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The Aleipata Marine Protected (MPA) Management Plan is a partnership between the Government of Samoa and all the villages of the District of Aleipata. Both partners have responsibility for the continuous implementation of this Plan which highlights a collaborative approach to the sustainable use and protection of the Marine resources and environment in the District.

The Pacific is biologically unique, as its isolated islands provide ideal conditions for the evolution of new species. Thus, Pacific islands have high numbers of "endemic"species - species that are restricted to only one or a few islands and found nowhere else in the world.

The Climate Change Wildlife Action Plan Guidance Document provides voluntary guidance for state fish and wildlife agencies wanting to better incorporate the impacts of climate change on wildlife and their habitats into Wildlife Action Plans. The approaches and techniques described in this document also will be useful in modifying other wildlife plans (e.g. big game/upland game/migratory bird plans, joint venture implementation plans, national fish habitat action plan, etc.) to address climate change. The document provides an overview of the information currently available on climate change, tools that can be used to plan for and implement climate change adaptation, voluntary guidance and case studies. Climate change is a large and growing threat to all wildlife and natural systems and will also exacerbate many existing threats. Efforts to address climate change should not diminish the immediate need to deal with threats that may be independent of climate change such as habitat loss/fragmentation from development, introduction of invasive species, water pollution and wildlife diseases. Since climate change is a complex and often politically-charged issue, it’s understood that the decision to revise Wildlife Action Plans or other plans to address climate change, rests solely with each state fish and wildlife agency.

Work is based around country visits by the network coordinator to support PILN teams to identify and take strategic action to manage their priority invasive species. The network is functioning by sharing awareness of successful activities being earned out by the teams, providing the mechanism for other teams to do the same, and actively encouraging them to do so. Capacity building is linked to on-going invasive species projects and achieved through workshops and exchanges.

Many countries are currently looking at growing high-yielding crops for the production of biofuels as alternatives to traditional fuels (petrol and diesel) to address imminent energy shortages and reduce impacts of climate change. This usually involves the importation of foreign (i.e., alien) species of plants that are known for their fast and productive growth. If these initiatives are not carefully assessed, however, promoting the cultivation of some popular species for biofuel production will increase two of the major causes of biodiversity loss on the planet: clearing and conversion of yet more natural areas for monocultures, and invasion by non-native species.

The examples of practice presented in this book focus on students aged 10 to 15, which, depending on the national school system, includes the upper level of primary school, as well as the lower and partly the upper secondary school levels. This age group spans many developmental stages. Currently, most ESD publications are geared toward children in primary schools or toward students at the higher secondary and tertiary levels of education, who have almost reached adulthood. Beginning to concentrate more on the pre-adolescent students is about more than just adapting and implementing learning material to the potential of students from that age group. It also involves reflecting on the role that youth of this age group play in our present-day society. Are they taken seriously? What kinds of actions can they take? Whom do they trust? Do they have the capacity and ability to ask for considerable goals and to understand and make clear to others the necessity to act?

This support has taken various forms: bringing participants together for annual meetings, developing specific workshops to meet needs they had identified, passing around information, supporting learning exchanges and assisting with national planning. The result has been that most participants who responded to a survey felt that PILN had helped them carry out their invasive species work more successfully. Partner agency representatives all reported that they were very satisfied or satisfied with PILN. Flinders were also well pleased with the networks progress and several considered that future support might be possible.

Invasive species are one of the greatest threats to Samoa’s natural heritage. In fact the impacts of invasive species are immense, costly and usually irreversible and are being increasingly felt in Samoa. Impacts can range from adversely affecting the productivity and subsequent economic output of primary industry, such as agriculture, forestry and fisheries, to impeding cultural practices and traditions, household food security and sustainable livelihoods, and threatening the integrity and biodiversity of natural ecosystems, including vital ecosystem processes.

Verbesina encelioides (Cav.) Benth. & Hook. f. ex A. Gray, golden crownbeard, is a sunflower-like herbaceous annual plant ranging in height from 0.3 to 1.7 m with showy yellow flowers. It is native to the southwestern United States, the Mexican Plateau, and other parts of tropical America. Its invasive characteristics include high seed production (as many as 300-350 seeds per flower and multiple flowers per plant), seed dormancy, ability to tolerate dry conditions, and possible allelopathic effects. Disturbed areas with a relatively sandy substrate within warm, arid climate zones are vulnerable to invasion by V. encelioides. Veresina encelioides is found on all of the main Hawaiian islands except Ni'ihau but is particularly problematic on Midway and Kure Atoll, where it may threaten the habitat of nesting birds such as Laysan and black-footed albatrosses and Christmas and wedge-tailed shearwaters. Many other Pacific islands with similar habitats could be invaded by the V. encelioides. The plant has become naturalised in many other U.S. states, parts of South America, the Bahamas, Cuba, the Dominican Republic Puerto Rico, parts of Europe, Saudi Arabia, India, Ethiopia, Morocco, Botswana, Namibia, Israel, and Australia. It is a pest of various crops in the southern United States and India and is poisonous to sheep and cattle. Verbesina encelioides can be controlled via herbicides or mechanical means, but measures must be repeated due to the presence of persistent seed banks. Further research on V. encelioides is needed to understand its population dynamics, allelopathic properties, and impacts on natural ecosystems.

Rat control guidelines