Fifth National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity - NIUE

Abstract

Biodiversity is very important to the economy of Niue with about a fifth of its GDP coming from the agriculture, fishery, forestry and hunting sectors. It is also the basis for subsistence lifestyles and has cultural significance. 70% of the country retains a cover of forest and 23% of it is in conservation areas, primarily the Huvalu Conservation Area. Since the 4th National Report in 2009, there are two influential trends. The first is the slowly declining resident population (1607 in 2011), offset by an increasing number of tourists. The second is the ongoing recovery of the country’s environment from the devastation caused by Cyclone Heta ten years ago.