To help enhance climate resilience and biodiversity conservation efforts, the Government of Tonga, had requested technical assistance for improved management of invasive weeds within sites, including the control of priority weed species and rats. The request follows a pause in the work which began in 2014 due to COVID-19.
Representatives from the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and the Pacific Regional Invasive Species Management Support Service (PRISMSS) programme responded to this request and engaged with staff from the Tonga Department of Environment and students from Tupou College to further improve invasive weeds management efforts on the Toloa Rainforest Reserve.
The visiting team interacted, over a one-week period in November, with the site visits being facilitated by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) 6 Regional Invasives Project (RIP), funded by GEF, implemented by the United Nations Environment Programme, and executed by SPREP.
