Irrespective of which part of the world one lives in, the environment now figures highly on most national agendas, be they economic, political or social, and among the many environmental
issues, one dominates. Global climate change hangs over all of us like the sword of Damocles, alarming because of the enormous scale of the phenomenon, our inability to delineate its exact
configuration, and our apparent incapacity to check its course.
Cook Islands holds 551.6
Call Number: 551.699612 NUN [EL],551.6
ISBN/ISSN: 9820400295
The climate of Tonga is tropical. It lies within the southeast trade wind zone of the South Pacific. Climatic parameters include rainfall, temperture. wind and sunshine hours. Tonga's annual rainfall can be defined by two seasons, the wet and dry seasons. Wet season is also known as the cyclone season and it is noticeable from November to April. Dry season runs from May to October. The wettest months are particularly January. February and March that may exceed 250mm of rainfall per month. During dry season, the amount of rainfall received per month is less than 250mm.
Vulnerable ecosystems- Sea?level rise
Increasing temperatures
Changes in rainfall
Ocean acidification
Coral reefs
Increased storm activity
Overall in Melanesia the central mountains of New
Guinea and the coral reefs and ocean life in the
outer islands of Papua New Guinea most impacted.
In the wider Pacific inundation is a major threat.
Available online
Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 22 p.
A Workshop on Regional Action to Combat Invasive Alien Species on Islands to Preserve Biodiversity and Adapt to Climate Change highlighted successes, deepened connections within regions and facilitated the exchange of experiences across regions.While discussions outlined significant obstacles to invasive alien species management2 on islands, they also showcased how targeted successes have led to major gains for conservation and development.Collaboration across developmental and environmental sectors and sustained support are critical to success in this field.Exciting new initiatives are dev
This publication demonstrates the link between disaster riskreduction andclimate change adaptation, while contributing to the ongoing glolal effort to promote gender equality in socio-economic development.
Available online
Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 87 p.
The Pacific region has benefited from a number of regional and national programmes to both assess the impacts of climate change on biodiversity and develop programmes to adapt to climate change. Such programmes are critical considering that the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 1/ states that the Pacific region has already experienced temperature increases of as much as 1°C since 1910.
The combined pressures of climate change and development will not only aggravate existing challenges to the conservation of biodiversity in the Pacific, but also introduce new difficulties. There are a wide range of historical, current and planned studies that examine specific aspects of the relationship between climate change, conservation and development in the Pacific.
Scientists have advocated for local interventions, such as creating marine protected areas and implementing fishery restrictions, as ways to mitigate local stressors to limit the effects of climate change on reef-building corals
Available online.
Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 30 p
Climate change is expected to cause extinctions when native plants and animals are prevented from migrating out of their hotter or drier habitats to more suitable climates. But for many species a more
Island conservation programs have been spectacularly successful over the past five decades, yet they generally do not account for impacts of climate change. Here, we argue that the full spectrum of climate change, especially Island conservation programs have been spectacularly successful over the past five decades, yet they generally do not account for impacts of climate change. Here, we argue that the full spectrum of climate change, especially sea-level rise and loss of suitable climatic conditions, should be rapidly integrated into island biodiversity research and management.
On 20 November 2006 the Biological Diversity Advisory Committee (BDAC), whose role it was to advise the then Australian Government Minister for the Environment and Heritage, held a one day workshop in Canberra on climate change and invasive species impacts on biodiversity. Eight talks were given, followed by a session of free discussion. Most attendees were experts from government departments, universities, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and cooperative research centres (CRCs).
Climate change is a major threat to global biodiversity. From the tropics to the Poles, the worlds ecosystems are all under pressure. A study published in the scientific journal Nature posited that 15 to 37% of terrestrial animal and plant species could be at risk of extinction because of human-induced impacts on climate (Thomas et al., 2004). Scattered across the four corners of the Earth, European Union overseas entities, are home to a biological diversity that is as rich as it is vulnerable.
The rational for this Policy Brief is to make clear the vital benefits of integrating
biodiversity conservation and ecosystem management by taking the Ecosystemsbased
Adaptation approach along with the Green Economy Initiative to achieve
equitable multiple win-win objectives to ensure the continued well-being of human
society in the future.
Available online
Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 20 p.
Climate change poses an unprecedented level of threat to life on the planet. In addition, predictions about the scale and speed of impact are continually being revised upwards, so that what was already a serious situation continues to look even more threatening. The facts are well known. Atmospheric greenhouse gases are creating warmer temperatures, ice melt, sea-level rise and an unpredictable climate, with a range of extremely serious and hard-to-predict consequences. Recent research shows an increasingly bleak picture.
Coral reef ecosystems are seriously threatened by changing conditions in the ocean. Although many factors are implicated, climate change has emerged as a dominant and rapidly growing threat.
Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 10 p.
Marine protected areas (MBA) provide place-based management of marine ecosystem through various degrees and types of protective actions. Habitats such as coral reefs are especially susceptible to degradation resulting from climate change, as evidenced by mass bleaching events over the past two decades. Marine ecosystems are being altered by direct effecrs of climate change including ocean warming, ocean acidification rising sea level, changing circulation patterns, increasing severity of storms, and changing freshwater influxes.
Call Number: [EL]