The Pacific Islands Development Forum (PIDF) is a multilateral and multi-stakeholder organization focusing on a distinctive Pacific model of green growth in blue economies aligned to sustainable development principles. The PIDF also serves as the Pacific Islands south-south cooperation platform with the United Nations and is a member of the Inter-agency Collaborative Group on the Global Partnership on SIDS.

The Pacific Islands Development Forum (PIDF) is a space for catalysing, mobilizing and mainstreaming action in support of sustainable development through green/ blue economy in Pacific Island Countries. PIDF is an action-oriented platform to identify innovative solutions and works closely with international institutions to engage state and non-state actors to develop high-impact collaborations on sustainable development and poverty reduction in the Pacific Islands.

PIDF works at the policy level ensuring that countries are equipped to turn their economies in such a way as to empower their people and protect their environment in accord with Green Economy/ Sustainable Development principles. PIDF assists member countries in ensuring that their policy respects these principles and that the implementation of these policies contributes towards the greening of the economy and benefits the people and environment.

Since the organisation’s inception, PIDF leaders have identified sustainable transport as one of the ten priorities for the organisation, with an emphasis on sustainable maritime transport in recognition of the geography of the region.

In so doing they said, “We prioritize alternatives to existing petroleum driven land and sea transportation that significantly reduce fuel imports. Sustainable shipping approaches are to be promoted and adopted as an alternative to provide effective services for remote island communities.”

They again reiterated the importance of this sector in 2015 when they crafted the Suva Declaration. The Leaders declared that we needed “an integrated approach to transitioning Pacific countries to low carbon transport futures, in particular sea transport given its central role in providing connectivity for Pacific Small Island Developing States, including a regional strategy to advocate for and monitor implementation of sector targets through relevant UN agencies commensurate with the 1.5ºC threshold.”

The PIDF Secretariat has taken this responsibility seriously and has not only promoted sustainable transport in the region but globally as well, particularly in its participation in the UNFCCC COP process.

In partnership with the University of the South Pacific and University College London, PIDF has in the last few years supported PIDF member countries in their negotiations on emission reductions in both the maritime sector and the aviation sector, in the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) respectively.

PIDF will continue to support the Sustainable Transport Sector, with the objective of promoting sustainable land, sea and air transport, through advocacy and innovative approaches that would serve the development needs of communities in an economic and ecological manner, with a special focus on outlying island communities.

The Pacific Islands Development Forum has identified Sustainable Transport as one of the themes it will be working on through the Pacific Green Business Centre (www.greenbusiness.solutions) together with the private sector represented by the Pacific Islands Private Sector Organisation (PIPSO)

It is a partner in the Oceania Centre for Sustainable Transport (together with the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the University of the South Pacific and the World Wide Fund for Nature) and the Micronesian Centre for Sustainable Transport (a joint project of the University of the South Pacific and the Government of Marshall Islands).

The Pacific Islands Development Forum is a member of the Partnership on Sustainable, Low Carbon Transport (SLoCaT) and the Global Islands Partnership (GLISPA). Within both organisations it supports activities that are aimed at decarbonising the transport sector.

PIDF sees its support of the International Windship Association as an important element in its strategy to bring about the necessary transformation in the transport sector in the Pacific and will support the IWSA in its outreach efforts in the Pacific region.

IWSA Supporter

Website	www.pidf.int
Address	Pacific Islands Development Forum 56, Domain Rd., Suva, FIJI
Tel	(+679) 3313518
Fax
Email	Secretariat@pidf.int