The need for a Pacific Biodiversity Information Forum to provide a venue and support for biodiversity information needs in the Pacific Basin was established during the GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility) meeting on Maui in May of 2002. Interested parties met again during the October 2003 GBIF meeting in Tsukuba, Japan and reaffirmed the need and began to draw up a governing structure for PBIF and identify specific biodiversity needs in the Pacific Basin that can be addressed through projects.
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.
In June 2007 a group of engineers, public health practitioners, local and international NGO staff, academics and government
representatives gathered to discuss water and sanitation in South East Asia and the Pacific at the Let's Come Clean Conference in Melbourne, Australia. At the conference, consensus emerged on the need for greater regional exchange of experience in sanitation. It was agreed that more could be done to document and disseminate practical lessons learned from water, sanitation and hygiene initiatives throughout the region.
Available online
Forests and other wooded land together cover about
one-third of the Asia and the Pacific region.
Excluding the Russian Federation, forest area in 2005
was estimated at 734 million hectares, accounting for
about 19 percent of global forest area. The region as a
whole experienced a net increase in forest area of about
633 000 ha annually during 2000-2005. This
is an important breakthrough, since the region had
experienced a net loss of forest cover during the 1990s. The improvement was largely the result of an increase of more
Climate change is real and Asia is already experiencing its adverse impacts. Projections from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) suggest that such impacts will become even more intense in the future. While the contribution of developing countries in Asia to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is increasing rapidly, per capita emissions are still low and developmental challenges remain significant.
Fisheries in the Solomon Islands comprise two distinct sectors: the industrial sector which is predominantly off-shore and depends on the abundant tuna resources found in the country's
In World Resources 2005 we showed that ecosystems can become the focus of a powerful model for nature-based enterprise that delivers continuing economic and social benefits to die poor, even as it improves the natural resource base. Evidence shows that poor rural families empowered with secure resource rights can significantly increase their income stream from nature with prudent ecosystem management. To make this possible, a funda-
mental shift in governancein the power of the poor to access resources of value and build functional enterprisesis required.
Available online
This dataset contains all spatial data that is related to the Tonga volcanic eruption. Maps produced are derived from credible data source such as UNOSTAT and UNITAR.
The WASH Baseline Survey is an initiative of the Water and Sanitation Sector which aims to:
1. Gain a better understanding of the water and sanitation situation nationally; and
2. Collect information about Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of the population regarding water use, sanitation status and hygiene behaviour.
Cyclone Evan hit Samoa in December 2012 and caused immense damage and significant losses. This comprehensive assessment estimates those damages and losses, and identifies the needs of the affected population.
In this report, the value of durable physical assets across all economic and social sectors destroyed by Evan (referred to as damage) is estimated at SAT 235.7 million, equivalent to US$103.3 million.
Number of permits and consents approved from Jan - Mar 2018
Data on Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) including Greenhouse Gases
Medicinal Use of Plants Cook Islands 2016 or older
This data set is a digital soil survey and generally is the most detailed level of soil geographic data developed by the National Cooperative Soil Survey.
The dataset is included the Digital Atlas of Micronesia, module Pohnpei, by Island Research & Education Initiative (iREi), in collaboration with Water and Environmental Research Institute of the Western Pacific (WERI) University of Guam and partial funding from United States Geological Survey (USGS), under WRRI 104-B Program, project # 2016GU302B.
This dataset the extent of coral reefs around Pohnpei. The data layer shown here is a subset of Pohnpei base layer. The original data, so-called Digital Line Graphs (DLSs), were created by U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for the 1:25,000-scale topographic maps (2001). The shoreline was modified by by University of Guam (UOG) (2017) based on 2016 Worldview-3 satellite imagery from Digital Globe. The dataset was slightly shifted and also updated (mainly around Kolonia and its vicinity).
This dataset shows the extent and basic types of sea grass areas around Pohnpei. It classifies sea grass areas by one of the three main species (Cymodocea rotundata, Thalassia hemprichii, and Enhalus acaroides) and the level of coverage (describes as continuous, aggregated, and isolated). The data source is McKenzie, L.J. and Rasheed, M.J. (2006), Seagrasses: Pohnpei Island and And Atoll Marine Assessment, Technical report of survey conducted 26 October 3 November 2005, SeagrassWatch HQ, DPI&F, Cairns, 60pp.
This dataset shows the areas of biological significance (ABS) on Pohnpei. The original dataset was created by The Nature Conservancy. A subset to show only Pohnpei was created by the Island Research & Education Initiative (iREi). These data are intended to capture those areas that represent the wide range of biodiversity features in the marine and terrestial areas of FSM. They are used to guide conservation planning and projects in FSM, and ultimately to help establish conservation areas. Polygons capturing expert knowledge from FSM Blueprint project.
Data on Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) includes information on Palau's forests 2013-2014. The Pacific Northwest Forest Inventory and Analysis (PNW-FIA) program measures and compiles data on plots in coastal Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, and U.S.- affiliated Pacific Islands. Most data are available in Access databases and can be downloaded by clicking one of the links below. PNW data are combined with data from all states in the U.S. and stored in the national FIADB. Data for any state can be accessed on the national website (see links to national tools below).