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The 17th Annual Meetiig of the Pacific Islands Roundtable for Nature Conservation was convened in Madi on the 15th May, 2014. The meeting object ves were to: Discuss PIRT core business which included membership, secretariat support, working groups and administrative operations of PIRT Report Dack on outcomes of the 9th Pacific Islands Conference including follow up actions. Discuss and agree on process for endorsement including implementation of the Framework for nature conservation and orotected areas in the Pacific Islands region 2014-2020. Priorities and oppo-tunities for PIRT including key events in 2014

The 16th Pacific Islands Roundtable for Nature Conservation Annual Meeting was convened in Suva, Fiji from 13th to 14th August and the meeting as an extraordinary annual meeting to specifically prepare for the upcoming 9th Pacific Islands Conference on Nature Conservation and Protected Areasto discuss and make decisions on PIRT support to the conference. Provide PIRT members and partners an update of the conference update in relation to conference agenda, support by the Fijian Government on conference logistics, special events such as environmental awards and high level meeting. PIRT members and partners to make decisions on the following PIRT related agendas; (i) selection process of new chair, (ii) hosting of PIRT secretariat, (iii) annual membership sponsorship, (iv) PIRT annual meetings and (iv) role of PIRT in the next conference.

Marine pollution is widely recognised as one of the four major threats to the world’s oceans, along with climate change, habitat destruction and over-exploitation of living marine resources. Spills of oil and other chemicals into the marine environment, both from ships and land-based sources, is a significant source of pollution. In a region sometimes called ‘Oceania’, the health of the ocean is fundamental to the sustainability of all aspects of Pacific island life. The importance of coastal and marine environments to every aspect of the lives of Pacific islanders cannot be overstated, and the impacts of marine spills constitute a major concern for Pacific island peoples. Because of a lack of major land-barriers throughout the Pacific, combined with a complex pattern of trans-oceanic currents, the Pacific Ocean is perhaps the most highly connected and continuous ocean, in terms of water movement, on the planet. This compounds the seriousness of marine pollution for the region. Events in one area can have implications for other areas, as pollutants and contaminants are carried from their sources by ocean movements.

The Chair and host of the 8th Conference, Papua New Guinea, officially handed over the Chair to Fiji, the host of the 9th conference. The representative of Papua New Guinea, Mr Gunther Joku, noted that people benefit from conservation activities and stressed the importance of promoting conservation in support of government development initiatives such as roads, health and education. He also noted the importance of a whole of government approach in conservation and establishment of protected areas, including working with private sector and non government agencies. He raised the issue of resource mobilisation to support these initiatives including looking at the way donors are organised and how international funds are used to support conservation and protected areas establishment.

The 15th Pacific Islands Roundtable for Nature Conservation (PIRT) Annual Meeting was planned to be down sized to focus on a preparatory planning meeting for the 9th Pacific Islands Conference on Nature Conservation and Protected Areas planned for mid 2013. The meeting was held from April 23th to 24th in Honiara, Solomon Islands. The meeting was focused on 2 streams the first being the Lessons Learning Learned and the second Conference Committee Preparatory Meeting The Conference Committee Meeting will focus on planning the next conference objectives, themes, agenda, hosting arrangements and funding. The Heads of Organisation meeting will be convened to discuss the roundtable business, next conference and new regional opportunities for roundtable engagement.

"Failures to manage the environment and to sustain development threaten to overwhelm all countries. Environment and development are not separate challenges; they are inexorably linked. Development cannot subsist upon a deteriorating environmental resource base; the environment cannot be protected when growth leaves out of account the costs of environmental destruction. These problems cannot be treated separately by fragmented institutions and policies. They are linked in a complex system of cause and effect."

The Government of the Republic of Palau has developed this National Spill Contingency Plan (NATPLAN) as part of its commitment to protecting our valuable coastal and marine resources from an eminent or substantial threat to the marine environment or public. NATPLAN has been developed to reflect the essential steps necessary to initiate, conduct and terminate an emergency spill response on, or into the navigable waters of the Republic of Palau, on the adjoining shorelines, the waters of the contiguous zone or into waters of the exclusive economic zone.

The Pacific Islands Roundtable for Nature Conservation (PIRT) is a coalition of nature conservation and development organizations, governments, inter-government, donor agencies and community groups created to increase effective conservation action in the Secretariat of the Pacific Islands Region. It was formed in 1997 at the request of Pacific Island countries and territories. The forum enables those organizations working on nature conservation in the Pacific to improve their collaboration and coordination towards effective conservation action. It is the key coordination mechanism for the implementation of the Action Strategy for Nature Conservation in the Pacific Island Region 2008-2012. These are the final outcomes statement of their 13th Meeting which was held in Samoa 5-9 July, 2010.

The humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) of Oceania, and their story from whaling to whale watching, illustrates the changes in society’s values and a shared responsibility for their recovery. Importantly, lessons from Oceania’s humpback whales illustrate the commitment and investments needed to ensure trends of biodiversity loss are reversed in line with CBD goals; and the appropriate time scales for this to take place for such long-lived species. The sixth Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity adopted the Strategic Plan for the Convention in Decision VI/26. The Decision says “Parties commit themselves to a more effective and coherent implementation of the three objectives of the Convention, to achieve by 2010 a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss at the global, regional and national level as a contribution to poverty alleviation and to the benefit of all life on Earth."

Action Strategy Reporting: The reporting for the Action Strategy for Nature Conservation in the Pacific Islands Region 2008 – 2012 was discussed and it was decided that reporting will be done under the four objectives of the Action Strategy. The roundtable working groups will be reporting their activities under the relevant objectives annually and a consolidation report at the conference. Working groups are will be approached to decide on which objectives that best link to their work and the following were recommended