The National Environment Service worked closely with family representatives of the Takitumu Conservation Area, to submit an assessment application that will gave the TCA official international recognition as an Other Effective area-based Conservation Measure (OECM).
All documents relevant to the submission process will be stored here, including resources on the TCA, which are referred to in the assessment form.
The TCA was launched as the Cook Islands' first OECM on International Biodiversity Day 2024 (22 May 2024)
Several large regions of the world are plagued by
conservation problems shaped around a particular inherent
set of geographical, biological and human conditions which
have been operational for varying periods of time. Typical
of situations facing Latin America are the progress of
economic development in Amazonia with its attendant loss of
rainforest biodiversity, and the Central American
"hamburger connection" involving conversion of forests to
grazing land to support the export of cheap beef to the
At the time of the POBSP visit, cats (Felis domestica), dogs
Tuvalu, a small island nation in the Pacific, has in recent years lost about one metre of land around the circumference of its largest atoll due to changes in storm conditions and rising sea levels. Tuvalu is one of the worlds lowest lying countries, with its highest point standing a mere four and a half metres above sea level. Half of Tuvalus population of 11,000 people live just three metres above sea level
Available online
Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 32 p.
In 2007, the UNFCCC Secretariat prepared a report on
"Investment and Financial Flows to Address Climate
Change".11 The report covers mitigation and adaptation in
various sectors over the period to 2030. The report defines
an investment as the initial (capital) cost of a new physical
asset with a life of more than one year, such as the capital
cost of a gas-fired generating unit or a water supply
system. A financial flow is an ongoing expenditure related
to climate change mitigation or adaptation that docs not
It is now widely acknowledged within the scientific community that the global rate of sea- level rise is quickening - and is likely to continue to do so as a result of anthropogenic
climate change. It is expected, therefore, that any resulting increase in the frequency or intensity of extreme sea-level events will cause serious problems for the inhabitants of low-
lying coastal communities and islands during the 21st century.
Available online
Call Number: [EL[
Physical Description: 16 p.
In 2001, the Government of Samoa released the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) for the conservation and sustainable development of the country's biological resources. The NBSAP identifies invasive alien species (IAS) as being one of the greatest threats to Samoa's
biodiversity. The National Invasive Alien Species Implementation Action Plan (NIASIAP) addresses this threat, building on the actions identified in 'Theme 6 - Biosecurity' of the NBSAP,
as well as elements of Themes 1, 2, 3 and 7, and pursuing the following objective:
1. Article 6 of the Convention on Biological Diversity/ requires each Party to develop or adapt national strategies, plans or programmes for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity and to integrate, as far as possible and as appropriate, the conservation and sustainable use of biological
diversity into relevant sectoral or cross-sectoral plans, programmes and policies.
Available online
Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 11 Pages
The Regional Seas programme of UNEP commenced in 1974 and since that time
considerable advances have been made in the development of regional action plans and
conventions for the protection of the marine and coastal areas of some eleven regions world-
wide. Following these developments UNEP has encouraged inter-regional co-operation in
addressing various issues of environmental concern through the organisation of international
meetings and inter-regional symposia. This volume contains the record of one such symposium,
The designation of geographical entities in this book, and the presentation of the material, do not imply
the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of IUCN concerning the legal status of any country,
territory, or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
A contribution to the global invasive species programme
Call Number: 628.16 CLA [EL],SPE
ISBN/ISSN: 2-8317-0548-7
Physical Description: xvi, 138 p. ; 29 cm
The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the
expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the World Meteorological
Organization concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or
concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
2 copies
Call Number: 551.632 PAC
Physical Description: various pagings
This report serves as to create an overview of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) progress and activities in the Pacific Island Countries (PICs). The overview is to form part of a submission by the GWP (Global Water Partnership) Secretariat at the forthcoming;
"(i) donor meeting to mobilise and seek support for IWRM in February, 2004, and the
(ii) CSD conference in New York, March, 2004".
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Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 37 p.
GOOS is being implemented in the Pacific islands region by PacificGOOS, which was formed in Suva in 1998. In August 2000, in Apia, Samoa, PacificGOOS held a regional workshop on the development of a coastal Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) for the Pacific region. This workshop aimed to raise the level of awareness about PacificGOOS and its value for sustainable
The GOOS Capacity Building Workshop for the Pacific was identified in the GOOS 1998 Plan and it was approved by the IOC Assembly in 1997 and the SOPAC Annual Session in 1997. The IOC and SOPAC were co-sponsors of the workshop and its preparation was co-ordinated by Jan Stel (Chair), William Erb (IOC) and Alf Simpson, Russell Howorth and Andrew Butcher of SOPAC.
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.
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.
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 Asia-Pacific region is an economic
powerhouse, with some of
the worlds most dynamic economies.
But it has been making slower progress
with some of the Millennium Development
Goals. Its greatest success has
been with poverty, for which the region
as a whole is likely to meet the 2015
target of halving the proportion of people
living in income poverty. But most
countries will miss at least some of the
other targets and goals, and a number
will miss their goal even for poverty.
Available online
The human drama of climate change will largely be played out in Asia, where over 60 per cent of the world's population, around four billion people, live. Over half of those live near the coast, making them directly vulnerable to sea-level rise. Disruption to the region's water cycle caused by climate change also threatens the security and productivity of the food systems upon which they depend. In acknowledgement, both of the key meetings in 2007 and 2008 to secure a global climate agreement will be in Asia.
Available electronically
The World's oceans play a crucial role for life on the planet.
Healthy seas and the services they provide are key to the future
development of mankind. Our seas are highly dynamic, structured and complex systems. The seafloor consists of vast shelves
and plains with huge mountains, canyons and trenches which
dwarf similar structures on land. Ocean currents transport water
masses many times larger than all rivers on Earth combined.
Available online
Call Number: [EL]
ISBN/ISSN: 978-82-7701-048-9