Many Pacific coral reefs are being damaged by habitat disturbance, pollution, fishing and climate change. Climate change is believed to be the greatest human-induced threat to corals in the Pacific region. The region needs an action plan to make cohesive decisions that will benefit coral reefs. This will enable leaders of Pacific Island countries, coral-reef managers and community members to coordinate their efforts to protect these valuable ecosystems.
This report is the result of a collaboration between the Convention on Migratory Species and the UN Environment Programme as part of the CounterMEASURE II plastic pollution programme, generously funded by the Government of Japan, to assess the impact of plastic pollution in the Asia-Pacific region. It was prepared for the CMS Secretariat by the National Oceanography Centre, UK. This report is an important addition to knowledge on the threat of plastic pollution on CMS-listed species in terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems in the region.
Climate-driven redistribution of tuna threatens to disrupt the economies of Pacific Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and sustainable management of the world’s largest tuna fishery. Here we show that by 2050, under a high greenhouse gas emissions scenario (RCP 8.5), the total biomass of three tuna species in the waters of ten Pacific SIDS could decline by an average of 13% (range =−5% to −20%) due to a greater proportion of fish occurring in the high seas.
“Vemööre” is a term in the Kwenyï language spoken by people from the Isle of Pines in New Caledonia. It is used to highlight a collective commitment and responsibility to implement the principles of life, to preserve balance, to build alliances, and to respect the word between people and between the spirits of our environment.
This Pacific Islands Framework for Nature Conservation and Protected Areas2021-2025 is the principal regional strategy document for environmental conservation in the Pacific. Its purpose is to guide broad strategic guidance for nature conservation planning, prioritisation, and implementation in our region. It reflects the urgent need for transformative action in response to the multiple accelerating threats, both established and emerging, that are faced by nature and people in the Pacific.
The sustainability of conservation area projects presently supported by the South Pacific
Biodiversity Conservation Programme is a major concern as the programme winds down
to its termination in December 2001. The development and implementation of transition
strategies is currently preoccupying the Programme. This initiative seeks to ensure a
smooth transition for each project to the post-SPBCP era. The challenge is to determine
the most effective ways of using remaining SPBCP resources to ensure viable and
sustainable conservation area projects.
This Blue Pacific Ocean 2021 Report (BPOR) is indeed a first of its kind. While sectoral approaches to reporting on development and implementation in the various areas of ocean governance has been the norm, the BPOR is unique in the sense that it is the first attempt at the regional level to compile a comprehensive, multi-facetted, cross-cutting and holistic review and stock take of the state of affairs of ocean governance in the region, in the contemporary period.