Waves and Coasts in the Pacific (WACOP)
Waves and Coasts in the Pacific (WACOP)
Concise environmental legislative reviews of Pacific Island countries plus Tokelau. **Please submit new information or corrections as the reviews will be updated annually.**
Journal publication. PDF
Journal publication. PDF
A Report for the MESCAL Project, IUCN Oceania Office, Suva
Report No. 12/13
November 2012
Biodiversity conservation - that is, the conservation of plants and animals that make up the species richness of a country - is widely recognised as an issue of importance for the South Pacific as it is relevant to family livelihoods, culture and economic development as well as to the unique biological story that these islands possess. The biodiversity of the region is threatened by a broad range of causes including unsustainable logging and fishing, invasive species, pollution, soil erosion, fire, habitat conversion and agricultural run-off.
Natural disasters such as hurricanes, cyclones, and tropical depressions cause average annual direct losses of US$284 million in the Pacific. With a combined population of fewer than 10 million people, annual losses are the highest in the world on a per-capita basis. Extreme weather events such as heavy rainfall are closely linked to climate change, suggesting that Pacific Island nations face increasing risk of disasters such as flooding and landslides. Proactive management through infrastructure development, social solutions, and/or ecosystem-based adaptation can mitigate these risks.
Background of Environment Management Act.
Available online|Powerpoint presentation
Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 140 p
Environment related legislation review
Available online
Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 20 p. ; 29 cm
Fijis marine ecosystems are worth FJ$2.5 billion per yearexceeding the countrys total export value. We are strongly committed to sustaining these values to build an equitable and prosperous blue economy
Available online
Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 88 p
The Fiji Islands Marine Eco region which includes our coastal, Inshore and offshore marine environment is rich in marine biodiversity and endemism. A natural and vibrant ecological mosaic, it links coastal forests and mangroves; tidal estuaries, seagrass beds and lagoons; rich coral reefs and barrier islands.
The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and Maritime New Zealand
(MNZ) were engaged to assist the Maritime Safety Authority of Fiji (MSAF) with an oil spill
environmental risk assessment. The project team visited Fijis major ports and transfer terminals. The
aim of this exercise was to provide recommendations to support Fijis commitment to improve oil spill
prevention and response.
Available online
Call Number: [EL]
ISBN/ISSN: 978-982-04-0540-0,978-982-04-0541-7
Globally and locally, conservationists and scientists work to inform policy makers to help recovery of endangered sea turtle populations. In Fiji, in the South Pacific, sea turtles are protected by the national legislation because of their conservation status, and are also a customary iTaukei resource. Centered on our interview based study at Qoma and Denimanu villages, parallel management systems coexist, where both the (written) national legislation and the (unwritten) customary iTaukei rules determine the time and the quantity of sea turtle harvest.
The rapid expansion of kava farms, and the increase in market value for the plant, has resulted in an increased clearing of native forests in key growing zones. Cleared cultivation areas are now penetrating some of the most well preserved native forests of the Pacific region. To what extent this is currently impacting on biodiversity and Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) is not yet fully known, especially in Fiji and Vanuatu.
Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 1 p.
Ra is one of four provinces in the Vatu-i-Ra Seascape, which covers over 27,000 km2 of relatively intact coral reefs, seagrass meadows, mangroves, rivers and forests. Local communities in Vanua Nakorotubu depend on coral reef fish for food and income, but degraded catchments and coastal development have resulted in high turbidity in marine waters. This is negatively affecting the marine environment and has also led to an increase in the transmission of waterborne bacterial diseases amongst the local population.
Call Number: [EL]