Management Plan Development

Islands  support  unique  plants,  animals,  and  human societies found nowhere else on the Earth. Local and global stressors threaten the persistence of island ecosystems, with invasive species being among the most damaging, yet solvable, stressors.

The report High-risk forests, high-value returns: A co-benefits assessment for decision-makers examines the global significance of conserving “high-risk forests” or tropical forests with high deforestation risk, covering about 391 million hectares.

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) can increase the resilience of reef communities to disturbances, playing a role in sheltering biodiversity from climate-related impacts.

the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (also known as the ‘BBNJ Agreement’)1 was agreed.

On May 24, 2023, Typhoon Mawar, one of the strongest Northern Hemisphere tropical cyclones ever recorded in the month of May and the strongest globally in 2023, hit the U.S. Territory of Guam in the Western Pacific.

Mangrove forests, located along tropical and subtropical coastlines, are increasingly recognized for their role in buffering climate disasters, storing carbon, supporting wildlife and livelihoods.

This guidebook offers managers and other conservation practitioners a process and methods to evaluate the effectiveness of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) for the purposes of Adaptive Management.

Last week, firecrackers went off around the world in celebration of the Lunar New Year. According to the Chinese zodiac, 2026 welcomes the year of the Fire Horse – a symbol of vitality, energy and momentum.

Effective restoration projects must generate meaningful benefits for both nature and people.

Measurements analyzed by an international research team led by ETH Zurich show that the global ocean absorbed significantly less CO₂ than anticipated during the unprecedented marine heat wave in 2023.  The world's oceans act as an important sink for carbon dioxide (CO₂).

The dual mandate for many protected areas (PAs) to simultaneously promote recreation and conserve biodiversity may be hampered by negative effects of recreation on wildlife.

Forest and land cover across the Pacific are undergoing rapid transformation.

Global changes threaten marine species, making marine climate refugia essential for biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation. Our analysis maps sensitive and stability zones across the global ocean.

Transoceanic dispersal to far-away islands is an important mechanism for the generation of new species lineages and biotas and has captivated scientists since at least the time of Darwin.

Coastal communities in the south Pacific are vulnerable to cyclones which are projected to increase in intensity due to climate change.

Mangroves provide numerous ecosystem services and are increasingly recognized as a natural climate solution. As a result, multiple recent initiatives have set ambitious mangrove restoration targets.

Mangroves are trees and shrubs that grow in saline and brackish tidal waters across tropical and subtropical regions of the world.1Mangroves support rich biodiversity spanning both marine and terrestrial environments.

Disseminating research through academic publishing is essential for contributing to global knowledge, advancing critical fields and finding solutions to humanity’s challenges.

UNESCO’s new publication "Indigenous knowledge, ancestral places: navigating change in UNESCO designated sites" offers honest accounts of resilience from many different perspectives told by Indigenous Peoples whose territories intersect with UNESCO designated sites across t

The Indo-Pacific eel, Anguilla marmorata Quoy & Gaimard, has the widest geographic distribution of anguillid eels.

Hodgson, G., Hill, J., Kiene, W., Maun, L., Mihaly, J., Liebeler, J., Shuman, C. and Torres, R. 2006. Instruction Manual A Guide to Reef Check Monitoring.  Reef Check Foundation, Pacific Palisades, California, USA

IBAT has released a new Species report designed to enhance biodiversity reporting and conservation planning.

Located in the Central Division of Fiji, the Navua River and Beqa lagoon support high social, ecological and economic values.

The Integrated Management Effectiveness Tool (IMET) is an approach to support protected areas planning, monitoring and evaluation and to improve management patterns  and conservation outcomes.

Papua New Guinea contains more than 7% of the world's biodiversity in less than 1% of the land area. PNG has more than 18,894 described plant species, 719 birds, 271 mammals, 227 reptiles, 266 amphibians and 341 freshwater fish species.

International trade is a major driver of shark overexploitation. In 2013, five threatened shark species were listed on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species to regulate global trade and promote recovery.

