”

One of the students selected into the program, Subhashni Raj said it was an honor to be selected for the USIE. 

 “As a student who wants to broaden her horizons, I see this as an extremely amazing opportunity”, she said.

“I would like to see where Environment management is headed in the U.S., find out best practices and see how we can apply those here at home.”

“Environment management and conservation issues are crucial at this time for Pacific Island countries,” said Fiji School of Medicine student Masikerei Vunicagi.

“All of us who are going to be a part of the program hope we’ll be able to positively influence policies for environmental protection in the future.”

The Institute begins May 10, 2009 and ends June 21, 2009. The first four weeks of the Institute are conducted on the islands of Oahu and Maui in the state of Hawai‘i. The fifth week is conducted in San Francisco and the Monterey Bay Area in collaboration with Stanford University in California. The final week takes place in Washington D.C.