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Pacific Resilience Partnership Charter
Environmental Monitoring and Governance, Climate Change Resilience, Island and Ocean Ecosystems, Waste Management and Pollution Control
Available Online
The Pacific Resilience Partnership was established by Pacific Island Forum Leaders in September 2017 to support the implementation of the Framework for Resilient Development in the Pacific: An Integrated Approach to Address Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management 2017–2030 (FRDP).
Will Alien Plant Invaders Be advantaged Under Future Climates?
Climate Change Resilience, Island and Ocean Ecosystems, BRB
Available Online

Gallagher, Rachel V.

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Leishman, Michelle R.

The last two decades have seen an upsurge in research into the potential synergies between invasive species and climate change, with evidence emerging of increased invader success under climate change. All stages along the naturalization-invasion continuum are likely to be affected, from the introduction and establishment of alien species to their spread and transition to serious invaders. A key question is whether alien plants will have a relative advantage under climate change conditions. So far, evidence for differential responses of alien invasive and native species to climate change drivers (elevated CO2) and outcomes (increasing temperature, changing rainfall patterns, changes in disturbance regimes) is mixed. Although alien invasive plants appear to be more responsive to elevated CO2 than many native species, plant response to elevated CO2 and other climate change components is dependent on environmental conditions and resource availability. Similarly, correlative modelling of species-climate relationships has not revealed clear evidence that invasive plants are likely to be able to increase the extent of suitable habitat under future climates any more than their native counterparts. We suggest that the most important driver of a shift to alien-dominated vegetation under climate change will be the superior capacity of alien invasive plants to take advantage of colonisation opportunities arising from climate change, such as extreme climatic events, changes in disturbance regimes, and widespread reduction in vegetation resilience as range margin populations decline. There are substantial challenges ahead for managing invasive plants under future climates. Weed risk assessment and management approaches must incorporate consideration of future climatic conditions. Most importantly, we will need a shift in management approaches away from a focus on the control of undesirable alien plant species to building resilience of resident vegetation assemblages, in association with targeted monitoring and early eradication of alien plant species.
Implications of climate change and sea level rise for small island nations of the South Pacific : a regional synthesis
Climate Change Resilience, Island and Ocean Ecosystems, BRB
Available Online

Hay, John E.

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Kaluwin, Chalapan

Pacific at Risk : the reality of climate change and survival
Climate Change Resilience, Island and Ocean Ecosystems, BRB

Michael Von Reiche

2003
A cd containing video of climate change effects in the Pacific
Hurricane disturbance accelerates invasion by alien tree Pittosporum undulatum in Jamaican montane rain forests
Island and Ocean Ecosystems, BRB
Available Online

Bellingham, Peter J.

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Excurra, E.

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Healey, John R.

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Tanner, Edmund V. J.

2005
Questions: Do past disturbance, soil nutrients, or species diversity predict the invasion success of the alien tree Pittosporum undulatum in an island montane rain forest? What are the consequences of its invasion for forest composition and species diversity? Location: Blue Mountains, Jamaica. Methods: Censuses of trees ? 3 cm DBH in permanent plots in four sites within ca. 7 ha; 1974–2004 (intensive sites) and in 16 plots within 250 ha; 1990–2004 (extensive plots). Results: Pittosporum was unrecorded in the intensive sites before a severe hurricane in 1988: by 2004 all four sites were invaded. Pittosporum had invaded 25% of the extensive plots in 1990 and 69% in 2004, where its basal area increased from 0.5 ± 0.4 (SEM) m2.ha?1 in 1990 to 2.8 ± 1.3 m2.ha?1 in 2004. It had zero stem mortality and diameter growth rate exceeded that of native species fourfold. Pittosporum's basal area in the extensive plots in 2004 was positively related to the stand basal area damaged in the 1988 hurricane and negatively related to soil N concentrations. Pittosporum invasion was unrelated to stand-level tree species diversity in the extensive plots but as its basal area increased over time the basal area of native species and stand-level diversity declined. Conclusions: There are no obvious functional attributes of Pittosporum unrepresented in the native tree flora although it has high photosynthetic efficiency compared with native trees. More widespread invasion of these forests by Pittosporum seems inevitable since hurricanes, which accelerated the invasion, affect these forests frequently.
Hurricane Activity and Large-scale Pattern of Spread of an Invasive Plant Species
Island and Ocean Ecosystems, BRB
Available Online

Bhattarai, Ganesh P.

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Cronin, James T.

