While acknowledging their diversity, the IPCC Third
Assessment Report (TAR) also noted that small island states
share many similarities (e.g., physical size, proneness to natural disasters and climate extremes, extreme openness of their economies, low adaptive capacity) that enhance their vulnerability and reduce their resilience to climate variability and change.
Available online|(* NB these materials are also available on the workshop CDROM deposited with the IRC NBSAP workshop Nadi, Feb 2009)
Call Number: [EL]
There is now a consensus that there is a discernible human influence on global climate. The form these global changes will take in the Pacific is far less certain, but the most significant and more immediate consequences are likely to be related to changes in rainfall regimes and soil moisture budgets, prevailing winds (both speed and direction) and in regional and local sea levels and patterns of wave action.
Available online
Call Number: 341.7623[EL]
ISBN/ISSN: 982-04-0194-1
Physical Description: 84 p.
The present work is included in the research axes Geomorphology and natural hazards on the
coast and Vulnerability and quality of coastal areas of the team AGILE (Geographical
Approach of Islands, Littoral and Environment) of the research laboratory LIENSs (LIttoral,
ENvironment, SocietieS), University of la Rochelle-CNRS, UMR 6250 (France).
Available online
Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 7 Pages
Vanuatu is among countries in the Pacific region that are most vulnerable to the risks of climate change, climate variability and sea level rise. With the livelihood of its people and economy interwoven, shaped and driven by climate sensitive
sectors, the effects of climate and sea level change are already very real and pose a tangible threat to the future socio-economic wellbeing of the country.
Available online|1 copy
Call Number: [EL],551.6 COM
Physical Description: 44 p.
The guide is a tool to understanding Pacific communities' vulnerability to climate change, variability and sea level change; and to determining what action needs to be carried out in order to adapt to these changes. In the CV&A process, the focus of data collection is the community that constitutes elders, men, women, youths and children. Their experience in relation to climate variability, change over time, and extreme events become very important. The assessment focuses on current
Irrespective of which part of the world one lives in, the environment now figures highly on most national agendas, be they economic, political or social, and among the many environmental
issues, one dominates. Global climate change hangs over all of us like the sword of Damocles, alarming because of the enormous scale of the phenomenon, our inability to delineate its exact
configuration, and our apparent incapacity to check its course.
Cook Islands holds 551.6
Call Number: 551.699612 NUN [EL],551.6
ISBN/ISSN: 9820400295
The climate of Tonga is tropical. It lies within the southeast trade wind zone of the South Pacific. Climatic parameters include rainfall, temperture. wind and sunshine hours. Tonga's annual rainfall can be defined by two seasons, the wet and dry seasons. Wet season is also known as the cyclone season and it is noticeable from November to April. Dry season runs from May to October. The wettest months are particularly January. February and March that may exceed 250mm of rainfall per month. During dry season, the amount of rainfall received per month is less than 250mm.
This Review of Environmental Law in the Kingdom of Tonga has been implemented as an important component of the Regional Environment Technical Assistance (RETA) Project. The RETA project has been developed to address environmental issues in a
number of Pacific countries. It has been funded by the Asian Development Bank and carried out with technical assistance from IUCN - the World Conservation Union. The RETA project is an important regional initiative, which reflects the need for careful management of the Pacific environment.
2 copies
The Kingdom of Tonga has previously indicated to SPREP that specialised short term training in reef ecology and the development of coral reef survey and monitoring skills is a priority for their country (Thistlethwaite et al. 1993, SPREP 1995, SPREP 1996). In recognition of the ongoing need for regional capacity building in coral reef survey and monitoring techniques, and to accommodate the particular requests of the Kingdom of Tonga. SPREP sought and received funding from AusAID to run a sub-regional course in Vava'u. Kingdom of Tonga.
The Kingdom of Tonga requested assistance from the US Department of Agriculture. Forest Service,Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry, to conduct a survey of invasive plant species of
environmental concern, similar to surveys previously conducted in Micronesia. American Samoa and Niue. The survey was carried out from 5-20 July 2001. The islands of Tongatapu. Eua,
Maninita, the southernmost island of the Vava'u group is an important seabird nesting site and a proposed national protected area as originally identified by the Government of Tonga's Ministry of Lands, Survey and Natural Resources. The Tonga NZODA Nature Tourism Programme has responded to this and the increasing interest in the island from Vava'u's tourism sector by including a Maninita initiative as a component of its overall programme.
Available online
Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 29 p.
This report presents the results of a strategic environmental assessment of the development projects that have been proposed for the town of Neiafu, on the island of 'Uta Vava'u, Tonga, as part of the Vava'u Development Programme. The various project proposals have been described in the Neiafu Master Plan, accordingly, no details of the individual proposals are given in this assessment.
Available online|See also VF 1689|Prepared for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kingdom of Tonga|3 copies
Call Number: 333.7109612 ONO [EL],VF 1689,341.762 SPR vf,STR
Many societies have rules rooted in legal tradition that require the sustainable and efficient use of natural resources. The obligation of stewardship is a feature of
westernised legal systems. In nations following the common law tradition, the doctrine of waste requires owners of land to use it sustainably. Elsewhere, customary law systems
demand strict rules governing the allocation and use of resources. There is, therefore, an existing legal culture into which our generation's obligations towards the world's
resources can be set.