A one-day national stakeholders’ workshop to discuss the draft National Used Oil Management Plan for Solomon Islands was held in Honiara. This workshop is part of the technical assistance provided to the Solomon Islands through the Committing to the Sustainable Waste Actions in the Pacific Project (referred to as the SWAP Project). The SWAP project is about improving sanitation, environmental, social, and economic conditions in Pacific Island countries and territories through proper waste management. This is a project funded by the Agence française développement (AFD) and implemented by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) in collaboration with the governments and people of seven (7) Pacific Island Countries including the Solomon Islands.
As part of the technical assistance provided to Solomon Islands under the component on Used Oil Management, the development of the first National Used Oil Management Plan for Solomon Islands is one of the major activities. The Ministry of Environment Climate Change Disaster Management & Meteorology in collaboration with Ara Springs (consultant team) and SWAP Project are responsible for the development of the National Used Oil Management Plan for Solomon Islands.
With the development of the National Used Oil Management Plan in place, it will provide direction and serves as a road map for the National Government through the Ministry and relevant agencies when addressing used oil or waste oil related issues that faced in the country in the future.
Mr. Karl Kuper, Deputy Secretary Corporate Services in his statements during the opening of the workshop remarked, “to effectively manage the issue of waste oil in Solomon Islands requires collaborative actions and assistance from various stakeholders present”. He also commends some of the stakeholders’ support towards Solomon Islands Government to respond to a few oil spill related incidents issues that occurred in the past.
Stakeholders during the workshop were also given the opportunity to discuss and provide feedbacks with regards to the contents of the plan and the recommended actions highlighted in the document for the government to take forward. It is anticipated that once the National Used Oil Management Plan is finalized, the Ministry will work closely with other relevant stakeholders to implement the recommendations under the plan.
Under the pilot project component of the SWAP Project, the Used Oil Management Pilot project was officially launched during the stakeholders workshop. One of the key activities is the pilot of a proper storage facility and collection of used oil in Honiara under the SWAP Project support which the Ministry will be working closely with relevant private sectors to undertake this program this year.
To view this draft National Used Oil Management Plan or to provide your feedback, you can contact the Environment and Conservation Division on telephone: 26036 or visit our office at the City Centre Building, Point Cruz, Honiara.
-Source: ECD Press