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Sea turtles of today have changed little from their ancient reptilian ancestors that appeared
on earth millions of years ago before humans. For many years, humans have been exploiting
turtles for food and decorative ornaments. In the last 200 years or so, the uncontrollable
harvests of adults and juveniles and turtle eggs have caused sea turtle population worldwide
to drastically decline. The remaining population are critically endangered and very close to
extinction.

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Call Number: [EL]

The Basel Convention was created to respond to increased public concern about toxic wastes in the
1980s. Tighter environmental regulation in industrialized countries resulted in sharp increases in
the cost of hazardous waste disposal in these countries. Traders started shipping hazardous waste
to less developed countries in Africa, Eastern Europe and other regions. There were concerns about
toxic ships sailing from port to port trying to offload their poisonous cargo. In some cases, toxic

Coastal populations are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of extreme events such as
storms and hurricanes, and these pressures may be exacerbated through the influence of
climate change and sea level rise. Coastal ecosystems such as mangrove forests are
increasingly being promoted and used as a tool in coastal defence strategies. There remains,
however, a pressing need to better understand the roles that ecosystems can play in defending
coasts. This report focuses on mangrove forests and the role they can play in reducing wind

The Government of the Cook Islands has developed this National Spill Contingency
Plan (NATPLAN) as part of its commitment to protecting our valuable natural resources
and environment from the threat of pollution incidents.
NATPLAN has been developed to reflect the essential steps necessary to initiate,
conduct and terminate an emergency spill response on, or into the navigable waters of
the Cook Islands, on the adjoining shorelines, the waters of the contiguous zone or into
waters of the exclusive economic zone.

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The Government of Niue has developed this Spill Contingency Plan as part of its commitment to
protecting its valuable coastal and marine resources from the threat of pollution from spill incidents.
The Plan has been developed to reflect the essential steps necessary to initiate, conduct and terminate
an emergency spill response on, or into Niue waters. The Plan extends to also address spill response to
spill incidents on land.

Online only

Call Number: [EL]

Physical Description: 42p. : ill. (col.) ;

The Government of the Republic of Palau has developed this National Spill Contingency Plan
(NATPLAN) as part of its commitment to protecting our valuable coastal and marine
resources from an eminent or substantial threat to the marine environment or public.
NATPLAN has been developed to reflect the essential steps necessary to initiate, conduct and
terminate an emergency spill response on, or into the navigable waters of the Republic of
Palau, on the adjoining shorelines, the waters of the contiguous zone or into waters of the
exclusive economic zone.

The Government of Papua New Guinea has developed this National Marine Spill
Contingency Plan (NATPLAN) as part of its commitment to protecting its and our
valuable coastal and marine resources from the threat of marine pollution
incidents.
NATPLAN has been developed to reflect the essential steps necessary to initiate,
conduct and terminate an emergency spill response on, or into the navigable
waters of Papua New Guinea, on the adjoining shorelines, the waters of the
contiguous zone or into waters of the exclusive economic zone.

This draft model law has been designed specifically for countries which have already enacted
comprehensive marine pollution legislation, and in particular the model Marine Pollution
Prevention Act prepared by SPC and SPREP, and last revised in 2002. For countries that have not
enacted marine pollution legislation of that nature, it is recommended that instead of using this
draft model law, consideration be given to enacting comprehensive marine pollution legislation

“Garbage” includes all kinds of food, domestic and operational waste, including plastics,
excluding fresh fish and parts thereof, generated during the normal operation of a vessel and
liable to be disposed of continuously or periodically, but does not include oil, noxious liquid
substances and other pollutants, or sewage from vessels;
“Harmful substance” means any substance that, if introduced into the sea, is liable to create
hazards to human health, to harm living resources and marine life, to damage amenities or to

Since Elton highlighted the problem of biological invasions, numerous studies have established their importance in the structural evolution of natural communities, in particular insular communities. Because of their isolation, islands are regarded as natural evolution laboratories which are characteristically very fragile once the boundary is disturbed. This fragility is illustrated by the high proportion of species extinctions observed in islands: since 1600, more than 75% of monitored disappearances have been registered in islands.

Population survey of coconut crab (Birgus latro) in the Huvalu Forest Conservation Area, Niue island, South Pacific

Unpublished report kept in vertical file collection|2 copies

Call Number: VF 2291 [EL]

Physical Description: unpaged : tables ; 29 cm

The extensive Pacific Islands region comprises around 30.000 islands scattered across the vast central Pacific Ocean. The island groups and sea areas are divided into 22 countries, with a total population of around 6 million people. The great majority of people live in relatively small and isolated coastal or rural village communities, and remain closely reliant on their local natural resources for subsistence and economic development.

Biodiversity conservation - that is, the conservation of plants and animals that make up the species richness of a country - is widely recognised as an issue of importance for the South Pacific as it is relevant to family livelihoods, culture and economic development as well as to the unique biological story that these islands possess. The biodiversity of the region is threatened by a broad range of causes including unsustainable logging and fishing, invasive species, pollution, soil erosion, fire, habitat conversion and agricultural run-off.

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.

Available online

Call Number: [EL]

Physical Description: 38 p.

The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) works to make digital biodiversity data openly and freely available on the internet for everyone. GBIF provides access to scienti_c biodiversity data for decision-making, research endeavours and public use. GBIF endorses both open source software and open data access.
In terms of structure, GBIF is a dynamic, growing partnership of countries, organisations, institutions and individuals working together to mobilise scientific biodiversity data.

Available online

Call Number: [EL]

Ecosystem services are the benefits people obtain from ecosystems, such as clean air, fresh water, and the pollination of crops. The aim of this literature review was to find empirical data illustrating the ways in which conservation land and conservation management activities affect ecosystem services. The widely-held belief that natural ecosystems—such as those found on conservation land in New Zealand—provide a range of ecosystem services is generally supported by the literature.

Life on Earth is disappearing fast and will continue to do so unless urgent action is taken. Well designed and effectively managed systems of protected areas are a vital tool for reducing biodiversity loss while delivering environmental goods and services that underpin sustainable development. There are currently over 130,000 protected areas worldwide, covering around 13.9 % of the Earth’s land surface and 5.9 % of the territorial marine surface. These areas represent a tremendous resource for conserving biodiversity and for protecting vital ecosystem services.

Climate change is a major threat to global biodiversity. From the tropics to the Poles, the world’s 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.

This document is part of a technical report series on conservation projects funded by the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) and the Conservation International Pacific Islands Program (CI-Pacific). The main purpose of this series is to disseminate project findings and successes to a broader audience of conservation professionals in the Pacific, along with interested members of the public and students. The reports are being prepared on an ad-hoc basis as projects are completed and written up.