The Asian Development Bank (ADB), in co-operation with the Government of New Zealand is formulating the Pacific Regional Environmental Strategy. This will review major environmental challenges in the region and put forward strategic objectives
and activities for ADB assistance.
Available electronically
Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 109 p. ; 29 cm
This book comprises the offerings of sixteen indigenous Pacific writers and presents the first publication of its kind in the region in terms of profiling the direct experiences of Pacific indigenous communities who have had an acrimonious encounter with science, biotechnology and intellectual property rights
The maintenance and enhancement of arboreal biodiversity, especially forest and tree genetic resources, is vital for sustainable development in the Pacific Islands. For Pacific peoples, their forest and tree genetic resources are not just a matter of scientific, economic (in monetary terms), recreational or ecological value. They are a capital inheritance that, until recent times, was passed on, relatively intact or in some cases enhanced, by past generations to current generations.
The Marshall Islands are critically dependent on the health of their coral reefs: every rock and sand grain on the islands are the remains of coral reef organisms. Only actively growing coral reefs can protect the islands against ocean waves and global sea level rise, and provide fish to feed the people. These crucial services are rapidly deteriorating because global warming is
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
Environmental pollution is an important issue for an island country like Fiji to address. With limited land resources and sea being the source of income generation, it is highly important that these pollution issues are dealt with. However there is another form of environment pollution which is quite significant in this country. This is air pollution. Air pollution affects a greater population than its immediate surroundings therefore a nationwide policy is critical.
Available online
Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 67 p.
The biodiversity of the Pacific region is recognised as being globally significant. The Solomon Islands was recently included into the famous "Coral Triangle", the area of ocean considered to have the highest marine biodiversity in the world. This includes the waters of the Philippines, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. The Solomon Islands Rainforest Ecoregion is recognised as "one of the world's great Centres of Plant Diversity"
The study of marine sediments provides useful information in marine, environmental and geochemical research about pollution of the marine environment (Calace et al. 2005). Urban developments and industrial activities contribute to the introduction of significant amounts of contaminants (among them trace metals) into the marine environment and affect directly the coastal systems where they are often deposited (Angelidis 1995; Dassenakis et al. 2003).
This thesis is a critical ethnographic account of the Wartha people, a small group of hunter-horticulturalists living on the Torassi or Bensbach River, in the southwest corner of the Western Province of Papua New Guinea (PNG). This area is adjacent to the international border between PNG and Indonesia's Papua Province (West Papua).
Available online|A thesis submitted to the School of Social Science, the University of Queensland for the degree of Doctor or Philosophy
Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 438 p.
Development of conceptual models is an important step in the design of the Inventory and Monitoring Program. Conceptual models provide a framework for clarifying meaningful
The purpose of this thesis is to develop an analytical framework that can be used to better understand the impacts of tourism on small island developing states (SIDS). In particular, the framework will address tourism in light of sustainability goals
The impacts of house mice (Mus musculus), one of four invasive rodent species in New Zealand, are only clearly revealed on islands and fenced sanctuaries without rats and other invasive predators which suppress mouse populations, influence their behaviour, and confound their impacts. When the sole invasive mammal on islands, mice can reach high densities and influence ecosystems in similar ways to rats.
Following the incursion of rats (Rattus rattus) on Taukihepa (Big South Cape Island; 93.9 km²) off southern New Zealand in 1963, and the subsequent extirpation of several endemic species, the New Zealand Wildlife Service realised that, contrary to general belief at the time, introduced predators do not reach a natural balance with native species and that a safe breeding habitat for an increasing number of at risk species was urgently needed.
Rat eradication is a highly effective tool for conserving biodiversity, but one that requires considerable planning eff ort, a high level of precision during implementation and carries no guarantee of success. Overall, rates of success are generally high but lower for tropical islands where most biodiversity is at risk. We completed a qualitative comparative review on four successful and four unsuccessful tropical rat eradication projects to better understand the factors influencing the success of tropical rat eradications and shed light on how the risk of future failures can be minimised.
The Baja California Pacifc Islands, Mexico, are globally important breeding sites for 22 seabird species and subspecies. In the past, several populations were extirpated or reduced due to invasive mammals, human disturbance, and contaminants. Over the past two decades, we have removed invasive predators and, for the last decade, we have been implementing a Seabird Restoration Programme on eight groups of islands: Coronado, Todos Santos, San Martín, San Jerónimo, San Benito, Natividad, San Roque, and Asunción.
Considerable bene?ts can be achieved for indigenous biodiversity when invasive vertebrates are removed from islands. In New Zealand, two logistically challenging eradications were undertaken, one to remove cats (Felis catus) and the other Paci?c rats (Rattus exulans) from Te Hauturu-o-Toi/Little Barrier Island (Hauturu). Here we document the short- and long-term impacts of these interventions on the biodiversity of Hauturu. We also assess the extent to which predicted outcomes were re?ected in the measured responses for a wide range of species.
The process by which individuals, groups, organisations, institutions and societies increase their abilities to:
Perform core functions, solve problems, define and achieve objectives
Understand and deal with their development needs in a broad context and in a sustainable manner.
Available online
Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 129 p.
As early as 1990 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) noted that the greatest single impact of climate change might be on human migrationwith millions of people displaced by shoreline erosion, coastal flooding and agricultural disruption.3 Since then, successive reports have argued that environmental degradation, and in particular climate change, is poised to become a major driver of population displacementa crisis in the making.
Available online
Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 64 p.
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) defines its "strategy for the integrated management of land, water and living resources that promotes conservation and sus-
tainable use in an equitable way" as the Ecosystem Approach to management. This use incorporates the concept of an area used by humans as well as one containing plants and animals in a recognisable configuration.
Also hold 2 hard copies|Available online
Call Number: 333.75 SHE [EL]
ISBN/ISSN: 978-2-8317-0957-4
The main purpose of this paper is to help policy makers,
particularly those in developing countries, think about the national policy instruments needed to contribute to the
fight against climate change, how such needs can be articulated in order to seek internal and external financial resources and how these needs may be reflected in negotiations of a future climate change agreement. This paper is an input to a series of workshops which the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) will organize in developing countries with the aim of improv-