"There is a window of opportunity for avoiding the most damaging climate change impacts, but that window is closing: the world has less than a decade to change course. Actions taken - or not taken -... will have a profound bearing on the future... The world lacks neither the financial resources nor the technological capabilities... What is missing is a sense of urgency, human solidarity and collective interest (2007/2008 Human Development Report).
Available online
Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 126 p.
All over the world Indigenous Peoples are affected by the impacts of climate change. They often live close to the land and depend on its physical resources and richness for their livelihoods and well-being. Their environments are increasingly threatened by, for example, desertification, sea level rise, extreme weather events, and changes in wildlife health, migration patterns and abundance. At the same time, there is evidence that some current attempts to tackle climate change may also have disastrous effects on indigenous groups and communities.
Available online
Healthy marine resources require healthy, intact ecosystems. Marine and coastal ecosystems are highly productive and deliver various goods and services that support communities and economies, including food security, clean water, recreational
opportunities and other benefits. Effective area-based protection, through MPAs, helps maintain ecosystem health and productivity, while safeguarding social and economic
Pacific Island Countries (PICs) are heavily dependent on natural resources and likely to remain so for the near future, making resource management an issue of critical importance for economic development. This chapter employs a simple neoclassical
growth model to diagnose deficiencies in current policy regimes and suggest possible alternatives. Current practices in the exploitation of the regions mineral, tuna, and forest resources are used to illustrate problems and suggest possible policy interventions.
Available online
Call Number: [EL]
This report presents a set of indicators, referred to as the 'core' set. for reporting on the state of the environment across Commonwealth and State and Territory jurisdictions. The core indicators have been developed by the Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council (ANZECC) through an extensive consultation process involving both government agencies and the general public.
Available online
Call Number: [EL]
ISBN/ISSN: 0 62419479 3
Physical Description: 96 p.
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
The Earth currently finds itself in the midst of what some have termed the "Anthropocene Era" - a period during which human activities have become a dominate force affecting not only the
planet's landscape, but also its atmosphere. Since the dawn of the industrial evolution of the mid-18th century, humans have contributed to substantial increases in the concentration of
greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide has increased by 36%, methane by 17%, and nitrous oxide by 151%. These changes in the global atmosphere are directly linked to over
More than 20 cetacean species are known to exist in the
Pacific Islands Region, which encompasses the U.S. Exclusive
Economic Zone, or EEZ (waters out to 370 km from shore) around
the entire Hawaiian Archipelago. Johnston Atoll. Kingman Reef and Palmyra Atoll. Baker and Howland Islands. Jarvis Island. American Samoa. Wake Island, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands, totaling some 5.8 million km2 of ocean.
Many of the species present are poorly studied throughout their
Fishers have changed their methods from wading in the shallows to the use of sail and paddle canoes, and dinghies with outboard motors. This has resulted in greater coverage of the area where sea cucumbers live, more regular fishing, access to remote areas and the capacity to transport greater catches. Loss of much larger numbers of sea cucumbers from many areas as a result of this increased fishing pressure reduces the chances of adults remaining at densities high enough for effective reproduction.
Palau is blessed with a wealth of natural resources. We enjoy clean air, clean water, abundant marine life, and healthy, productive reefs. Our stunning Rock Islands and majestic dive sites continue to draw admiration from around the world. But Patau's wealth is not just found in its natural resources. Palau has also been blessed with a wealth of human resources and technical capabilities. The population of Palau is well educated and highly talented, and makes use of the most advanced computer and development techniques on a daily basis.
While acknowledging their diversity, the IPCC Third
Assessment Report (TAR) also noted that small island states
share many similarities (e.g., physical size, proneness to natural disasters and climate extremes, extreme openness of their economies, low adaptive capacity) that enhance their vulnerability and reduce their resilience to climate variability and change.
Available online|(* NB these materials are also available on the workshop CDROM deposited with the IRC NBSAP workshop Nadi, Feb 2009)
Call Number: [EL]
This Pacific Pelagic Fishery Ecosystem Plan (FEP) was developed by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council and represents the first step in an incremental and collaborative approach to implement ecosystem approaches to fishery management for Pacific pelagic species.
Available online
Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 234 p.
This Pacific Remote Island Areas Fisheiy Ecosystem Plan (FEP) was developed by the Western Pacific Regional Fisheiy Management Council and represents the first step in an incremental and
collaborative approach to implement ecosystem approaches to fisheiy management in the Pacific Remote Island Areas (PRIA) of Baker Island, Johnston Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll,
Kingman Reef, Wake Island and Palmyra Atoll.
Available online
Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 232 p.
This American Samoa Archipelago Fishery Ecosystem Plan (FEP) was developed by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council and represents the first step in an incremental and collaborative approach to implement ecosystem approaches to fishery management in American Samoa.
Available online
Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 245 p.
The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 requires Federal agencies to examine the environmental effects of their proposed actions. On behalf of the Department of Defense Representative Guam, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). Federated States of Micronesia and Republic of Palau (DoD REP) the Navy is preparing this EIS/OEIS to assess the potential environmental effects associated with continuing and proposed military activities within the MIRC Study Area. The Navy is the
The Department of the Navy (DoN) is committed to demonstrating environmental stewardship while executing its national defense mission. The United States (U.S.) Navy (Navy) is responsible for
According to conventional wisdom, small, fast-growing fish are impossible to overfish because their populations are so large and grow so quickly. Yet we are now seeing disquieting signs that conventional wisdom is wrong. Most significantly, scientists are reporting ocean predators emaciated from lack of food, vulnerable to disease and without enough energy to reproduce. Scrawny predatorsdolphins, striped bass, and even whaleshave turned up along coastlines around the world. Recreational fishermen are losing both their target fishand their bait.
One of the recommendations emerging from the COP-8 (Decision XIII/8 [6]) promoted a series of regional and/or sub-regional workshops on capacity building for NBSAPs. These will
be held with the aim to discuss national experiences in implementing NBSAPs, the integration of biodiversity concerns into relevant sectors, obstacles, and ways and means
for overcoming these obstacles. It was recommended that these workshops be held (subject to the availability of funding) prior to COP-9, to provide an opportunity to directly support
Multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) are agreements
This section contains a sample of values for coral reefs and surrounding ecosystems estimated at the global, regional and site-specific levels. Some of these summaries note values for ecosystem goods and services including tourism and recreation, fisheries, coastal protection, biodiversity, and carbon sequestration that are presented in Section 2.
Available online
Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 23 p.