The Biological Rapid Assessment Programme (BIORAP) is a biological survey based on a concept developed by Conservation International and designed to use scientific information to catalyse conservation action. BIORAP methods are designed to rapidly assess the biodiversity of highly diverse areas and to train local scientists in biodiversity survey techniques. The BIORAP can be considered a spatial and temporal ‘snapshot’ of Vava’u’s full range of biodiversity. The survey did not visit all sites of conservation value in the archipelago and was conducted over a relatively short period of 16 days.
Nevertheless, the BIORAP is the most comprehensive biological survey conducted in Vava’u to date, and generated a huge volume of useful information on the biodiversity of the archipelago. Up-to-date information on terrestrial and marine biodiversity, and threats to it, is crucial for conservation planning and management. However, in the case of Vava’u, no systematic conservation assessment of both marine and terrestrial conservation values had been conducted before the BIORAP. While many biological surveys have been conducted in Vava’u in the past, there had never been a comprehensive and multi-disciplinary assessment of marine and terrestrial biodiversity in the island group.
