PEBACC - Pacific Ecosystems-based Adaptation to Climate Change - is a five year project funded by the German government and implemented by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) to explore and promote ecosystem-based options for adapting to climate change. The overall intended outcome of the project is: Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) is integrated into development, climate change adaptation and natural resource management policy and planning processes in three Pacific island countries providing replicable models for other countries in the region.
The MACBIO project classify the entire marine environment within the MACBIO participating countries to inform, in particular, their national marine spatial and marine protected area planning efforts. The draft outputs are marine bioregions that include reef-associated and deepwater biodiversity assemblages with complete spatial coverage at a scale useful for national planning. Results for the Solomon Islands have been presented to the marine experts and government of the Solomon Islands for review.
"Comparison of the average hard coral cover between the three five-year periods comprising the last 15 years (2005-09, 2010-14, 2015-19, Tab. 9.3) indicated that there was a high degree of confidence (93%) in the long-term decline, despite the uncertainty in individual yearly estimates. Further, the vast majority (90%) of this decline occurred between 2010-14 and 2015-19, suggesting that the rate of decline in hard coral cover has accelerated during the last five years"
The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) is the most comprehensive global database of marine and terrestrial protected areas, updated on a monthly basis, and is one of the key global biodiversity data sets being widely used by scientists, businesses, governments, International secretariats and others to inform planning, policy decisions and management. The WDPA is a joint project between UN Environment and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Maps and associated data from the Turtle Research and Monitoring Database System (TREDS). A summary of the database can be found below.
The Turtle Research and Monitoring Database System (TREDS) provides invaluable information for Pacific island countries and territories to manage their turtle resources. TREDS can be used to collate data from strandings, tagging, nesting, emergence and beach surveys as well as other biological data on turtles.
Map of predictions of relative probabilities of species occurence in a global grid of half-degree latitude and longitude cell dimensions.
Map of predictions of relative probabilities of benthic marine species occurence in a global grid of half-degree latitude and longitude cell dimensions.
Map of predictions of relative probabilities of pelagic species occurence in a global grid of half-degree latitude and longitude cell dimensions.
Map of artisanal fishing intensity based on data from the global map of human impacts (2008) (https://www.nceas.ucsb.edu/globalmarine2008/impacts).
Map developed by MACBIO for the bioregions workshop 2018. Chlorophyl-a concentration is an important proxy which is routinely measured and is considered a "core" parameter of global physical-biological oceanic models. Map is based on data from NASA's Aqua satellite.
The map contains the global distribution of habitat suitability for seven suborders of cold water octocoral found deeper than 50m. Map is based on data from Yesson et al (2012) Global habitat suitability of cold water Octocorals, Journal of Biogeography 39, 1278-1292.
The map displays the number of coral species that are expected to be found in each grid cell that contains coral reefs as identified by the Millenium Reefs project. The map is based on a spatial data base of geographic range boundaries compiled by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies compi
This map was developed by MACBIO as resource for the bioregions workshop 2017 and shows ocean surface currents based on data from NOAA Ocean Surface Current Analysis (http://www.oscar,noaa.gov/).
The map depicts paths and intensities of tropical cyclones in Solomon Islands EEZ from 1980 till 2015. Data of tropical cyclone best track data is provided by IBTrACS (International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship).
The map shows the diffuse attenuation coefficient (Kd490) which is an indicator of the turbidity of the water column. The grid is derived from MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectoradiometer) images from NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites (http://oceancolor.gsfc.nasa.gov).
The map shows the domestic shipping routes in Solomon Islands EEZ. Data is based on information from Harbour Master of Ports Authority. The map was developed by MACBIO as resource for the bioregions workshop in Feb 2018.
Eddies are circular shaped or elongated rotating vortices of the sea surface, 300 - 500km wide. They are the oceanic analogy to storms in the atmosphere, and are clearly seen in maps of sea surface anomaly from altimeters. Positive anomaly features indicate the presence of anticyclonic eddies where the sea surface is doming upwards and causing downwelling. For downwelling features, strength and persistence are key determinants of increased primary productivity and thus aggregations of bioty.
Map of Upwelling Eddy Frequency within Solomon Islands EEZ. Eddies are circular-shaped or elongated rotating vortices of the surface of the sea. 50 - 300 km wide. They are the oceanic analogy to storms in the atmosphere. For upwelling features, strength and persistence are key determinants of increased primary productivity and thus aggregations of biota.
Ocean mesoscale eddies account for a major portion of the ocean kinetic energy and exert profound impacts on large-scale ocean circulations. Satellite altimeter observation provide a unique opportunity to examine the mesoscale oceanic processes and their associations with the large-scale oceanic circulations and the climate.
The map shows location and magnitude of instrumentally recorded earthquakes from 1900 to 2008. Data is based on the Centennial Catalog, a global catalog of locations and magnitudes of instrumentally recorded earthquakes.