PARTICIPANTS at the one week Australian Fumigation Accreditation Scheme (AFAS) Training in Suva have been assured that they will be issued with an AFAS Accreditation certificate by the Biosecurity Authority of Fiji which will assist with their application for their license from the Department of Environment, especially for the fumigation industry technicians.
Ministry of Waterways and Environment Permanent Secretary Joshua Wycliffe confirmed this while opening the training today.
Mr Wycliffe stressed that the Ministry continues its endeavor in providing trainings to the Biosecurity Authority of Fiji Enforcement Officers and the fumigation industry representatives.
He highlighted that this is to ensure proper codes of practice are adhered to during fumigation and in complying with the national laws to fulfill our obligations to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.
Mr Wycliffe said the AFAS training is a Training and Accreditation System for fumigators and regulatory officers that directly use Methyl bromide.
It is a management system used by many overseas government agencies including Fiji to ensure continued compliance of fumigators with the treatment requirements.
AFAS Training has been running for the last six years.
“The Department continues to carry out needs assessments and based on our assessments these up-skilling trainings are carried out. The training materials are up to date and reflects our current laws and policies that govern the use of Methyl bromide,” Mr Wycliffe said.
He said he is convinced that the collective experience and technical knowledge of the participants will subscribe to a common understanding as practitioners on a comprehensive set of standard operating procedures, in order to fully utilize their potential in QPS applications.
The Department will also during the training address other related issues of enforcement including environmental impact assessment of approved fumigation sites in relation to human safety, environmental impacts and introduction of invasive species.
