This toolkit outlines the basic process of developing a national marine spatial plan. It has been tailored specifically for use by Pacific Island countries based upon lessons learned in Fiji, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu.
SENTINEL-2 is a wide-swath, high-resolution, multi-spectral imaging mission, supporting Copernicus Land Monitoring studies, including the monitoring of vegetation, soil and water cover, as well as observation of inland waterways and coastal areas.
The SENTINEL-2 Multispectral Instrument (MSI) samples 13 spectral bands: four bands at 10 metres, six bands at 20 metres and three bands at 60 metres spatial resolution.
This manual is designed for fisheries and environmental officers, and non-governmental partners who are
tasked with assessing the state of fisheries resources and macro-invertebrate communities.
SPREP is leading the charge to make the Pacific Games in July in Samoa go plastic free in an awareness and outreach initiative aptly called Greening of the Games.
This dataset holds a draft report and a raw baseline data collected from a clean-up at Mulinu'u executed on the 11th May 2019 by the the Team Samoa Va'a, to contextualize solutions and interventions to address marine litter and plastic pollution.
Direct links to chart visualizations generated by the Inform portal based on data collection are also included.
This dataset has all icons for Multilateral Environment Agreements such as SDGs and Aichi
The Bycatch Management Information System (BMIS) focuses on bycatch mitigation and management in oceanic tuna and billfish fisheries*. It is an open resource useful for fishery managers, fishers, scientists, observers, educators and anyone with an interest in fisheries management. As a reference and educational tool, the BMIS aims to support the adoption and implementation of science-based management measures so that bycatch is managed comprehensively and sustainably.
This policy applies to SPREP’s own data as well as data held by SPREP on behalf of government agencies and partners within the Pacific.
"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"
In the Pacific Islands region, fish and invertebrates (specifically shellfish) fulfill important ecological roles in coastal and oceanic habitats, and many species are targeted by fisheries, making vital contributions to food security, livelihoods, government revenue and cultural heritage. This report discusses how climate change is expected to have profound effects on the status and distribution of coastal and oceanic habitats, the fish and invertebrates they support and, as a result, the productivity of fisheries and aquaculture
Comprehensive assessment of the risks and impacts of seabed mining on marine ecosystems by Fauna and Flora International.
This project has developed sub-regional bioregionalisations for the western-south Pacific Ocean, through expert workshops and novel statistical analysis of physical and biological data. This combines approaches CSIRO developed in Australia, used in the Bay of Bengal (in collaboration with BOBLME) with similar approaches that have been used throughout the Indian and Pacific Oceans to derive a single combined bioregionalisation.
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).
This list of indicators was developed through the Inform project at SPREP for use by Pacific Islands countries (PICs) to meet their national and international reporting obligations. The indicators are typically adopted by PICs for their State of Environment reports and are intended to be re-used for a range of MEA and SDG reporting targets. The indicators have been designed to be measurable and repeatable so that countries can track key aspect of environmental health over time.
UNEP Regional Seas Ports and Studies No. 136.
SPREP Reports and Studies No. 49.
UNEP 1991
This paper focuses on the environmental challenges of sustainable development issues with particular attention to natural resource management, environment and climate change in the food and agriculture sector (including crops, livestock, fisheries and forestry).
Fact Sheet - Pacific tourism depends on healthy marine ecosystems for aesthetic appeal and for the ecosystem services that support human occupation. This fact sheet links it to SDGs and brief background info on how the Pacific island countries face challenges in planning for sustainable development of infrastructure as well as sea and land uses related to tourism
This study first presents the general knowledge on shark exploitation and vulnerability. Then, the status of coastal shark fisheries in the Pacific Islands is addressed from the angle of the data available for this region and on the basis of information collected through a questionnaire that was sent to the fisheries department of the Pacific countries. In the last part, prospects for management and regulation are discussed.
This document represents a synthesis of the expertise, knowledge and views of leading experts in marine protected area (MPA) network design and implementation. It is intended to be useful to countries and their various organizations in helping them build effective networks of MPAs. Not only does it provide a wealth of real-life examples from around the globe, it outlines the steps necessary to turn political ambitions into reality.
This paper provides information on degradable plastics and is intended to provide guidance on potential mechanisms for achieving reductions in plastic bag consumption. It is anticipated that this paper can be used in the Pacific region as a source of information, when trying to devise a strategy for dealing with plastic bags.
A series of publication on the status of coral reefs of the world