Solomon Islanders rely heavily on marine resources and have one of the highest per capita rates of seafood consumption in the world. In 1982, the national average annual consumption of fish per person was estimated to be 25.7 kg, ranging from <10 kg in rural Guadalcanal and San Cristobal, to 54 kg in the Western Province (Cook, 1988). Another survey conducted in Honiara in 1992, found that 31 per cent of households consumed fresh fish each day and that 82.4 per cent of meals containing animal protein were based on fish.
The native plants of remote tropical islands have been frequently characterized as poor competitors against seemingly more aggressive alien species.. Does this "weak competitor" characterization relate to some real adaptive consequences of island isolation and endemism, or does the generally concurrent presence of introduced ungulates and other forms of recurrent
A healthy environment is paramount to the well being and security of Solomon Islanders and with approximately 85 percent of the population relying on a subsistence lifestyle, sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity is critical. Loss of biodiversity and environmental services can lead to hunger, poverty, disease and conflict and is a threat to the internal security of Solomon Islands. It also leaves coastal communities vulnerable to the impacts of climate change due to loss of protection for coastal habitats.
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Call Number: [EL]
This report was prepared for the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). The report reviews the state of the environment and development in the Republic of Marshall Islands (RMI) and the constraints and opportunities for sustainable development, in preparing this report, the RMI has used the term sustainable development to mean maintenance of
A prerequisite for attaining sustainable development is a comprehensive environmental management framework that is nationally adaptable and applicable. Essentially it must be
an integrated national input by the various stakeholders, community groups, private and public sectors within the urban and rural populations.
The current recorded achievements since the Rio Conference constiftites the major part of this document in addition to the future national deliberations towards achieving sustainable development.
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The Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) was established in 1979 when ten Pacific nations signed the FFA Convention. Since that time the membership of the FFA has increased to seventeen.
The FFA consists of the Forum Fisheries Committee (FFC) as the governing body comprising a representative from each
member Country and Territory; and the FFA Secretariat based in Honiara in the Solomon Islands. A Council of Ministers
meets on a biennial basis to provide oversight of regional fisheries matters.
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Pacific islands are extremely vulnerable to climate change. Pacific island culture, traditions, economy and environment will be affected by the effects of climate change, marking an urgent
call for partnerships and collaboration to increase the resilience of communities to adapt to these changes.
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Call Number: VF 6900 [EL]
Physical Description: 10 Pages
By 2020, the Pacific Island Countries and Territories are enjoying improved livelihoods, greater food security and increased environmental protection, resulting from enhanced collaboration and coordination within and between them in the conservation, management and sustainable utilisation of forest genetic resources, while maintaining their unique Pacific cultures
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Physical Description: 23 p.
The Solomon Islands is characterised by scattered islands that vary considerably in size, physical and hydrologic characteristics. The types of islands range from high volcanic to tiny low coral atolls. The higher islands have river systems whilst the low coral atolls have no natural surface water systems and are completely dependent upon rainwater catchments and groundwater.
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Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 86 p.
The structure of this diagnostic report follows the outline of the Pacific Regional Action Plan on sustainable Water Management (Pacific RAP) arranged over six thematic areas of water
resources management, island vulnerability, awareness, technology, institutional arrangements and financing, preceded by a general chapter on relevant background information on Tonga.
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Physical Description: 73 p.
Tuvalu is a Pacific Island country of 9 low-lying coral atolls, humid tropical climate and high rainfall, with limited land area, high mean population densities, and an Environmental Vulnerability Index of 3.6. Tuvalu has a GDP per capita of US$1,681. 30% of GDP is attributable to government wages, with 40% from public enterprises. The private sector contributes approximately 30% of GDP of which half is from external remittances.
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Physical Description: 57 p.
These goals are a big challenge to small Pacific Islands Countries with their small land masses, remote locations and small but rapidly growing populations making them vulnerable. Vanuatu shares these and other challenges to sustainable development. In Vanuatu real GDP per capita is still lower than in the 1980s, infrastructure is poorly developed, the population is rapidly growing at 2.6% per year, water resources are declining and in many places contaminated, and household
Mangrove is a type of forest growing along tidal
mudflats and along shallow water coastal areas extending
inland along rivers, streams and their tributaries where
the water is generally brackish. The mangrove ecosystem
is dominated by mangrove trees as the primary producer
interacting with associated aquatic fauna, social and
physical factors of the coastal environment.
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Call Number: [EL]
ISBN/ISSN: 971-91925-6-9
Physical Description: 118 p.
Coastal areas and oceans are complex and fragile environments with many different functions linked to public health, food security, and other economic and social benefits. These are also decisive elements in the alleviation of poverty. Healthy estuarine, near-shore and oceanic systems provide cultural heritage, food, building materials, traditional livelihoods, tourism opportunities, transportation routes, storm protection, organisms for biotechnology and many more benefits that are frequently overlooked or abused.
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Canton Atoll has a single passage between the ocean and lagoon and lias conspicuous environmental gradients from that passage to the back lagoon. These gradients include the physiography of the lagoon floor, water quality, and the diversity and abundance of corals, fishes, and mollusks. The gradients can apparently be attributed either directly or indirectly to circulation
and water motion within the lagoon. Those oceanographic characteristics can, in turn, be attributed to the geological history of the atoll, including some human modification of the pass configuration.
The Gilbert Islands are a part of the- Gilbert and Ellice
Islands Crown Colony of Great Britain, They lie in the
Pacific Ocean directly southeast of the Marshall Islands
and straddle the equator from 3 degrees North Latitude to
3 degrees South Latitude. All are low islands and most are
atolls. They are densely inhabited by Micronesian people
who are greatly dependent on the sea for food.
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Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 259 p.
Williamson and Sabath (1982) have demonstrated a significant relationship between modern population size and environment by examining atoll area and rainfall in the Marshall Islands. The present work seeks to extend that argument into prehistory by examining the relationship of ancient habitation sites and size of aroid pit agricultural systems to atoll land area and rainfall regime along the 1,500-3,500 mm precipitation gradient in the Marshall Islands.
The oceanic dispersal of plants and animals has been the focus of studies ever since organized natural history started in the Pacific, and the dispersal of terrestrial by sea rafting has been given due consideration. The finding of drift materials such as glass floats, tree trunks and seeds, is a common occurrence on the shores of Pacific Islands, but in most
cases the origin of such material is unknown or at least equivocal. Thus while the principle of sea rafted dispersal is known and reported at length, there is a need to document those
Ten caves in the makatea limestone of Mangaia, Cook Islands were explored and mapped, totalling over 3.7 km of passage. Of these, there was an apparent grouping by elevation that corresponds with previously described sea-level terraces in the makatea. Four caves have major level sections 10-20 m above sea-level, corresponding with a 14.5 m Pleistocene terrace. The high dimensions of these caves indicate downcutting during
This paper describes the channels known as hoa which are characteristic of atoll land rims and of some islands on barrier reefs, where they often dissect previously more continuous reef-top sediment accumulations and conglomerate platforms. They are