Protected Areas Working Group (PAWG), Pacific Islands Roundtable for Nature Conservation

FAO completed its first assessment of the world’s forest resources in 1948.

Protected Areas (PAs) are the cornerstone of biodiversity conservation. Here, we collated distributional data for >14,000 (~70% of) species of amphibians and reptiles (herpetofauna) to perform a global assessment of the conservation effectiveness of PAs using species distribution models.

Protected areas (PAs) are a cornerstone of global conservation and central to international plans to minimize global extinctions.

The expedition was conducted by KSLOF, a US-based nonprofit environmental organization dedicated to providing science-based solutions to protect and restore ocean health.

Connectivity of protected areas (PAs) is needed to ensure the long-term persistence of biodiversity and ecosystem service delivery. The Convention on Biological Diversity agreed in 2010 to have 17% of land covered by wellconnected PA systems by 2020 (Aichi Target 11).

Understanding the state and value of the world’s wetlands The Global Wetland Outlook 2025 presents a synthesis of scientific information on the value of the world’s wetlands, the costs to society due to wetland loss and degradation and the scale of investment needed to restore wetlands.

The GlobalUsefulNativeTrees species selection App combines species data from the Botanic Gardens Conservation International GlobalTreeSearch database (GTS) ( website ; Beech et al. 2017 ) with data available from the World Checklist of Useful Plant Species (WCUPS) ( Diazgranados et al. 2020 ).

The definition of large-scale marine protected areas in the Pacific Ocean is fundamental to the achievement of global marine conservation targets.

This manual provides detailed guidance for assessing the governance quality of protected areas (PAs) and other conserved areas (CAs) and any related conservation and development activities.

Good governance is fundamental to effective protected area (PA) design, planning, and management operations, and the degree to which these are equitable in terms of the recognition and engagement of key actors, and the distribution of benefits and costs/burdens.

The entry into force of the “Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction” (BBNJ Agreement) marks a historic moment.

This technical summary document reports on the findings from the first phase of ESRAM activity that was conducted in Greater Port Vila between January and June 2016.

A guide to the linkages between the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, NBSAPs and the objectives of the Framework for Nature Conservation and Protected Areas in the Pacific Islands region 2014–2020

This guidebook is based on an understanding that social equity refers to fairness and justice with respect to the ways that people are recognised, treated, or impacted by conservation initiatives.

his guidebook is based on an understanding that social equity refers to fairness and justice with respect to the ways that people are recognised, treated, or impacted by conservation initiatives.

Sea turtles are charismatic animals and many people, both from Vanuatu and our visiting tourists, are excited to see them.

Surf ecosystems support biodiversity, cultural heritage, and local economies. With over 5,000 mapped surf breaks globally, many are in ecologically rich areas that store carbon and sustain marine life. Surfing generates an estimated US $50 billion annually, providing

Ecological connectivity is the unimpeded movement of species and the flow of natural processes that sustain life on Earth.

These Guidelines deal with invasive plants, animals, disease agents and other organisms, in marine, freshwater and terrestrial environments, and their impacts on the environment, biodiversity, ecosystem services, human health, economies and society.

Despite playing an essential role in safeguarding food security, livelihoods, and human well-being, biodiversity is in precipitous decline globally with devastating social, environmental, and economic impacts (Pörtner et al. 2023).

These guidelines, prepared by the Privately Protected Areas and Nature Stewardship Specialist Group of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas, offer a range of best practices for establishing PPAs and securing effective longterm conservation on private properties.

SPREP presents these guidelines for undertaking rapid biodiversity assessments in its Pacific island member countries and territories: Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia. These assessments are referred to as BIORAPs.

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 Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework envisages an increasing reliance on large-scale private finance to fund biodiversity targets.

This introductory brief's target audience is professionals from governments, civil society, private sector, and other stakeholders who know multilateral processes and treaties but are not “BBNJ (biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction) experts”. It is an easier

As 2020 approaches, countries are accelerating their commitments to protect 10% of the ocean by establishing and expanding marine protected areas (MPAs) and other area-based protections.

As 2020 approaches, countries are accelerating their commitments to protect 10% of the ocean by establishing and expanding marine protected areas (MPAs) and other area-based protections.

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.

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.

Effective networks of marine protected areas (MPAs) are explicitly recognized and called for in international biodiversity conservation strategies such as the Aichi Targets.

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.

Aichi Target 12 of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) contains the aim to ‘prevent extinctions of known threatened species’.

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).

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.

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.

IUCN MMPA TASK FORCE

Over a million species face extinction, highlighting the urgent need for conservation policies that maximize the protection of biodiversity to sustain its manifold contributions to people’s lives.

Advances in spatial biodiversity science and nationally available data have enabled the development of indicators that report on biodiversity outcomes, account for uneven global biodiversity between countries, and provide direct planning support.

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.

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

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

IBAT compares the current distribution of protected areas with the distribution of Key Biodiversity Areas, displaying the extent to which Aichi Target 11 (Convention on Biological Diversity) is being delivered strategically.  By 2020, at least 17 per cent of terrestrial and inland water, and

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 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.