Pacific Community

The Pacific Community was founded in 1947 as the South Pacific Commission by six developed countries with strategic interests and territories in the region: Australia, France, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.[4]

The SPC's founding charter is the Canberra Agreement.[5][6] In the aftermath of World War II, the six colonial powers which created the SPC arguably intended it to secure Western political and military interests in the postwar Pacific.[7][8] Two founding members, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, have since withdrawn from the SPC as the Pacific territories they controlled either gained independence or the right to represent themselves in the organization.

From the start, the SPC's role was constrained. The invitation from Australia and New Zealand to the US, France, the Netherlands and the UK to participate in a South Seas Commission Conference in 1947 included the statement that "the [South Pacific] Commission to be set up should not be empowered to deal in any way with political matters or questions of defense or security".[9] This constraint on discussion (particularly the constraint on discussing nuclear weapons testing in the region) led to the 1971 creation of the South Pacific Forum (now Pacific Islands Forum), which not only excluded the more distant "metropolitan" powers of France, UK and USA, but also at the time their Pacific island territories.

In 1949, the Pacific Community established its permanent headquarters in Nouméa, New Caledonia, at a former American military base. In 1995, a new headquarters was constructed close to the same location and the military base was demolished.[10] A monument and plaque commemorating SPC's original headquarters location can be found on site of the Le Promenade complex at Anse Vata.[11]

In 1962, the Pacific Community created the South Pacific Games Council with the goal of holding a regular Pacific wide sporting event. The first games Games were held in Suva, Fiji in 1963, with 646 participants from 13 Pacific territories taking part. Initially the Games were held at three-year intervals although this was subsequently expanded to 4 following the Tumon Games in Guam.

Dutch New Guinea, formerly represented in the SPC by the Netherlands, was transferred to United Nations authority in 1962 and to Indonesia the following year. Without any territory remaining in the region, the Netherlands withdrew from the SPC in 1962.[12][13]

Governance of the SPC reflected the changing political environment. At inception, each member had equal representation and a single vote. When Western Samoa joined as newly independent state in 1965 the rules were changed to ensure that the Western foundation nations would maintain firm control over the organization. Australia was given five votes, France, Britain, New Zealand, and the United States four and Western Samoa just one.[14]

In 1972, the first South Pacific Arts Festival was convened by SPC in Suva, Fiji. The event drew more than 1000 participants from 14 countries. In 1975 SPC created a Council of Pacific Arts, permanently making culture issues a part of the SPC mandate and establishing the Festival of Pacific Arts as a regular event.[15]

In response to demand to rapid development of the Pacific regions media industry, SPC established a Regional Media Center in 1973 in collaboration with the recently created University of the South Pacific. The center produced audio material for the regions radio stations and provided training in video production.

With decolonization efforts expanding, newly independent states and nonindependent territories were also allowed to apply for membership. "As its membership grew, the character and scope of the SPC evolved to incorporate the indigenous peoples of the Pacific."[16]

In 1983, at the Saipan Conference, unequal voting was abandoned, once again establishing a "one member, one vote" principle for SPC.[17] However, this decision did not come without criticism as some pointed out that the combination of allowing membership to non-independent territories and establishing a one-vote per member principle effectively provided additional votes to France and the United States who continued to maintain control over Pacific territories. It was also during the Saipan Conference that the Committee of Representatives of Governments and Administrations (CRGA) was established, creating the only Pacific regional organization that was both fully representative of the Pacific, and fully governed by its membership.[18]

In 1988, the SPC become a founding member of the Council of Regional Organisations in the Pacific or CROP (formerly the South Pacific Organisations Coordinating Committee, SPOCC) "to improve cooperation, coordination, and collaboration among the various intergovernmental regional organisations to work toward achieving the common goal of sustainable development in the Pacific region".[19]

The United Kingdom withdrew from the organisation in 1996 and rejoined in 1998.[20] The UK withdrew a second time in 2004. The UK's interests in the Pacific Community were prior to Brexit primarily managed through the European Union, although the UK also is a direct donor for some projects. The UK rejoined in 2021 after reopening its high commissions in Tonga, Samoa and its embassy in Vanuatu in the past two years.[21]

In 1996, the Pacific Heads of Agriculture and Livestock Programmes asked "to put in place, both in their countries and through regional cooperation, policies to conserve, protect and best utilize their plant genetic resources".[22] As these resources were considered a shared regional responsibility, it made sense for a regional organization to respond to this need. SPC established the Regional Germplasm Centre (RGC) in 1998. The facility grew rapidly and in 2007 was renamed Centre for Pacific Crops and Trees (CePaCT). It currently holds more than 2000 varieties of genetic material on Pacific strains of taro, banana, breadfruit and others, and has been instrumental in helping to rebuild island agriculture after disasters.[23]

In 2000, SPC became the first CROP organization to be headed by a woman, Lourdes Pangelinan of Guam, who served in the role from 2000 to 2006.

Name and logo

While the acronym "SPC" has been consistent since the organization's founding in 1947, the name and logo have evolved over the years. The organization's original name was the South Pacific Commission, which represented the limited nature of its membership and activities. The name was changed in 1997 to the Pacific Community, reflecting the growth of membership across the entire Pacific region. The current logo was officially adopted in 2015.

