Pacific Islands environment programme says US must follow formal exit process
By Kirsty Needham
SYDNEY, Jan 8 (Reuters) – The environmental watchdog, which has been operating in the Pacific for decades, said it must go through a formal process to withdraw U.S. support after President Donald Trump listed it among 66 organizations the United States would leave on the grounds that it “operates against U.S. national interests.”
On Thursday, Washington said it would withdraw from dozens of international organizations and UN agencies, including the world’s most important climate agreement and the Pacific Regional Environment Program (SPREP) Secretariat.
Headquartered in Samoa, SPREP has supported dozens of low-lying island states at UN climate conferences to raise awareness of the threat to their survival from rising sea levels caused by climate change.
The organization employs more than 150 staff in Fiji, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and the Republic of the Marshall Islands and runs programs to reduce pollution, improve warning systems for severe weather and plan disaster response to oil spills.
“The United States has contributed funding and technical expertise, but other partners are also expected to help continue its work,” said Sefanaia Nawadra, SPREP’s executive director.
“There is a formal process that the United States must follow to withdraw its membership in SPREP. They are a valued member of SPREP until this formal withdrawal process is completed,” he told Reuters. he said.
“The impact of this will be determined as part of the details of the withdrawal process,” he added.
According to SPREP’s annual report, its annual budget comes primarily from five donor countries, Australia, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, France and the United States.
China has also been contributing $200,000 annually for several years.
A Pacific Islands government minister, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue, said the US move to withdraw from the organization would negatively affect US influence in the region where China has expanded its ties.
Many Pacific Island countries face new barriers to entry into the United States.
Fiji, Vanuatu, Tuvalu and Tonga were among the countries on Wednesday whose citizens must pay high-cost visa fees to enter the United States starting Jan. 21.
Tonga was listed in December as facing entry restrictions from January 1.
US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau wrote on the social media platform X that he discussed the issue of immigration in his meeting with Tongan Prime Minister Lord Fakafanua on Wednesday.
The U.S. Embassy in Suva referred requests for comment to the Department of State, but the department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Kirsty Needham in Sydney; Editing by Kate Mayberry)
