Search the SPREP Catalogue

45297 result(s) found.

Sort by

Publication Year
Sort results by
Created
Sort results by
Updated
Sort results by

Tonga - Country Data Dossier for Protected Areas Summary Sheet (Aichi Target 11)

Available Online

Tonga - Country Data Dossier for Protected Areas Summary Sheet (Aichi Target 11)

Action Plan for Implementing the Convention on Biological Diversity's Programme of Work on Protected Areas : Tonga

Climate Change Resilience

Available Online

Ministry of Environment & Climate Change (Tonga)

Tongas vision for biological diversity and natural resources are to protect, conserve and enrich; and to be enjoyed by present and future generations. This can be achieved by fulfilling national targets for Target 11 in thematic areas of forest and marine ecosystems, species conservation, and agro-biodiversity, and strengthening local communities and civil society engagement, financial resources and mechanisms, economic valuation and building climate resilience through protected area integration and mainstreaming.

Opportunities and constraints for implementing integrated land-sea management on islands

Island and Ocean Ecosystems

Albert, Simon

Jupiter, Stacy

Klein, Carissa J.

Mangubhai, Sangeeta

Nelson, Joanna

Teneva, Lida

Tulloch, Vivitskaia J.

Watson, James E.M.

Wenger, Amelia

White, Alan T.

Despite a growing body of literature on integrated landsea management (ILSM), very little critical assessment has been conducted in order to evaluate ILSM in practice on island systems. Here we develop indicators for assessing 10 integrated island management principles and evaluate the performance of planning and implementation in four island ILSM projects from the tropical Pacific across different governance structures. We find that where customary governance is still strongly respected and enabled through national legislation, ILSM in practice can be very effective at restricting access and use according to fluctuations in resource availability. However, decision-making under customary governance systems may be vulnerable to mismanagement. Governmentled ILSM processes have the potential to design management actions that address the spatial scale of ecosystem processes and threats within the context of national policy and legislation, but may not fully capture broad stakeholder interests, and implementation may be poorly coordinated across highly dispersed island archipelagos. Private sector partnerships offer unique opportunities for resourcing island ILSM, although these are highly likely to be geared towards private sector interests that may change in the future and no longer align with community and/or national objectives. We identify consistent challenges that arise during island ILSM planning and implementation and offer recommendations for improvement.

Rarotonga Cloud Forest Ecosystems : Synthesis report, Key findings and Recommendations

Available Online

The study was done in the interior landscapes of Rarotonga looking at areas 400 metres or greater. This area is described as the cloud forest area.

Catchment Management and Restoration Plan for Rarotonga Cloud Forest Ecosystems, Cook Islands

Island and Ocean Ecosystems

Available Online

Martin, Tim

Wildlands Consultants

This document provides a plan to protect and enhance the cloud forests of Rarotonga so that their indigenous ecosystems, habitats for endemic species, and water supply functions are preserved in perpetuity.

Marine Litter Legislation: A Toolkit for Policymakers

Island and Ocean Ecosystems

Available Online

UNEP

Marine litter poses serious environmental, health, and economic threats to oceans and coastal ecosystems. It also presents a unique legal and regulatory challenge for many nation States (hereinafter States), as it can originate from diverse land-based and sea-based sources both within and outside of a State. While the full magnitude of the problem can be difficult to ascertain, some estimates suggesting that an average of 8 million tons of plastic waste entered the ocean in 2010, and this figure has been projected to increase.

Potential impacts on marine mammals from offshore development in the South Pacific

Island and Ocean Ecosystems

Available Online

Childerhouse, Simon

Paton, Dave

Powerpoint presentation by Blue Planet Marine on potential impacts on marine mammals from offshore development in the South Pacific.

Integrating Climate Change Risk in the Agriculture and Health Sectors in Samoa - Report from the Sector Engagement Workshop, Apia, 10-11 October, 2012

Climate Change Resilience

Available Online

National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research Ltd (NIWA)

Porteous, Alan

In collaboration with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) and the coordinators of the project Integrated Climate Change Risks Adaptation for Agriculture and Health Sectors in Samoa (ICCRAHS), NIWA (The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research) was contracted by UNDP to facilitate a workshop for officials from the agriculture, health, forestry and tourism ministries of Samoa, during10-11 October, 2012, in Apia.

Facing the Challenges - Case studies and indicators

Available Online

WWAP (United Nations World Water Assessment Programme)

This publication, which brings together a number of case studies and a wealth of data underpinning selected indicators, is UNESCOs contribution to the 2015 edition of the United Nations World Water Development Report (WWDR 2015). The material found herein complements the theme of the WWDR 2015, Water for a Sustainable World.

Extreme weather and climate events and their impacts on island countries in the Western Pacific: cyclones, floods and droughts

Climate Change Resilience, Island and Ocean Ecosystems

Available Online

Atalifo, Terry

Bipen, Prakash

Charles, Andrew

Cottrill, Andrew

Jones, David

Kuleshov, Yuriy

McGree, Simon

Nihmei, Salesa

Seuseu, Fata Lagomauitumua Sunny K.

Increases in the frequency of extreme weather and climate events and the severity of their impacts on the natural environment and society have been observed across the globe in recent decades. In addition to natural climate variability and greenhouse-induced climate change, extreme weather and climate events produce the most pronounced impacts. In this paper, the climate of three island countries in the Western Pacific: Fiji, Samoa and Tuvalu, has been analysed. Warming trends in annual average maximum and minimum temperatures since the 1950s have been identified, in line with the global warming trend. We present recent examples of extreme weather and climate events and their impacts on the island countries in the Western Pacific: the 2011 drought in Tuvalu, the 2012 floods in Fiji and a tropical cyclone, Evan, which devastated Samoa and Fiji in December 2012. We also relate occurrences of the extreme weather and climate events to phases of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon. The impacts of such natural disasters on the countries are severe and the costs of damage are astronomical. In some cases, climate extremes affect countries to such an extent that governments declare a national state of emergency, as occurred in Tuvalu in 2011 due to the severe droughts impact on water resources. The projected increase in the frequency of weather and climate extremes is one of the expected consequences of the observed increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentration and will likely have even stronger negative impacts on the natural environment and society in the future. This should be taken into consideration by authorities of Pacific Island Countries and aid donors when developing strategies to adapt to the increasing risk of climate extremes. Here we demonstrate that the modern science of seasonal climate prediction is well developed, with current dynamical climate models being able to provide skilful predictions of regional rainfall two-three months in advance. The dynamic climate model-based forecast products are now disseminated to the National Meteorological Services of 15 island countries in the Western Pacific through a range of web-based information tools. We conclude with confidence that seasonal climate prediction is an effective solution at the regional level to provide governments and local communities of island nations in the Western Pacific with valuable assistance for informed decision making for adaptation to climate variability and change.

www.sprep.org © 2021 - 2024. All rights reserved