Last updated · 2 May 2026 · Effective from 1 June 2026
1. Who we are
The Pacific Islands Roundtable for Nature Conservation (PIRT) is a coalition of 16 member organisations. PIRT is not a separate legal entity. The Secretariat — and the data controller for this website — is the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), based at PO Box 240, Apia, Samoa.
This policy applies to pacificislandsroundtable.com, its sub-domains, our newsletters, conference registrations, and any forms we run on partner platforms.
2. Data we collect
We collect personal data only when you give it to us, or when it is generated automatically as you use our website.
You give us data when you:
- Subscribe to the newsletter or briefing notes (email, name, organisation, language preference).
- Register for an event or the Pacific Islands Conference (full registration form: name, organisation, role, dietary, accessibility needs, payment metadata).
- Submit an abstract, session proposal, side event or scholarship application.
- Contact us through forms, by email, or via member organisations on our behalf.
- Create a member account on the site.
We collect automatically:
- Anonymised usage data via Matomo Analytics (self-hosted): pages viewed, referrer, approximate region, device type. We do not use Google Analytics.
- Server logs (IP address, user agent) for 30 days for security and abuse-prevention.
3. How we use it
We process your personal data to:
- Provide the service you have asked for (run your registration, send a newsletter you subscribed to, respond to your enquiry).
- Manage and improve the website.
- Comply with legal obligations (financial reporting, donor accountability for EU-funded activities).
- Protect the website and our community against abuse.
The legal basis for most processing is your consent (which you can withdraw at any time) or our legitimate interests in operating a regional coalition. Where we process data under a contract (e.g. paid conference registration), the legal basis is contract performance.
4. Sharing data
We share data only when needed to provide a service:
- Member organisations: registration data is shared with the host country and event partners, including the Government of New Caledonia and Tjibaou Cultural Centre (for badge production and venue access) for the 11th Pacific Islands Conference.
- Service providers: payment processing (Stripe), email delivery (Mailchimp), file storage (Pacific BioScapes hosted infrastructure).
- Donors: aggregated, non-identifying statistics for grant reporting (e.g. number of Pacific Island delegates supported).
- Authorities: where legally required.
We never sell personal data.
5. Cookies
We use a small number of strictly-necessary cookies to keep you logged in and to remember your language choice, plus optional analytics cookies that you can decline. See our Cookie Policy for the full list.
6. Retention
- Newsletter subscriptions: until you unsubscribe.
- Event registration data: 6 years (financial record-keeping for EU-funded activities).
- Submission and application data: 3 years after the relevant cycle closes.
- Server logs: 30 days.
7. Your rights
Where applicable law gives you rights — including under the EU GDPR (because some of our funding flows from the European Union and our Pacific BioScapes activities are governed by EU rules) — you have the right to:
- Access the personal data we hold about you.
- Request correction or deletion.
- Object to processing or ask us to restrict it.
- Withdraw consent at any time (without affecting the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal).
- Lodge a complaint with your local data-protection authority.
To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the details below. We will respond within 30 days.
8. International transfers
PIRT operates across the Pacific. Data may be processed in Samoa (Secretariat), Fiji (PACoN co-chair WCS), New Caledonia (host of the 11th Conference), Australia and France (donor / member organisations). Where we transfer data to processors outside the Pacific, we use Standard Contractual Clauses or equivalent safeguards.
9. Contact
For privacy questions, contact the Secretariat:
- Email: secretariat@sprep.org
- Post: PIRT Secretariat, c/o SPREP, PO Box 240, Apia, Samoa
- Pacific Biodiversity Coordinator: Claire Oiire — claireo@sprep.org
10. Changes to this policy
We will publish updates here and notify newsletter subscribers if changes are material. The date at the top of this page is always the latest revision.