Mataiva Atoll, one of 84 in French Polynesia, is a small coral
island at the western edge of the Tuamotu Archipelago. This atoll occupies a particular place among the French Polynesian atolls since the discovery beneath the lagoon sediments of deposits of phosphates soon to be exploited. In order to estimate the environmental effects of such exploitation and plan a management scheme, numerous studies have been carried out since 1978 by many scientific organizations: Antenne du
This paper is a somewhat revised and updated version of a report, written in 1973 after our 9-day visit, at the request of Mr. Marlon Brando, proprietor of Tetiaroa Atoll, and published here with his accord. The original version was based on that visit to the atoll, as explained in the introduction. It was supplemented by a few observations called from herbarium specimens and field notes of Dr. Gerrit Wilder, who visited the island briefly on March 12, 1925 and August 30, 1929, and of E. H. Quayle, of the Whitney Expedition, who stopped there on November 19-21, 1921.
Although the atoll was discovered in 1796 and claimed by the United States in 1858, it was uninhabited except for brief visits by guano miners, adventurers, government scientists and military personnel until 1936, when the U.S. Navy began developing first a seaplane base and later an airstrip and refueling facilities which served as an important link from
the Hawaiian Islands to the western Pacific during World War II.
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Physical Description: 502 p.
It has been over twenty years since UNCLOS came into existence and twelve years since it came into force, in addition to fourteen years since the historic "Earth Summit" was convened in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, yet the Pacific Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are finding it extremely difficult to deal with many cross-cutting and multiple issues relating to ocean management. The challenge for the Pacific SIDS is clear, successive international, regional and national initiatives
This report lias been prepared on behalf of the Environment Service, Cook Islands as part of an ongoing monitoring programme of reef health of the fringing reef of Rarotonga. The
initial work was earned out in 2000 and this is the first subsequent sampling and report since that baseline study.
Available online|Report for the Environment Service, Tu'anga Taporoporo, Cook Islands
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Millions of visitors to public aquariums and thousands of snorkelers and divers across the globe are amazed by the diversity of life on coral reefs. Looking to replicate
this marine wonderland, an increasing number of them have
created a "living aquarium" at home, unaware of the impact this
is having on species and the lives of people in far-flung regions.
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Physical Description: 1 Page
This report presents results from the Supplementary Livelihoods Options for Pacific Island Communities (SLOPIC) study, carried out by the Foundation of the Peoples of the South Pacific
International (FSPI) using New Zealand Aid (NZAid) core
funds.
The main aim of this study was to review supplementary livelihood (SL) projects that have taken place across the South Pacific over the past 5 to 10 years, with a view to extracting 'lessons learned' and identifying the determinants of success.
Draft available online|Final copy is hard copy kept at 333.7 GAR|3 copies
MANY VILLAGERS IN THE ISLAND nation of Fiji earn cash by
planting sugar cane. But residents of Tagaqe are growing some-
thing different: live rock. Not the loud music variety, but a critical component in saltwater aquaria. When villagers suspend porous rocks in the rich waters of the Fijian reef, the rocks arc colonized by living invertebrates and coralline algae. After just eight months, the rocks can be harvested and sold as cultured live rock to aquarium markets around the globe.
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The International Coral Reef Action Network (ICRAN), established in the year 2000, is a collaborative effort working to halt and reverse the decline in health of the world's coral reefs. ICRAN was established by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), WorldFish Center (formerly ICLARM), World Resources Institute (WRI), UNEP-World Conservation Monitoring Center (UNEP-WCMC), Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN), International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) Secretariat, Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL) and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).
A great deal of deep-sea biodiversity is concentrated around features known as seamounts. Seamounts are like underwater islands - mountains that rise 1,000 meters or higher from the seabed but do not break the ocean surface. Although they have not been comprehensively mapped, it is estimated that there may be more than 100,000 seamounts worldwide. Almost half of these are believed to lie in the Pacific Ocean. To date, less than one percent of known seamounts have been comprehensively studied. The largest mountain range on planet Earth is beneath the ocean the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
Almost half a billion people live within 100 km (60 miles) of coral reefs where they benefit from fisheries, wave and storm surge protection, and tourist income. With the worldwide coastal
population expected to double by 2050, coral reefs will be facing increased pressure from unmanaged development along coasts. Unplanned coastal developed is not only a serious threat
Scientists have identified an area called the Coral Triangle within the Indo-Pacific - its boundaries defined by marine zones containing 500 or more species of reef-building coral. This region covers all or part of six countries: Indonesia (Central and Eastern), Malaysia (Sabah), Papua New Guinea, Philippines,
Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste. Certain neighboring countries including Australia, Fiji, New Caledonia and Vanuatu - contain rich coral biodiversity, but with somewhat lower numbers.
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The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is one of the global conventions on environmental conservation that came out of the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. By signing and ratifying the CBD, countries have agreed to support its goals and aims. The three main objectives of the CBD are the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components, and the fair
In most tropical countries, coral reef ecosystems provide coastal populations with a number of goods and services. However, a variety of anthropogenic practices threatens reef health and therefore jeopardizes the benefits flowing from these goods and services. These threats range from local pollution, sedimentation, destructive fishing practices and coral mining, to global issues such as coral bleaching.
A team from ESCAP visited the Cook Islands from 5 through 12 September, 2001, to respond to a request from the Government of the Cook Islands (GoCI) for ESCAP to
advise it on sustainable energy development, in particular to review existing national energy policies including legal tools, energy sector institutions and pricing issues.
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Physical Description: 12 Pages
Coral reef fisheries are a vital source of protein for coastal communities throughout the tropics. Coral reefs contain over 4,000 species of fish as well as other edible invertebrates and contribute about one-quarter of the total marine catch in developing countries. Exploitive
fishing, which includes overfishing and destructive fishing, occurs on most of the worlds reefs. It yields short-term economic benefits for fishers, but endangers the long-term sustainability of fishing and other reef-dependent industries
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In The Early 1990s, Residents Of UCUNIVANUA VILLAGE, On The Eastern Coast Of Fijis largest island, realized that the marine resources they depended on were becoming scarce. Village elders remembered when a
The Main Species Of holothurian exploited in the Sputh Pacific are Holothuria scabra, H. Fuscogilva And H. nobilis, which have high commercial value , Actinopyga echinites, A. Miliaries And Thelenota ananas Of medium commercial value, And Holothuria atra, H. fuscopunctata and H. mauritiana, whose commercial value is low.
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ISBN/ISSN: 92-5-102508-8
Physical Description: ix, 143 p.
The realization that local aspirations, livelihoods, conservation and inshore fisheries management should be integrated has seen an increasing emphasis on collaborative and participatory approaches worldwide. In many respects the Pacific has taken the lead with hundreds of communities in Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Tuvalu and Micronesia now proactively managing their coastal resources. Approaches range from the customary or traditional to complex multi-stakeholder co management.
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Sustainable development has been defined as balancing the fulfilment of human needs with the protection of the natural environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but indefinitely in the future. The term was first used in the World Conservation Strategy, produced by IUCN, WWF and UNEP in 1980, but the 1987 report of the Brundtland Commission popularized the term with the often-quoted definition of sustainable development: "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.