Constraints of Electronic Publishing in Developing Countries: Spc's Experience in The Pacific Islands

As an international organisation serving 22 Pacific Island countries and territories in the fields of marine, land and social resources, SPC needs to disseminate technical and grassroots information to its members and target groups throughout Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia. Effective information delivery is therefore a priority of the organisation. Because of the Pacific’s unique geographic and development constraints, such as small populations spread over many islands with vast ocean distances, it would appear that electronic publishing is particularly well suited to the effective dissemination of information. But is that really the case and how do current development constraints impact on electronic publishing in the Pacific Islands region?