South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission facts for kids

The Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC) was an important group that helped countries in the Pacific Islands. Its main goal was to support sustainable development, which means using resources wisely so they last for future generations. In 2010, SOPAC's work moved to two other big organizations: the Pacific Community (SPC) and the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP). Now, SOPAC is a special division within the SPC, and its main office is in Suva, Fiji.

How SOPAC Started

SOPAC was officially created in 1990. This happened when many countries signed a special agreement called the Agreement establishing the South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission. The signing took place on October 10, 1990, in Tarawa, Kiribati.

Countries that signed this agreement included:

• Australia
• Cook Islands
• Fiji
• Guam
• Federated States of Micronesia
• Kiribati
• Marshall Islands
• New Zealand
• Papua New Guinea
• Solomon Islands
• Tonga
• Tuvalu
• Vanuatu
• Western Samoa (now Samoa)

Later, more places joined SOPAC. These were American Samoa, France, French Polynesia, Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Pitcairn Islands, Tokelau, United States, and Wallis and Futuna.

What SOPAC Did

SOPAC helped the Pacific Community (SPC) members in three main areas. These areas focused on understanding the Earth and protecting communities.

Ocean and Islands Work

This part of SOPAC's work focused on the ocean and islands. They did research and helped manage resources found in the seabed. They also helped countries figure out their ocean borders. Another important task was watching how the ocean changes over time.

Community Lifelines Support

This program helped countries improve important services. It focused on making sure people had good access to energy, clean water, and proper sanitation. It also helped with information and communication technologies.

Community Risk Reduction

This program aimed to make communities safer from natural dangers. SOPAC worked to understand risks better and manage them. This helped reduce how much communities were affected by things like floods or storms.

Benefits for Pacific Islands

SOPAC's work brought many benefits to the Pacific Islands.

• They provided basic knowledge about the Earth and its resources.
• They helped improve how land and ocean resources were used.
• This led to better health through clean water and sanitation.
• They helped create wealth by developing mineral resources.
• They also managed hazards and disasters.
• All their work supported sustainable development.

Any island member could ask SOPAC for help. SOPAC was funded by its member countries. It also received support from many other countries and organizations. These included Australia, Fiji, Canada, France, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, the Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth Secretariat, the European Union, and some UN agencies.

Important Projects

SOPAC worked on several key projects to help the Pacific region.

Environmental Vulnerability Index

SOPAC helped create something called the Environmental Vulnerability Index (EVI). This is a way to measure how sensitive a place is to environmental problems. It helps people understand and deal with environmental issues around the world.

Reducing Vulnerabilities in Pacific Countries

This project focused on making Pacific countries stronger against various challenges. It had three main parts:

• Water: Helping countries manage their water resources better.
• Risks: Reducing dangers from natural hazards.
• Aggregate: Helping with the use of materials like sand and gravel.

This project also provided help with:

• Bathymetry mapping: Creating maps of the ocean floor.
• Remote sensing: Using satellites and aircraft to gather information about the Earth.
• Geographic Information Systems (GIS): Using computer systems to store and show geographic data.
• Installing open-source web-based map servers for fourteen Pacific Island Countries. These servers help countries share and use maps online.

Notable People

• Cristelle Pratt was the Director of SOPAC from 2004 to 2010.