The 9th Pacific Islands Conference on Nature Conservation and Protected Areas held in Suva, Fiji, December 2013 produced and adopted a new Framework for Nature Conservation and Protected Areas in the Pacific Islands Region 2014-2020. This Framework was prepared following extensive consultation, including consultations with the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) members, Pacific Islands Roundtable for Nature Conservation and Protected Areas (PIRT) members, regional and international organisations, development partners and NGOs, responses gathered from a questionnaire survey, a side event held during the 24th Annual SPREP Meeting in Apia and input from participants to the 9th Pacific Islands Conference on Nature Conservation and Protected Areas. The Framework provides guidance for the region on key priorities for biodiversity conservation and ecosystem management up to 2020 with clear linkages to the Global Aichi Biodiversity Targets and National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs). It is a broad in scope to fit in with local, national, regional and international priorities and to allow for the successful implementation of the concrete actions at country level, through the provision of adequate and sufficient resources that will be made available to address these. The Framework reinforces the role governments, local communities and traditional knowledge, development partners and all key stakeholders play in improving the status of conservation and ecosystem management which are also critical for livelihood and heritage. In addition to this, it also underscores the key role biodiversity and ecosystem services provide in building resilience to the impacts of climate change and other pressing environmental challenges.
