The Niuean government says costs have increased by 50 percent this month.
Photo: Facebook / Office of the Secretary of Government NIUE
Niue
Niue is forecasting its fuel shipment costs to rise by 150 percent in June.
The Niuean government says costs have increased by 50 percent this month, though fuel supplies remain sufficient in the meantime, and that there is no need for rationing or stockpiling.
It said fuel prices will gradually increase throughout the island to address costs, as they set aside a dedicated diesel supply for government buildings and machinery.
The government said power, health, emergency response and other critical services will continue to operate without disruption.
Tuvalu
Tuvalu has ended a two-week long state of emergency over fuel supplies.
Two weeks ago, Tuvalu’s Energy Minister Simon Kofe said the country had no guarantee of fuel supply beyond June.
According to him, the country’s fuel situation is now stable.
He said electricity supply has improved, thanks to fuel storage repairs from Australia and technical generator assistance from Japan.
Tuvalu will also rent a new generator from the Asian Development Bank in late May.
Kofe said Tuvalu has enough fuel supply, with another shipment due in mid May, for national needs and transport.
Meanwhile, oil prices have soared today to their highest level in four years, as US President Donald Trump warned the American blockade on the Strait of Hormuz may last months.
Nauru
Nauru’s Economic and Climate Resilience Citizenship Programme has seen a 200 percent increase in applications.
Dominic Volek is the head of private clients at Henley and Partners, which helped Nauru set up and implement its programme.
He told the ABC’s Pacific Beat the increase has probably been driven by a couple of factors, including the state of the world.
Volek said the programme is achieving what it set out to do – which is fund climate change adaptation.
Fiji
Ten years after the devastation brought by Cyclone Winston, communities in Fiji’s Ra Province are planting mangroves to restore coastal protection.
More than 80,000 mangrove seedlings have been raised – enough to cover eight hectares of coastline – and are ready to plant.
The restoration project is led by Conservation International Fiji and supported by the Kiwa Initiative and partners.
The aim is to restore a total of 20 hectares of mangroves in Navitilevu Bay by 2027, on top of the nine hectares restored last year.
Cyclone Winston killed 44 people and destroyed mangrove forests when it struck Fiji in 2016.
Barotu Village headman Meciusela Tulewa said afterwards big floods hit the village, as there was no buffer to keep the tides at bay.
American Samoa
American Samoa’s representative in the US Congress has spoken out against seabed mining in the territory’s waters.
Aumua Amata Radewagen has posted on social media that she continues to share American Samoans’ concerns about seabed mining with US officials.
The Trump administration is moving quickly on its aim to have American companies mine parts of the Pacific Islands region for polymetallic nodules on the deep seabed.
There’s significant interest in exploring American Samoa’s EEZ which is part of the US’ jurisdiction
But Aumua, a Republican, said it is “healthy to disagree with your party at times”, saying she puts the people first and her party second.’
The congresswoman has warned seabed mining could threaten fisheries, which she described as the lifeblood of island economies.
Northern Marianas
The US Coast Guard has suspended its search for five missing crew members of the cargo vessel Mariana in waters north of the Northern Mariana Islands.
The search was called off on Wednesday evening, after more than 100 hours covering over 135,000 square nautical miles – an area larger than California.
Six crew members were aboard when the vessel reported a disabled engine about 140 miles northwest of Saipan on April 15th.
Communication was lost later that same day.
The vessel was found overturned on April 17th, northeast of Pagan and one deceased crew member was recovered on April 20th.
The remaining five have not been found.
Guam
A Guam lawmaker is pushing Japan for meaningful consultation on a plan for burying high-level radioactive waste.
Japan is looking at burying the waste on Minamitorishima, also known as Marcus Island, the country’s easternmost island.
It is roughly 1500 kilometres from Guam,
A senator in Guam, William Parkinson, has made repeated requests of Japan’s government, to discuss his concerns about the waste disposal proposal.
The Guam Daily Post reports that Senator Parkinson is dissatisfied with Japan’s response, and seeks more opportunities to discuss the proposal.
He says territorial status should not silence Guam’s voice on a matter with potentially grave consequences for the region.
Parkinson argues that a nuclear waste incident near Guam would threaten both its residents and the island’s strategic value to the US military.
Bougainville/New Zealand
The New Zealand high commissioner to Papua New Guinea, Georgina Roberts, made her first official visit to Bougainville last week.
Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) chief secretary Kearnneth Nanei noted Aotearoa’s ongoing support to the autonomous PNG region, including relief assistance after Cyclone Maila.
Roberts meet with government and community leaders, as well as briefings on New Zealand-funded programmes operating in Bougainville.
New Zealand Defence Force personnel are also helping Bougainville authorities to clear two sites of unexploded ordnance relating to bombs left over from World War 2.
