8926 results
 The Smithsonian Institution

Christmas island3, the largest atoll in the world in terms of

 Ministry of Natural Resources, Environment and Meteorology (MNREM)

Samoa has retained the same ruling governing party of the last 20 years as its government for the next five years after the general elections in early March 2006. After years in power since 1985, the Human Rights Political Party (HRPP) continues to advance its 9 focus on enhancing the macroeconomic stability of the country. Apart from reliance on traditional mainstays such as agriculture and remittances, it targeted growth led by the construction, other manufacturing, hotels and restaurants, transport and communication sectors.

 Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity

Today, May 10th, in addition to being SIDS Day, coincides with the release, in Nairobi, Kenya, of the third
edition of Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO-3). This major new assessment of the current state of
biodiversity and the implications of its continued loss for human well-being was produced by the
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the broadest international treaty for the conservation and
sustainable use of biodiversity and the equitable sharing of the benefits from the utilization of genetic

 Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity

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.

 Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity/UNEP

This brochure demonstrates how measures and policies can be shaped to simultaneously address climate change, biodiversity loss and poverty. It identifies opportunities for synergies and mutual enhancement of the objectives of international agreements, particularly the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), as well as decisions taken by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly following the recommendations of the UN Forum on Forests (UNFF).

Available online|1 copy

 GEF

The GEF and UNCCD Secretariats collaborated on this new book to convey how sustainable land management (SLM) practices are helping shape a sustainable future for people and the planet. The book is illustrated with high quality photos donated by the GoodPlanet Foundation and from other sources, to demonstrate how human ingenuity is largely driving innovations in soil, land, water, and vegetation management.

 Greenpeace International

Papua New Guinea (PNG) hosts some of the world's largest and
last remaining intact forest landscapes. While these forests have always been a haven for biodiversity and provided a livelihood for the millions of people who live in them, it is only in recent years that their importance for carbon storage has come to be fully appreciated.

Available online

Call Number: [EL]

Physical Description: 32 p.

 Ministry for the Environment

New Zealand's geographic isolation and long period without human habitation allowed a unique natural environment to flourish. Our
environment is known for the richness of its biodiversity, with more than 80,000 native animal, plant, and fungus species. As a result of New Zealand's isolation, much of our flora and fauna are not found anywhere else on earth.

Also available online

Call Number: 333.7 ENV [EL]

ISBN/ISSN: 978-0-478-30194-6

Physical Description: 74 p. ; 29 cm

 Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC)

More than 20 cetacean species are known to exist in the
Pacific Islands Region, which encompasses the U.S. Exclusive
Economic Zone, or EEZ (waters out to 370 km from shore) around
the entire Hawaiian Archipelago. Johnston Atoll. Kingman Reef and Palmyra Atoll. Baker and Howland Islands. Jarvis Island. American Samoa. Wake Island, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands, totaling some 5.8 million km2 of ocean.
Many of the species present are poorly studied throughout their

 Bishop Museum

Effective conservation of regional biotas requires accurate information on the distribution, endemicity, local richness, and taxonomic composition of species assemblages across multiple geographic scales. This is especially true in the Melanesian region, which contains ten percent of the world's biota on its numerous islands scattered across thousands of kilometers between Fiji and the Moluccas. Although certain important biotic components within this region, such as birds, have been reasonably surveyed, many others, particularly freshwater organisms, remain poorly understood.

 Australian National University (ANU)

For the Pacific region, the sources regarding first contacts are essentially accounts written by European travellers. One can quite easily imagine the extent to which these accounts, especially those published in the form of a book which was
intended for a large public, foreground interpretations based on prejudices and preconceptions. Their preconceived views blinded the authors themselves, these first voyagers, and prevented them from understanding the whole range of acts and behaviours of the indigenous population. In particular, several contexts

 Department fo the Navy

The Department of the Navy (DoN) is committed to demonstrating environmental stewardship while executing its national defense mission. The United States (U.S.) Navy (Navy) is responsible for

 Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)

Biodiversity tends to be at a maximum in the
equatorial region in the west of the Pacific Islands
area, and decreases markedly towards the east. For
example, the number of naturally occurring species of
animals and plants is much greater in the Solomon
Islands than in Tahiti. This is also true of the marine
environment, where fish and invertebrate species,
including corals, are far more numerous in the west
of the sub-region than in the east.

Also available electronically|2 copies

 Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry

This is a continuation of the survey of islands in Micronesia and American Samoa for invasive plant species requested by the Pacific Islands Committee. Council of Western State Foresters. A
survey of other Micronesian islands was conducted in 1998 and was discussed in a previous report2. This report summarizes a survey of the island of Rota. Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands, on 5 April 2000. The objectives, as with the previous survey. were three-fold: (1) To identify plant species on the island that are presently causing problems to natural and

 Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry

The Government of the Cook Islands requested assistance from the US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry, to conduct a survey of invasive
plant species of environmental concern, similar to surveys previously conducted in Micronesia, American Samoa, Nine, Samoa and Tonga. The survey was carried out from 11 March through

 National Museum of Natural History

Williamson and Sabath (1982) have demonstrated a significant relationship between modern population size and environment by examining atoll area and rainfall in the Marshall Islands. The present work seeks to extend that argument into prehistory by examining the relationship of ancient habitation sites and size of aroid pit agricultural systems to atoll land area and rainfall regime along the 1,500-3,500 mm precipitation gradient in the Marshall Islands.

 National Museum of Natural History

Henderson island, a World Heritage Site in the Pitcairn group, south-central Pacific Ocean, has often been thought to have a pristine vegetation. Our archaeological investigations and field observations in 1991-1992, supported by recent observations in
1997, suggest the occurrence of former areas of Polynesian cultivation near to the North and East Beaches, and indicate that about 17 non-native vascular plant taxa have occurred.

 Smithsonian Institution

The study of dispersal processes of small mammals, and especially of rodents, has a wide range of applications and until recent years there were few publications discussing the
colonisation of 'oceanic' islands by small mammals (cf. Crowell, 1986; Diamond, 1987; Hanski, 1986;Heany, 1986; Lomolino, 1986).

 The Smithsonian Institution

The Tokelau Islands consist of three atolls (Atafu, Nukunonu and Fakaofo) approximately 500 km north of Western Samoa. Their numerous islets are formed mainly of coral sand and rubble with no standing freshwater. Sixty-one plant species have been recorded, 13 of these being introduced and 10 being adventives. There are three vegetation zones, the beach, the beach-crest, and the interior coconut/fern zone with the physiognomy of a humid tropical forest. Marine invertebrates have not been studied.