The island of New Guinea hosts the third largest expanse of tropical rainforest on the planet. Papua New Guinea—comprising the eastern half of the island—plans to nearly double its national road network (from 8,700 to 15,000 km) over the next three years, to spur economic growth. We assessed these plans using fine-scale biophysical and environmental data. We identified numerous environmental and socioeconomic risks associated with these projects, including the dissection of 54 critical biodiversity habitats and diminished forest connectivity across large expanses of the island.
FAO, at the request of its member countries, regularly monitors the world´s forests and their management and uses through the Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA). This country report is prepared as a contribution to the FAO publication, the Global Forest Resources Assessment 2015 (FRA 2015).
The Micronesia Challenge (MC) is an agreement initiated in 2006 by the
region’s political jurisdictions to conserve both marine and terrestrial natural resources. To
assess the success of the terrestrial goals of the challenge, the Micronesia Conservation
Trust (MCT) coordinated the compilation of a list of terrestrial measures and utilized them
to summarize data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest
Service Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program. The MCT and FIA programs added
This report presents the findings of the waste audit undertaken for the Republic of Marshall Islands. The methodology applied for this waste audit was as per the Waste Audit Methodology – a step-by-step manual to conduct comprehensive waste audits in SIDs, produced by the Pacific Regional Infrastructure Facility (PRIF).
Ramsar Wetland Fact Sheet for Namdrik Atoll from 2009-2012.
The "State"-Wide Assessment and Resource Strategy (SWARS) identifies the Marshalls' highest priorities for forest resource management and needs for assistance from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service (FS). State assessments and resource strategies are integral to the Forest Service's State and Private Forestry (S&PF) Redesign and required as an amendment to the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act (CFAA), as enacted in the 2008 Farm Bill.
Map of observations of marine plastic pollution dumping from purse seine operations in the Marshall Islands.
Map of number of invasive species per atoll within the Marshall Islands exclusive economic zone.
Map of number of endemic species per atoll within the Marshall Islands exclusive economic zone.
Peer-reviewed article discussing the results of 2018 Forest Inventory and Analysis plots monitored across Micronesia and forest health for the Micronesian countries.
The information and data gathered from these waste audits will be used by countries in the Pacific to support the development and monitoring of waste and resource recovery projects and recommend the infrastructure and policy interventions required. The regional dataset will also be used to identify and evaluate potential regional projects that would improve waste management in the region.
Ramsar Wetland Fact Sheet describing Namdrik Atoll and its ecosystem.
The 2021 State and Private Forestry Fact Sheet for the Marshall Islands.
In 2012, 89% of the global population used an improved source of drinking water, and 64% used an improved sanitation facility. One hundred and sixteen countries have already met the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) drinking water target, and 77 have already met the MDG sanitation target.
to concerns expressed by South Pacific Governments over the state of the marine environment, a proposal to undertake a marine coastal pollu’tion study was initiated in 1989. As a part of the Regional Seas programme of UNEP, the project will attempt to assess the extent ofpolzution and quality trends by a series of monitoring and research activities at “clean ” reference and known polluted areas.
In urban areas, responsibility for providing piped water and sewerage services in the nation’s capital, Port Moresby, lies with Eda Ranu, and for the remaining provincial and district towns with Water PNG (formerly the PNG Water Board). Service provision to these areas are estimated to be 89% access to safe water (little change from 87% in 1990), and 57% access to safe sanitation (down from 89% in 1990)1. Access to services in urban areas struggle to keep up in the face of rapid urban population expansion.
Very little is known about the water quality parameters of marine ecosystems in Papua New Guinea (PNG). While several studies converge in classifying these ecosystems as among the richest in the world in terms of marine biodiversity (Pearse, 1988; Rau, 1988; Gosliner et al., 1996; Maniwavie, 2000; Karlson et al., 2004), relatively little can be said about the status of their waters, although water pollution and pressures on marine environments are increasingly becoming a concern among coastal people in PNG.
Papua New Guinea has the lowest water and sanitation access indicators amongst the 15 developing Pacific Island nations. The latest (2015) update of the UN’s Joint Monitoring rogram (JMP) estimates access to safe drinking water and improved sanitation in PNG in 2012 at 40% and 19% respectively. Over the period of more than two decades since 1990, the increase in access to safe drinking water has been very small (access in 1990 was 34%), while improved sanitation coverage recorded a drop from 20% in 1990 to 19% in 2012.
Papua New Guinea’s (PNG’s) basic water supply and sanitation needs are large. Today, an estimated 4.2 million Papua New Guineans—which is 61% of the population—do not have access to safe water, and approximately 3.8 million people, or 55% of the population, do not have access to improved sanitation.