Management

Data on the occurrence and abundance of meso and microplastics for the South Pacific are limited and there is urgent need to fill this knowledge gap. The main aim of the study was to apply a rapid screening method, based on the fluorescence tagging of polymers using Nile red, to determine the concentration of meso and microplastics in biota, sediment and surface waters near the capital cities of Vanuatu and Solomon Islands. A spatial investigation was carried out for sediment, biota and water as well as a temporal assessment for sediment for two consecutive years (2017 and 2018).

Natural habitats have the ability to protect coastal communities against the impacts of waves and storms, yet it is unclear how different habitats complement each other to reduce those impacts. Here, we investigate the individual and combined coastal protection services supplied by live corals on reefs, seagrass meadows, and mangrove forests during both non-storm and storm conditions, and under present and future sea-level conditions. Using idealized profiles of fringing and barrier reefs, we quantify the services supplied by these habitats using various metrics of inundation and erosion.

While coral reefs become increasingly degraded, new techniques are increasingly needed to assist reefs in recovering and adapting to changing environmental conditions. The urgent motivation to sustain coral reefs has fueled a building momentum to restore and rebuild reefs, with increasing numbers of projects, research studies, and investments. Coral reef restoration is a burgeoning new field with much potential, and the authors of this Guide are excited to contribute to this global effort.

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are conservation tools that are increasingly implemented, with growing national commitments for MPA expansion. Perhaps the greatest challenge to expanded use of MPAs is the perceived trade-off between protection and food production. Since MPAs can benefit both conservation and fisheries in areas experiencing overfishing and since overfishing is common in many coastal nations, we ask how MPAs can be designed specifically to improve fisheries yields.

The Global Reef Expedition: The Kingdom of Palau Final Report provides a summary of the foundation’s findings along with valuable information on the state of coral reefs and reef fish in Palau.

In this report the World Ocean Initiative assesses the challenges facing key sectors in the ocean economy, including seafood, shipping, tourism and renewable energy. We look at the role of banks and investors in financing the transition towards clean, low carbon technologies, as well as opportunities in data and analytics. We examine solutions to marine plastic pollution from source to sea, and the ocean’s potential to remove carbon from the atmosphere and increase resilience to the impacts of climate change.

Well-managed and enforced no-take marine reserves generate important larval subsidies to neighboring habitats and thereby contribute to the long-term sustainability of fisheries. However, larval dispersal patterns are variable, which leads to temporal fluctuations in the contribution of a single reserve to the replenishment of local populations. Identifying management strategies that mitigate the uncertainty in larval supply will help ensure the stability of recruitment dynamics and minimize the volatility in fishery catches.

Human pressure mapping is important for understanding humanity’s role in shaping Earth’s patterns and processes. We provide the latest maps of the terrestrial human footprint and provide an assessment of change in human pressure across Earth. Between 2000 and 2013, 1.9 million km2 of land relatively free of human disturbance became highly modified. Our results show that humanity’s footprint is eroding Earth’s last intact ecosystems and that greater efforts are urgently needed to retain them.

This book has been prepared as a contribution to the IUCN World Parks Congress in Sydney in 2014. The global community is at the interface of ensuring the quality of protected area governance and management, together with the way that effectively managed and

This summary provides resorts, tourism operators, and policy makers with an introduction to marine conservation agreements (MCA) and outlines a process for planning and implementing an MCA in Fiji.

Full Summary (Pdf)