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Training in best practice chemical management was identified as a key need for Pacific Island countries in their planning for implementation of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. In addition, it was recommended that the training should be applicable to all types of chemicals, rather than just those covered under the Convention. The training component of the Pacific Persistent Organic Pollutants Release Reduction Project was developed in response to these needs. This involved the delivery of training courses within 14 Pacific Island countries with the overall aim of improving regional chemical management. The courses were developed and delivered by the Institute of Applied Science of the University of the South Pacific under a contract to the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme. Funding for the work was provided by the Global Environment Facility and implemented by the United Nations Environment Programme. The objectives, comments, and actions from the existing Sound Chemicals Management Policy (2011) remain relevant to Palau’s management of hazardous chemicals. Some are discussed again in the Action Plan from the Training Workshop but the full policy is included here for completeness. This appears in Appendix 4. Similarly, the 2007 Stockholm Convention National Implementation Plan for the management of pesticides, PCBs, and unintentional POPs contains some action points that remain relevant (Appendix 5). Additional ones for the new POPs will be relevant when the Stockholm Convention NIP is updated. As Palau continues with their refinement of the Draft Action Plan for Hazardous Chemicals developed during the Training, they will harmonize these two attachments.

The landmark agreement reached in Paris in December, 2015 committed countries to ambitious actions to cut greenhouse gas emissions and strengthen their resilience to the impacts associated with global climate change. The Climate Technology Centre and Network, the operative arm of the UNFCCC's Technology Mechanism, featured prominently in that text - and we have spent the months since COP21 working to realise the vision with which the Parties have entrusted us.

Fiji has been identified as one of the countries most vulnerable to declines in reef condition due to the high dependence on reef systems for key industries (tourism and fishing). Much of the waters of Fiji and adjacent international waters include highly prospective deposits of copper, gold, zinc, silver and chemical elements. Extracting these resources is only now becoming feasible due to technological advances in Deep Seabed Mining (DSM). A large area of Fiji’s waters is now subject to DSM exploration licenses. But very little is known of the risks DSM creates for key marine ecosystem services and the industries that reply on those services for both income and employment (e.g. tourism and fishing). This desktop study seeks to identify, scope and broadly estimate the potential costs to Fiji associated with DSM. Only once those costs are understood, can Fiji confidently make robust policy decision about the amount, location and management of DSM within its waters.

Low-lying reef islands in the Solomon Islands provide a valuable window into the future impacts of global sea-level rise. Sea-level rise has been predicted to cause widespread erosion and inundation of low-lying atolls in the central Pacific. However, the limited research on reef islands in the western Pacific indicates the majority of shoreline changes and inundation to date result from extreme events, seawalls and inappropriate development rather than sea-level rise alone. Here, we present the first analysis of coastal dynamics from a sea-level rise hotspot in the Solomon Islands. Using time series aerial and satellite imagery from 1947 to 2014 of 33 islands, along with historical insight from local knowledge, we have identified five vegetated reef islands that have vanished over this time period and a further six islands experiencing severe shoreline recession. Shoreline recession at two sites has destroyed villages that have existed since at least 1935, leading to community relocations. Rates of shoreline recession are substantially higher in areas exposed to high wave energy, indicating a synergistic interaction between sea-level rise and waves. Understanding these local factors that increase the susceptibility of islands to coastal erosion is critical to guide adaptation responses for these remote Pacific communities.

Powerpoint presentation on ESRAM in Port Vila, Vanuatu

Powerpoint presentation on Ecosystem and Socio-economic Resilience Analysis and Mapping (ESRAM) Griffith University

Presentation on Pacific Islands Region: Ecosystem Approach Critical for Climate Change Adaptation

Powerpoint presentation on ESRAM in the Solomon Islands

Powerpoint presentation on ESRAM in Fiji