Integrated waste management systems should possess elements of reduction, collection, recycling, and disposal. One of the significant challenges for waste managers is prioritising
and apportioning their budget between these elements to get the best outcome.
Disposal by incineration instead has some major disadvantages. The air pollution risks are usually not as high (as they are on continents), thanks to the large expanses of surrounding
ocean. Yet the high costs and challenging technological safety demands of incineration tend to make it an inappropriate disposal solution. Improvements in gasification systems and
energy recovery could alter this balance over the next few decades. However, the prospect of turning the mountains of plastic residues into an energy source are likely to remain a fantasy in the foreseeable future.
Protected areas of one sort or another cover about 10 per cent of the world's land surface; the large majority were established in the second part of the twentieth century. Although most
were originally set up to protect landscape values, wildlife or more recently biodiversity, they are increasingly expected in addition to provide wider benefits to human society.
1 copy
Call Number: 333.95 DUD [EL]
ISBN/ISSN: 978-2-88085-279-9
Physical Description: 39 p. ; 29 cm
In October 1986, scientists and climatologists were gathered by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the International Council of Scientific Union (ICSU) at an international conference in Villach, Austria, to discuss the problem of anthropogenic interference in the Global Climate System (GCS).
Climate change poses a massive threat to development. The poorest populations of poor countries - the Least Developed Countries, Small Island Developing States, and the nations of Africa - face the concentrated challenge of tackling the worst of the impacts with the least capacity to do so. Clearly, adaptation to climate impacts must be seamlessly integrated into any development planning and policy. This four- step plan for mainstreaming climate change aims to fulfil that need.
This paper outlines a framework for adaptation to climate change for urban areas in low- and middle-income nations that is pro-poor and that enhances the capacity of low-income households and community organizations to contribute to such adaptation.
Baseline monitoring was carried out in two complementary programs : establishment of Permanent Monitoring Sites conducted by the Project Team, and trials of a Community Based Monitoring Program undertaken with village volunteers who will monitor their respective No-Take areas on a more frequent basis.
The American Samoa Local Action Strategies (LAS) are the result of a nearly two-year process that saw input from territorial agencies, non-profit groups, interested individuals, and other stake-holders such as local fishers, and federal agency partners. This process was initiated through the American
The European Commission has recently adopted the Thematic Strategy for soil protection (COM(2006)231 final), with the objective to ensure that Europe's soils remain healthy
and capable of supporting human activities and ecosystems. Climate change is identified as a common element in many soil threats. Therefore the Commission intends to assess the actual contribution of the protection of soil to climate change mitigation and the effects of climate change on soil productivity and the possible depletion of soil organic
In recent years, the European Commission has continuously developed the tool of cost-benefit analysis to better inform decision-makers in the process of settling on new directives and regulations concerning the environment. However, according to the Terms of Reference of this assignment "most studies in
the field of waste have been restricted to an analysis of costs and, at best, a relatively superficial description of benefits".
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Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 88 p.
What is biodiversity? Biodiversity has different meanings depending on the situation being discussed and the target audience. For example, the Oxford English Dictionary defines biodiversity as being "The variety of plant and animal life in the world or in a particular habitat". This is definition is clearly sufficient for non-specialists. However, when looking more specifically at biodiversity, it becomes evident that thought needs to be given to other groups such as fungi, bacteria and archea.
The review of the institutional arrangements that govern water resources management in Samoa provides a snapshot of the current challenges faced and recommendations and action points to address these challenges. To carry out the review, a five stage approach was adopted that consisted of (1) Literature Review, (2) Institutional Inventory and Key Stakeholder consultations, (3) Gap Analysis, (4) Recommendations and Action Points, (5) Workshop on Findings.
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Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 50 p.
If current trends continue, leatherback and loggerhead sea turtles will probably go extinct in the Pacific in our lifetime. Eastern Racific hawksbills are likely past the point of
no return, while green turtles and olive Ridleys are at a fraction of their former populations. The turtle decline is clear evidence that human activities are causing loss of biodiversity on our planet. If we choose to save Pacific
The objective of the evaluation is to provide the GEF Council with an assessment of how the GEF is implemented in Samoa. It reports on results from projects and assesses how these
projects are linked to national environmental and sustainable development strategies as well as the GEF mandate of generating global environmental benefits within its focal areas.
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Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 7 Pages
Climate change will have significant impacts in both Australia and across the globe. Australia is one of the most arid continents in the world. It is vulnerable to risks such
as disruptions to water supply; increases in the severity of storms, floods and droughts, coastal erosion due to sea level rise; and to negative human health impacts, for example through an increase in the range and spread of disease.1 The impacts of
International treaties and national policies seek to enhance global efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change. While it is important to continue to strive to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, mitigation alone is not enough and will not be felt before the second half of the century. Global warming is already underway and adaptation strategies are now a matter of urgency, especially for the most vulnerable poor countries, which are even now being disproportionately affected.
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The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006 (MSRA) includes a requirement to establish the "Deep Sea Coral Research and Technology
1. A defining feature of the Pacific is the Western Pacific Warm Pool ecosystem. The limited land base of the area is distributed among 200 high islands and 2,500 low islands and atolls. All
participating islands lie in the tropical zone and experience sea surface temperatures that rarely fall below 20 degrees Celsius. In general, the islands increase in size from east to west such that over 83% of the region's land mass is situated in Papua New Guinea, and most of the rest is in the other Melanesian countries and territories.
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Climate change adaptation is vital for Pacific SIDS. Long-term effects, including the increasing frequency and severity of extreme events such as high rainfall, droughts, tropical cyclones, and storm surges are affecting the people in this region. Coupled with non-climate drivers, such as inappropriate land use, overexploitation of resources, increasing urbanization and population increase, development in the region is increasingly undermined.
The Palolo Deep Marine Reserve known for its unique shape, the deep, was established as a marine reserve in 1974 under the National Parks and Reserve Act. The reserve is a fringing reef comprising a total area of 137.5 hectares located at the northeast of Apia harbor. The proximity of the reserve to Apia town has attracted many tourists as well as local people to the reserve for recreational activities such as snorkeling, scuba diving as well as for researching
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Physical Description: 10 p.