    1960

    1970

South Pacific Commission ― Pacific Community
logos

The Pacific Community today includes 22 Pacific island countries and territories, which were all previously territories (or, in the case of Tonga, a protectorate) of the original founding members of the SPC, along with the developed countries of Australia, France, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States:[24]

Headquarters of the Pacific Community in 2018

Member	Population (2020)	Area (km2)	EEZ Area (km2)	GDP per capita (USD, 2020)	Currency	UN Membership	Sovereign State / Associated with	Status	Date of Admission
American Samoa	56,813	200	404,391.00	$11,245	USD	No	United States	Unorganized Unincorporated Territory	1983
Australia	25,882,100	7,692,024	8,148,250.00	$53,321	AUD	Yes			1947
Cook Islands	17,459	237	1,830,000.00	$24,913	NZD	No	New Zealand	Freely Associated State	1980
Fiji	926,276	18,276	1,282,980.00	$6,152	FJD	Yes			1971
France	67,100,000	675,000	1,100,000.00	$49,435	EUR	Yes			1947
French Polynesia	275,918	4,167	4,767,240.00	$22,308	XPF	No	France	Overseas Country	1983
Guam	168,801	540	221,504.00	$34,153	USD	No	United States	Organized Unincorporated Territory	1983
Kiribati	119,940	811	3,441,810.00	$1,636	AUD	Yes			1983
Marshall Islands	54,590	181	1,990,530.00	$4,337	USD	Yes	United States	Freely Associated State	1983
Micronesia	105,503	701	2,996,420.00	$3,830	USD	Yes	United States	Freely Associated State	1983
Nauru	11,690	21	308,480.00	$11,666	AUD	Yes			1969
New Caledonia	273,015	18,576	1,422,540.00	$37,448	XPF	No	France	Sui Generis Collectivity	1983
New Zealand	4,900,000	270,500	4,000,000.00	$43,953	NZD	Yes			1947
Niue	1,562	261	450,000.00	$18,757	NZD	No	New Zealand	Freely Associated State	1980
Northern Mariana Islands	56,608	464	749,268.00	$23,550	USD	No	United States	Commonwealth	1983
Palau	17,930	444	603,978.00	$2,854	USD	Yes	United States	Freely Associated State	1983
Papua New Guinea	8,934,475	462,840	2,402,290.00	$2,854	PGK	Yes			1975
Pitcairn Islands	50	47	836,108.00	N/A	NZD	No	United Kingdom	Overseas Territory	1983
Samoa	198,646	2,934	127,950.00	$4,284	SAT	Yes			1965
Solomon Islands	712,071	28,230	1,553,440.00	$2,295	SBD	Yes			1978
Tokelau	1,506	12	319,031.00	$6,882	NZD	No	New Zealand	Dependent Territory	1983
Tonga	99,780	749	659,558.00	$5,081	TOP	Yes			1983
Tuvalu	10,580	26	749,790.00	$4,223	AUD	Yes			1978
United Kingdom	66,000,000	242,495	6,805,586.00	$40,284	GBP	Yes			2021
United States	324,000,000	9,800,000	11,700,000.00	$55,800	USD	Yes			1947
Vanuatu	294,688	12,281	663,251.00	$3,260	VUV	Yes			1983
Wallis and Futuna	11,441	142	258,269.00	$12,848	XPF	No	France	Overseas Collectivity	1983

The SPC is concentrated on providing technical and scientific advice to its member governments and administrations, particularly in areas where small island states lack the wherewithal to maintain purely national cadres of expertise, or in areas where regional co-operation or interaction is necessary.

The operational budget of the Pacific Community in 2018 was approximately €82 million.[25] The organization is financially supported through a combination of membership fees and donor funding. Its major funding partners include the European Union, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the governments of France and the United States. Additional funding and knowledge partners include:[26]

Divisions

The SPC works across more than 25 sectors. It is involved in such areas as fisheries science, public health surveillance, geoscience and conservation of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture, statistics and education. Using a multi-sector approach in responding to its members' development priorities, SPC draws on skills and capabilities from around the region and internationally, and supports the empowerment of Pacific communities and sharing of expertise and skills between countries and territories.[27]

SPC currently has nine divisions:[28]

Original SPC HQ in Nouméa

• Climate Change and Environmental Stability (CCES)
• Educational Quality and Assessment Program (EQAP)
• Fisheries, Aquaculture and Marine Ecosystems (FAME)
• Geoscience Energy and Maritime (GEM)
• Land Resources Division (LRD)
• Public Health Division (PHD)
• Regional Rights Resource Team (RRRT)
• Social Development Program (SDP)
• Statistics for Development (SDD)

• Mitcham, Chad, 'Forsyth, William Douglass (1909–1993)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published online 2018.
• South Pacific Commission. 'Meeting House of the Pacific: The Story of the SPC, 1947–2007', Nouméa, New Caledonia: SPC Secretariat, 2007.

• Pacific Community official website
• The Canberra Agreement establishing the South Pacific Community
• The Pacific Community gains official observer status with United Nations