Update: 6:29PM THE Government is dedicated towards joining forces with environmental non-government organisations to promote the sustainable use and development of our environment.
These were the sentiments of Joshua Wycliffe, the permanent secretary for the Ministry of Local Government, Housing and Environment at the opening of the Environmental Non-Government Roundtable Meeting in Lami yesterday.
He reiterated on the need for involvement of the Environment department to create activities that impacted the environmental works in a robust manner.
“We have met and discussed things based on a particular event or program. We have not thought outside the box. We have not thought about what else we can do or how else we can work together,” Mr Wycliffe said.
“There are a lot of needs within the environmental realms that we operate. Today marks an important day and we will make sure that we know what you do and you know what our expectation is.”
He said NGOs played a pivotal role in assisting the Government with capacity building and pointing out the right directions as to what could be done and what could be done in a different way.
Representatives from Birdlife International, Sea Change, Ministry of Forests, WWF, Pacific Blue Foundation, Nature Fiji Mareqeti Viti, Fiji Locally Managed Marine Protected Area, Wildlife Conservation Society, Conservation International, IUCN, Ministry of Agriculture, Live and Learn Environment Education, Partners in Community Development Fiji (PCDF) and Social Empowerment Education Program (SEEP) participated in the day-long meeting.
