A Pacific information brief from the Pacific Invasives Partnership (a working group of the Roundtable for Nature Conservation in the Pacific Islands)
The biodiversity of the Pacific region is recognised as being globally significant. The Solomon Islands was recently included into the famous "Coral Triangle", the area of ocean considered to have the highest marine biodiversity in the world. This includes the waters of the Philippines, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. The Solomon Islands Rainforest Ecoregion is recognised as "one of the world's great Centres of Plant Diversity"
Since the early 1990s the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) has been promoting the use of environmental planning and assessment processes amongst its member countries and territories. SPREP's approach to environmental planning and assessment has been part of a global programme for improving environmental management and supporting sustainable development.
The Pacific region has benefited from a number of regional and national programmes to both assess the impacts of climate change on biodiversity and develop programmes to adapt to climate change. Such programmes are critical considering that the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 1/ states that the Pacific region has already experienced temperature increases of as much as 1°C since 1910.
Climate change is a major threat to global biodiversity. From the tropics to the Poles, the worlds ecosystems are all under pressure. A study published in the scientific journal Nature posited that 15 to 37% of terrestrial animal and plant species could be at risk of extinction because of human-induced impacts on climate (Thomas et al., 2004). Scattered across the four corners of the Earth, European Union overseas entities, are home to a biological diversity that is as rich as it is vulnerable.
Situated between Fiji to the west and Samoa to the northeast, the Kingdom of Tonga (referred
to as Tonga) is comprised of 171 scattered islands of which less than 50 are inhabited. The islands are
mainly composed of limestone formed from uplifted coral. Current critical environmental concerns have
arisen due to deforestation; damage to coral reefs and the introduction and spread of invasive alien
species. Anthropogenic pressure has resulted in extensive modification of all ecosystems on the
On 20 November 2006 the Biological Diversity Advisory Committee (BDAC), whose role it was to advise the then Australian Government Minister for the Environment and Heritage, held a one day workshop in Canberra on climate change and invasive species impacts on biodiversity. Eight talks were given, followed by a session of free discussion. Most attendees were experts from government departments, universities, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and cooperative research centres (CRCs).
This report examines the role of the ecosystem services in reducing the vulnerability of the people of the Pacific Islands to climate change. Specifically, it describes the decision-making frameworks and the current state of knowledge of specific ecosystem-service/development relationships that are relevant to EbA.
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.
Who are we? UN Environments specialist biodiversity assessment centre, based in Cambridge, UK
Available online|Powerpoint presentation
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Physical Description: 16 p
Our SoE Report spans seven themes and 18 sub-topics. For example, the Atmosphere and Climate theme has the sub-topics of Climate Adaptation, Ozone Depleting Substances and Greenhouse Gases and Physical Climate.
Available online
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Physical Description: 6 p
Climate change is expected to cause extinctions when native plants and animals are prevented from migrating out of their hotter or drier habitats to more suitable climates. But for many species a more
The First United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 (also known as the Earth Summit) acknowledged that SIDS
are a special case for sustainable development (given their unique and particular
vulnerabilities).This gave rise to the First International Conference on SIDS in 1994
and the Barbados Program of Action (BPOA) which is the main policy framework
addressing the economic, social and environmental vulnerabilities facing SIDS. The
Resilience underpins the sustainability of both ecological and social systems. Extensive loss of reef corals following recent mass bleaching events have challenged the notion that support of system resilience is a viable reef management strategy.
Available online
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Physical Description: 11 p
Website of Pacific R2R - Ridge to Reef Program stating goals, Programme components, partnerships, and national demonstration project sites
Website
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The isolated, small, low-lying resource-poor atolls of Tuvalu are clearly on the frontline against climate change, the escalating impacts natural disasters and declining food, health and energy security.
Available online
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Physical Description: 101 p
The Oceania region is very prone to natural disasters having experienced two Category 5 cyclones in as many years; Tropical Cyclone (TC)Pam struck Vanuatu on 13 March 2015 and TC Winston struck Fiji on 20 February 2016.
Available online
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Physical Description: 92 p
Life on Earth is disappearing fast and will continue to do so unless urgent action is taken. Well designed and effectively managed systems of protected areas are a vital tool for reducing biodiversity loss while delivering environmental goods and services that underpin sustainable development. There are currently over 130,000 protected areas worldwide, covering around 13.9 % of the Earths land surface and 5.9 % of the territorial marine surface. These areas represent a tremendous resource for conserving biodiversity and for protecting vital ecosystem services.
A priority for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) is
effective planning and financing of actions to address
the impacts of climate change. This paper examines the
vital role that regional institutions play in sharing SIDS
relevant approaches and knowledge, and in delivering
specialist skills and knowledge to support national
efforts. It goes on to highlight the work of the Climate Resilient
Islands Partnership, which links the Caribbean,
Indian Ocean and Pacific Regions, and is working to
The status of the peka on Niue, population survey of the flying fox, pteropus tonganus
Population estimation|Hunter information
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Physical Description: Available online