As part of their ongoing efforts to improve and strengthen wastewater management, both Fiji and Cooks Islands held national training courses on wastewater. This saw key in-country stakeholders come together for a 1-week training course to build their capacity on wastewater management.

A total of 44 candidates from Fiji and Cook Islands participated including personnel from in-country Ministry of Health, Water and Sewerage Utilities, Department of Environment, water and sanitation committee members and local NGOs. Additional observers from the Samoa Water Authority and the Vanuatu Department of Water Resources were sponsored to attend the training as well.



Cook Islands participants at the Wastewater Training 2009, New Hope Town Hall- Avarua



The mentioned training course was basically aimed at enabling people with responsibility on wastewater management to identify problems with wastewater management in-country and come up with appropriate solutions through Objective Oriented Planning, with a wide range of stakeholder consultations. This assisted with the capacity building aspect of the participants as well as fostered good working relationship between the various in-country agencies.

The training courses were funded by the UNEP-GPA and implemented through facilitation and organisation by SOPAC and IAS-USP with assistance from in-country stakeholders namely Ministry of Health and Water and Sewerage department in Fiji and National Environment Services and Ministry of Health in Cook Islands. 

The delivery of the training contributes directly to the implementation of the Pacific Wastewater Framework for Action with anticipation that the training plays an integral role in the integration of wastewater and sanitation management into the overarching concept of Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) which is currently underway in the Pacific region. 



For course information please contact:



Rodney Lui

Wastewater Assistant