Though the Pacific island countries are not a major contributor to the global sustainable development problems, they are challenged beyond their wits by the impacts of those. Therefore, the HRD must factor in innovative approaches to develop capacity to understand, anticipate and act on the basis of the threats. This requires a reorientation of thinking in order to empower everyone, young and old, to act in locally relevant ways.

Given the importance of capacity building for the sustainable management of environment and natural resources in the Pacific Island region, USP has been offering a number courses and Programs in a variety of fields. While these training programs are of excellent quality, most of them are highly disciplinary in nature and can be pursued only by those with the necessary pre-requisite. Courses with multi (trans)- disciplinary and cross-cutting foci are relatively few. At present, most of the environment courses at the postgraduate level are offered through on-campus teaching, restricting their regional access. There is thus an urgent need for additional new courses and programs in areas relevant for environment and Sustainable Development at USP. Bearing this in mind, it is proposed that a substantial value addition be made to the existing training programs and those in the pipeline. The following five focal areas have been identified, mainly focusing on postgraduate training, an area where the outputs are expected to make a direct contribution to national level sustainable development initiatives:

• Postgraduate Diploma in Sustainable Islands and Oceans Development
• Postgraduate Diploma in Environmental Sciences
• New Master of Laws (Environmental law)
• Interactive multimedia system: i-browser
• Resource material preparation