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Project Leader	Dr. K. KOSHY Director Pacific Centre for Environment and Sustainable Development The University of the South Pacific Suva FIJI Tel: +679-321-2184 Fax: +679-330-9176 Email: koshy_k@usp.ac.fj
Funding	US$ 40,000
Participating countries	Participants from the following countries were funded: Cook Islands, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. One participant from Grenada (Caribbean) attended who was funded by the Caribbean Community Secretariat, (CARICOM). The Fiji participants were mostly self-funded.  Resource people came mainly from Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Pacific Island Countries, Sweden, and the USA. The workshop was opened by Professor Rajesh Chandra, Deputy Vice-chancellor, USP, and about thirty participants from the Pacific Island Countries attended the workshop.

Introduction and background
The workshop was held at the University of the South Pacific (USP), Suva, seeking to enhance the capacity of the Pacific Island Countries (PIC) to carry out Synthesis activities and to manage international Negotiations more effectively. Essentially, the workshop was a "train the trainers" exercise. Very often, PICs are required to produce synthesis products such as State of the Environment Reports, GEO, IPCC, National Communications to UNFCCC COPs and similar Assessments including regional submissions to international organisations and Summits. It has become very clear that there are a number of barriers to this exercise; with lack of understanding of the synthesis process, lack of data, lack of access to data and poor co-ordination being some of them. There is also an urgent need to train more people in negotiations skills so that the obligations of their national governments under the various treaties and conventions that they have signed may be fulfilled more effectively.  The workshop was designed to address these and related issues.

Outline of activities conducted
The first two days of the workshop were set aside for the Synthesis Session.  Presentations were made by resource persons on various aspects of synthesising global change documents. The titles of the presentations were: Preparing National Communications - the Cook Islands Experience; Guidelines to Non-Annex 1 National Communications; Country Presentation on Fiji's experience with the National Communication preparations; Creating a Synthesis: What it is and what it is not; A Review as a Synthesis Product; Book Writing - A Challenging Synthesis; Writing Funding Proposals; Logistical Details and Budget; Presentation on the APN proposals process; Project Review - a Hands-on Exercise and The USP Training Course for Synthesis Skills Development. Each presentation was followed by a discussion session.

The afternoon of the second day was set aside specifically for Database Creation.  This was a hands-on session, using Microsoft Access, a simple approach within the Windows environment to store, retrieve and manipulate raw data.

The Negotiations sessions occupied the remaining three days of the workshop, with a special simulation of a UN negotiations process on Friday afternoon. This segment comprised of presentations on the features of international environmental negotiations under the UN System such as Features of International Environmental Negotiations: Theory and Practice I; Features of International Environmental Negotiations: Theory and Practice II; Negotiating within the UN System; Energy Policy Impacts; Negotiating the UNFCCC: Climate Change Negotiations and the SIDS, etc.  Participants were then introduced to a simulation exercise whereby a mock UNFCCC COP meeting was conducted.  This was the highlight of the segment as over the next three days, participants were able to gain first-hand experience on the real dealings of International level negotiations.  The negotiating hall was set up just as in a UN meeting to provide maximum simulation impacts.

Certificates of Participation were distributed to all participants at the workshop.

Outcomes and products
From the feedback received so far, the workshop proved invaluable to the participants and opened up new ideas and challenges from a practical point of view. The workshop was essentially a "train the trainers" exercise, and the outputs will feed directly into in-country and regional V&A training programs, IPCC activities, and initiatives under the Barbados programme of action.  A full workshop file with all the necessary materials that should serve as a training manual was given to all the participants.  This file could be used for future short-term training in the area.

Future directions and follow-up work
In an attempt to provide more practical experience in carrying out synthesis activities, a regional synthesis of Integrated Coastal Management has been recommended and a draft project proposal prepared. A follow-up workshop has also been planned to negotiate and finalise the text of the resulting ICM Synthesis report before publication.