Conserving our sea of islands - State of protected and conserved areas in Oceania (IUCN, 2022).

A small, natural, freshwater lake on Babeldaob island with some swamp vegetation and is the largest permanent freshwater body in Palau and the largest natural freshwater lake in the bioregional context. The nature reserve supports indigenous fishes representative of Palauan fish fauna and has a small breeding population of the CITES-Appendix I listed estuarine crocodile (Crocodylus porosus). The site includes bird species of conservation value such as the endemic Palau Fruit Dove (Ptilinopus pelewensis), Palau Fantail (Rhipidura lepida), Palau Flycatcher (Myiagra erythrops), and Palau Ground Dove (Gallicolumba canifrons). 

In 2019 The Sirebe Rainforest Conservation Area was declared a protected area under the 2010 protected area ACT. It protects and conserves one of the last untouched rainforest ecosystems in Choiseul Province and Solomon Islands. The protection of this unique area is the effort of the Sirebe Tribe, fulfilling their long-term commitment to safeguard their forest against large scale logging operations. The area features lowland and hill rainforest giving presence to a high variety of wildlife and plant species. The area also contributes to the conservation of the Kolombangara river ecosystem, one of the largest and most diverse systems in the Pacific Region.

Nooto-North Tarawa contains relatively pristine and healthy representative coastal wetland ecosystems, including a wide range of coastal habitats such as lagoons, coral reefs, intertidal mudflats, and mangroves that support a high biodiversity and are resource rich, with a wide variety of finfish, turtles, crustaceans, seaweed and other plants. It is one of the few areas where mangroves are found in the whole of Kiribati, with stands of mangrove dominated by a single species, Rhizophora stylosa.

Namdrik Atoll covers a total area of 1,119 hectares and consists of two wooded islands with an extensive reef flat lying between them. The atoll is unique because of its large size and also because, unlike many other coral atolls in the region, there are no navigable passes into the central lagoon. The atoll is also unusual because it supports a rich mangrove forest that is home to some 150 species of fish, including the endangered Napoleon or Humphead Wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus). It also supports breeding populations of the critically endangered Hawksbill Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) and the endangered Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas).

The Pacific Islands Protected Area Portal (PIPAP) is currently supported through assistance from the Biodiversity and Protected Areas Management (BIOPAMA) programme, an initiative of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) financed by the European Union’s 11th European Development Fund.  BIOPAMA is jointly implemented by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (EC-JRC). In the Pacific region, BIOPAMA is implemented by IUCN’s Oceania Regional Office (IUCN ORO) in partnership with the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).

The national park is located in the central highlands of the main island of Upolu and consists of three small crater lakes, Lake Lanoto’o, Lanoata’ata and Lanoanea. The national park covers an area of 8,500 hectares, located in the uplands of the island of Upolu amongst tropical rainforest and offers stunning views and great bird watching.