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.
Ice, snow and climate change are closely linked. The Global Outlook for Ice and Snow investigates those linkages. It also presents information on the trends in ice and snow, the outlook for this century and beyond and the consequences to ecosystems and human well-being of these changes. It covers all parts of the cryosphere (the world of ice): snow, land ice, sea ice, river and lake ice, and frozen ground. The Global Outlook for Ice and Snow was written by more than 70 scientists from around the world.
Call Number: 551.578 4 UNI [EL]
The natural environment of Pacific Island countries has supported, maintained and improved the social and economic wellbeing of its people and cultures since the arrival of the first inhabitants. The importance of the regions biodiversity cannot be understated; it is present in every facet of the island way of life. Natural resources provide food, shelter, medicine and are used extensively in traditions. In the past, utilization of these resources was allowed under traditional and community management.
Research shows that marine reserves are one tool that can help to prevent, slow, or reverse negative changes in the ocean. Marine reserves are places in the ocean that are completely and permanently protected from uses that remove animals and plants or alter their habitats. Increasingly, the public, governmental agencies, commercial groups, and scientists are discussing the idea of establishing more marine reserves to complement existing ocean management. The purpose of this report is to provide a summary of the latest scientific information about marine reserves.
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.