2005
Disturbances are a primary facilitator of the growth and spread of invasive species. However, the effects of large-scale disturbances, such as hurricanes and tropical storms, on the broad geographic patterns of invasive species growth and spread have not been investigated. We used historical aerial imagery to determine the growth rate of invasive Phragmites australis patches in wetlands along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the United States. These were relatively undisturbed wetlands where P. australis had room for unrestricted growth. Over the past several decades, invasive P. australis stands expanded in size by 6–35% per year. Based on tropical storm and hurricane activity over that same time period, we found that the frequency of hurricane-force winds explained 81% of the variation in P. australis growth over this broad geographic range. The expansion of P. australis stands was strongly and positively correlated with hurricane frequency. In light of the many climatic models that predict an increase in the frequency and intensity of hurricanes over the next century, these results suggest a strong link between climate change and species invasion and a challenging future ahead for the management of invasive species.
National capacity self assessment : Solomon islands : thematic assessment- United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity
Climate Change Resilience, Island and Ocean Ecosystems, BRB
Available Online

Thomas, Jackie

2006
The biodiversity of the Pacific region is recognised as being globally significant. The Solomon Islands was recently included into the famous "Coral Triangle", the area of ocean considered to have the highest marine biodiversity in the world. This includes the waters of the Philippines, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. The Solomon Islands Rainforest Ecoregion is recognised as "one of the world's great Centres of Plant Diversity" (Wein: Chatterton, 2005). However, biodiversity in Solomon Islands is under threat from invasive species, loss of major land and marine habitats, over exploitation of natural resources and destructive harvesting techniques, climate change from sea level rise and more frequent destructive climatic events. The root causes, simply put, stem from human activity - increasing population, increasing consumption, changing economic circumstances and the need for cash, the drive for a more technological world, even globalisation.
Land use history, hurricane disturbance, and the fate of introduced species in a subtropical wet forest in Puerto Rico
Island and Ocean Ecosystems, BRB
Available Online

Lugo, Ariel E.

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Thomlinson, John

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Thompson, Jill

2007
Tropical forests are suffering from increasing intensities and frequency of disturbances. As a result, non-native species accidentally introduced or intentionally planted for farming, plantations, and ornamental purposes may spread and potentially invade undisturbed native forest. It is not known if these introduced species will become invasive, as a result of recurrent natural disturbances such as hurricanes. Using data from three censuses (spanning 15 years) of a 16-ha subtropical wet forest plot, we investigated the impact of two hurricanes on populations of plant species that were planted in farms and plantations that were then abandoned and from the natural spread of species introduced into Puerto Rico in the past. The populations of four species (Citrus paradis, Mangifera indica, Musa sp., and Simarouba glauca) changed little over time. Six species (Artocarpus altilis, Calophyllum calaba, Genipa americana, Hibiscus pernambucensis, Syzygium jambos, and Swietenia macrophylla) declined between the first two censuses after Hurricane Hugo, then increased again in Census 3 after Hurricane Georges. Spathodea campanulata gradually increased from census to census, while Coffea arabica declined. These introduced species represent only a small part of the forest basal area and few show signs of increasing over time. The number of stems per plant, new recruits, and the growth rates of these introduced species were within the ranges of those for native plant species. The mortality rates over both census intervals were significantly lower for introduced species (
Climate change and biodiversity in the European Union overseas entities
Climate Change Resilience, Island and Ocean Ecosystems, BRB
Available Online

Petit, Jerome

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Prudent, Guillaume

2008
Climate change is a major threat to global biodiversity. From the tropics to the Poles, the world’s ecosystems are all under pressure. A study published in the scientific journal Nature posited that 15 to 37% of terrestrial animal and plant species could be at risk of extinction because of human-induced impacts on climate (Thomas et al., 2004). Scattered across the four corners of the Earth, European Union overseas entities, are home to a biological diversity that is as rich as it is vulnerable. Located in several global biodiversity hotspots, these territories are home to a far greater number of endemic animal and plant species than continental Europe. However, this natural wealth is under pressure from numerous quarters: habitat destruction, invasive alien species, pollution, over-exploitation of species; no territory has been spared. Today, climate change represents an additional threat to these ecosystems, and one which could possibly end up being as damaging as all the others combined.
Climate change and food security in Pacific island countries
Climate Change Resilience, Island and Ocean Ecosystems
Available Online

FAO/SPREP/USP

2008
The Fourth Assessment Report of the IPCC (IPCC AR4) Working Group II (2007) identifies small island states as being among the most vulnerable countries of the world to the adverse impacts of climate change. Hay, el al.y (2003) in discussing the Pacific's observed climate noted that compared to earlier historical records during the twentieth century, the southern Pacific had experienced a significantly drier and warmer climate (by 15 percent and 0.8°C, respectively). The Central Equatorial Pacific is facing more intensive rain (about 30 percent) and a similarly hotter climate (0.6°C), and sea surface temperatures in both areas have increased by about 0.4°C. These conditions are linked to an increased frequency of El Nino episodes since the 1970s (without alternating La Nina events). Other studies show that climate projections for the South Pacific indicate warming of 0.8 to 1.8°C and precipitation changes that range from -8 to +7 percent by mid-century (Ruosteenoja, el ai, 2003). By the end of the century, projected warming is 1.0 to 3.1°C and precipitation changes range from -14 to +14 percent. Projections of globally averaged sea-level rise range from 0.18 m to 0.58 m in 2090-2099 relative to 1980-1999; while tropical cyclones are likely to become more intense, have higher peak wind speeds, and bring heavier rainfall (IPCC, 2007). Thus, it is clear that there are winners and losers when it comes to climate and food security with mostly the countries in the mid to higher latitudes benefiting from global warming and the small island countries of the Pacific in the warmer latitudes standing to lose the most. The IPCC has concluded that the mounting evidence shows that climate change is unequivocally happening and may worsen in future; there is a need to act urgently to minimize these impacts.

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