This review was prepared by the Pacific Invasives Initiative (PII) on request from the Pacific Invasives Partnership (PIP).

This paper attempts to present a "quick snapshot" of the current status of biodiversity in the Pacific Islands and the prospects and challenges for the mainstreaming of its conservation and sustainable use by Pacific Island peoples during the 21st century.

Marking 60 years of The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN Red List), this report captures its beginnings and tracks key milestones and achievements.

This Technical Note provides advice to managers of protected and conserved areas1 (PCAs) for applying a ‘One Health’ approach for the benefit of environmental, animal, and human health.

Identifying and conserving areas of particular importance for biodiversity is a fundamental element of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).

Aim: To present a short, practical guide to integrate climate change mitigation (CCM) into Protected and Conserved Area (PCA) management and decision-making and as a companion to the WCPA technical report Enhancing climate change mitigation in protected areas.

Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) are the most important places in the world for species and their habitats. Faced with a global environmental crisis we need to focus our collective efforts on conserving the places that matter most.

Folem ol rul ia blong:
Mekem isi blong ol mama totel oli krol i go antap long sanbij blong putum
ek blong olgeta
Mekem i sef blong ol bebe totel blong krol i go daon long solwota
Protektem ol nes blong totel

This study aimed to determine an economic value1 of seven marine and coastal ecosystem services in Kiribati.

This assessment identifies the capacity-building needs and priorities of local and national public authorities and institutions, representatives from civil societies and communities, and NGOs from the 19 Kiwa-eligible PICTs to: 1.

To celebrate its fifth anniversary, the Kiwa Initiative is launching a bilingual (French/English) awareness campaign aimed at strengthening understanding of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) among Pacific communities and practitioners.

Global calls for greater ocean protection have sparked renewed interest in very large marine protected areas (VLMPAs, >100,000 km2) to achieve management targets; however, their conservation value is debated.

For Biodiversity Day 2024, the Cook Islands celebrated Ngai Taporoporo o Takitumu / Takitumu Conservation Area (TCA) as an Other Effective area-based Conservation Measure (OECM). This is the first OECM for the Cook Islands and for the Pacific.

We present an initial exploration of why and how participation in a case of community-based resource management (CBRM) in a Pacific context could be considered a deviation from gender norms.

When night falls in Panama's forests, the time of the opossums begins. The marsupials, which have spent the day sleeping in trees, climb down the trunks and search for fruit, frogs or eggs on the ground. The omnivores often carry a hazardous parasite—the Chagas disease pathogen.

This paper presents the design and development of a coastal fisheries monitoring system that harnesses artificial intelligence technologies. Application of the system across the Pacific region promises to revolutionize coastal fisheries management.

Mangroves, typical of tropical and subtropical latitudes, have become veritable natural traps for land- and sea-based waste.

There is a widespread perception that illegal fishing is common in marine protected areas (MPAs) due to strong incentives for poaching and the high cost of monitoring and enforcement.

Govan, H, Aalbersberg, W., Tawake, A. and Parks, J.E. 2008.  The Locally-Managed Marine Area Network (LMMA)

Even optimistic climate scenarios predict catastrophic consequences for coral reef ecosystems by 2100. Understanding how reef connectivity, biodiversity and resilience are shaped by climate variability would improve chances to establish sustainable management practices.

This publication has been developed as a contribution to Phase II of the Two-phase Strategy on Protected Areas of the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and prepared pursuant to various paragraphs of COP decision XIII/2 on protected areas, in particular paragraph 5(a-e),

There has been a profound shift in attitudes towards the designation and management of site-based  conservation over the past 25 years, from being a predominantly science-based, top-down and  government-led approach to one that focuses on governance and equity, and is far more variable,

Papua New Guinea (PNG) is a major exporter of tropical logs worldwide. This report investigates the role of Malaysian companies and individuals in large-scale forest clearance in PNG through the misuse of Forest Clearing Authorities (FCAs).