On ne connait qu'une seule espece de mysticete, la
baleine de Bryde (dont il existe deux formes ou sous-
especes), qui sejourne toute l'annee dans la region du
PROE. Trois ou quatre autres especes - l'une ou les
deux especes de petit rorqual de l'hemisphere sud, la
baleine a bosse et la baleine bleue - migrent regulierement merit en saison dans certaines parties au moins de
la zone d'action du PROE. Le rorqual boreal et le rorqual commun ont egalement ete signals, mais ne sont
apparemment pas frequents (voir Rice, 1979, 321 ;
The Pacific islands have an extremely rich maritime heritage. The islands themselves were first populated by what are arguably the greatest mariners in human history. In pie-European times the Pacific islandersnavigated wooden canoes held together with coconut fibre across thousands of miles of open ocean, with
nothing but the stars and their intimate knowledge of the sea to aid navigation. Today, this seafaring tradition is continued, with several island countries, such as Kiribati and Tuvalu, being suppliers of seamento the regional and global shipping fleet.
The idea for tills manual has roots in more than 25 years of work interpreting and transferring scientific and technical information for
use by policy and decisionmakers. I was privileged to take part in the formulation of the U.S. National Environmental Policy Act of 1969
while Chief of the Environmental Policy Division of the Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress. This law called for the
preparation of an environmental impact statementan action-forcing provision aimed at American government officials. But the concept of
This Strategic Plan for the Regional Maritime Programme (RMP) of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) follows on from RMP's Three year strategic plan 2003 to 2005. It builds on
achievements of the previous plan period and sets out the direction of the Programme over the next five years (2006 to 2010).
Available online
Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 14 p.
Cheloniid turtles are characterised by a complicated life history: their eggs are laid on warm beaches; hatchling sex is determined temperature dependent sex determination during
embryonic development; lack of parental care; hatchlings are imprinted to the natal area; hatchlings disperse to feed on plankton in the pelagic environments followed by inshore
recruitment to feed on benthic organisms; immature turtles have slow growth and delayed maturation; adults migrate to breed in their respective natal area; they lay multiple clutches in
Microbenthos and macrobenthos were quantitatively studied at 62 stations distributed regularly over the Uvea Atoll lagoon (850 km2). Sampling was performed using both SCUBA and a 0.1 m2 Smith Mclntyre grab. Mean estimates of ATP, chlorophyll a and phaeopigments were 297.3ng/cm2, 77.01 mg/m2 and 35.28 mg/m2
respectively. The mean macrobenthic biomass was 4.14 gAFDW/m2 of which the macrophytobenthos accounts for 39%. The benthic biomass decreased from the coast to the deepest parts of the lagoon. Macrophytes were most abundant in the coastal area
Species which have been assessed for extinction
risk are on average moving closer to extinction.
Amphibians face the greatest risk and
coral species are deteriorating most rapidly in
status. Nearly a quarter of plant species are estimated
to be threatened with extinction.
Available online
Call Number: [EL]
ISBN/ISSN: 92-9225-220-8
Physical Description: 96 p.
France has an important role and extensive responsibilities in protecting the world's oceans. It is the world's third
largest maritime power with an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covering 11 million km2, and has the fourth
largest area of coral reefs representing biodiversity hotspots.
According to a recent Nature Conservancy assessment, only 1% of marine areas (as against 12 % of all land
areas) are officially protected today, despite government commitments under the UN Convention on Biological
GOOS is being implemented in the Pacific islands region by PacificGOOS, which was formed in Suva in 1998. In August 2000, in Apia, Samoa, PacificGOOS held a regional workshop on the development of a coastal Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) for the Pacific region. This workshop aimed to raise the level of awareness about PacificGOOS and its value for sustainable
The effects of marine resource development, aggravated by the rise of population in some Pacific countries, are disturbing those elements on which life depends. Modem technology is making it possible for distant water fishing nations (DWFNs) to fish the Pacific Ocean and sometimes within the exclusive economic zones of Pacific Island countries. The coastal zones, the breeding grounds for marine life, are under pressure from overfishing, coastal run-offs and wastes dumped in the
The environment and economic health of marine and coastal waters are linked to individual people, community, regional, national and international levels. The interdependence of the island economy and their environment are very well known.
Photocopy kept in vertical file collection
Call Number: VF 2643 [EL]
Physical Description: [9 p.] ; 29 cm
Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) is accepted world-wide as a comprehensive, multi sectoral integrated approach to the planning and management of coastal areas. ICM is particularly suited to the island member countries of the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPR£P) because of then size, the
There is a high level of uncertainty with the specific estimation of pollutant loads. A large body of work has
been completed that provided qualitative and quantitative data; however, the noting of data gaps and inherent uncertainties of the methods used have qualified much of the quantitative data. Much of the data are based on rapid assessment methods that utilise generic loading rates, assumed waste flow composition, typical production methods, local production rates. Unfortunately, production rate data are inconsistently available and are difficult to verify.
This publication, which contains the texts of selected marine pollution conventions, agreements and protocols of relevance
to countries in the Pacific islands region is the second in the SPREP/UNEP Series on Environmental Law and Policy. The
publication, along with the first in the Series which contains the texts of major global and regional environmental
conventions, agreements and protocols, is aimed at serving an important aspect of the information needs of countries in the
In the Pacific Region marine areas and marine resources such as coral reefs, mangroves, seagrasses and fisheries resources are very valuable because they sustain lives and livelihoods. However these resources are under increasing threats from destructive fishing/harvesting methods, pollution, over exploitation, sand mining etc.
Available online|Kept in vertical file collection
Call Number: VF 4157 [EL],574.5 MIC
Physical Description: 119 p. + col. illus. ; 29 cm
The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) provides an indicator of the growth of the economy of a
nation. The GDP for Samoa in 1999 was estimated to be ST$718.4 million at current market
prices, of which agriculture, fishing and indirectly tourism are the main sectors of the
economy. These sectors are directly and indirectly dependent on the natural resources. Yet,
the essential role played by these resources to the economy is not explicitly known since
many of their services are not transacted through formal markets and in some cases markets
To date, few quantitative assessments of the marine resources of Palau have been conducted. For the off-shore tuna fishery, reasonable data time-series are available for the foreign access tuna fishery, but data for domestically based tuna operations are incomplete. For the near-shore fishery, reef resources are exploited by subsistence, commercial and recreational fishermen. Very few data are available that document trends in production for most reef-resident and reef-associated fisheries resources in Palau, except for the trochus fishery.
Notwithstanding the legal options listed in this Policy and Planning Needs Assessment (PPNA) the brunt of the project work at the community-level will have few legislative aspects. This is mainly a result of the specific tenure system of PNG, which largely precludes the use of directive mechanisms and which tends to turn community-based conservation into an incentive-driven process.
Call Number: 658.404 VAN [EL]
Physical Description: 112 p. ; 29 cm
Assisting the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme's (SPREP) island members to plan, prepare and respond to marine spills is one of the four activity areas of the Pacific Ocean Pollution Prevention Programme (PACPOL). PACPOL activities currently include a regional risk assessment regional and national contingency plans, formulation of a regional equipment strategy and facilitating regular workshop to discuss marine spill issues.
The Aleipata area surveyed includes .the south-eastern coast of Upolu Island, Western Samoa. The survey consisted of general descriptive ecology and morphology for the Aleipata coastal fringing reef and the
fringing reefs of the two detached islands, Nu'utele and Nu'ulua. The area behind the coastal fringing reef to the shoreline was a shallow (<4 m deep) area of sand, rubble, seagrass beds and mixed coral