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The 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg confirmed that global sustainable development and poverty reduction requires a healthier and more sustainably managed ocean. WSSD paid special attention to coral reefs, which are critical for many countries, especially the Small Island Developing States. WSSD recommended that to sustain coral reefs will require integrated coastal and watershed management, the establishment of networks of marine protected areas, and the necessary institutional capacity building to foster these management approaches and help deliver them on the ground. Similar requests were made at the IUCN World Parks Congress in Durban in 2003. These are tasks for the international coral reef community; our organizations strongly support these goals and are actively contributing towards their achievement.

This nomination document is to support the recommendation made in 1989 by the Solomon Island Government that World Heritage listing be pursued for Lake Tegano on East Rennell in Rennell and Bellona Province and for Marovo Lagoon in the Western Province. The New Zealand Government was invited to be the sponsor country to enable the Solomon Islands to become a State Party to the World Heritage Convention and to assist with the procedures for listing. In 1992 the Solomon Islands became a member of the Convention

Observational records and climate projections provide abundant evidence that freshwater resources are vulnerable and have the potential to be strongly impacted by climate change, with wide-ranging consequences for human societies and ecosystems. Observed warming over several decades has been linked to changes in the large-scale hydrological cycle such as: increasing atmospheric water vapour content; changing precipitation patterns, intensity and extremes; reduced snow cover and widespread melting of ice; and changes in soil moisture and runoff. Precipitation changes show substantial spatial and inter-decadal variability. Over the 20th century, precipitation has mostly increased over land in high northern latitudes, while decreases have dominated from 10°S to 30°N since the 1970s. The frequency of heavy precipitation events (or proportion of total rainfall from heavy falls) has increased over most areas (likely). Globally, the area of land classified as very dry has more than doubled since the 1970s (likely). There have been significant decreases in water storage in mountain glaciers and Northern Hemisphere snow cover. Shifts in the amplitude and timing of runoff in glacier- and snowmelt-fed rivers, and in ice-related phenomena in rivers and lakes, have been observed (high confidence).

The Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 1/ revealed that climate change is threatening the very basis of life. In fact, 20-30 per cent of species assessed so far will face increased risks of extinction if global temperatures increase by 1.5-2.5°C, and critical ecosystems are already being degraded. For example, over the past 100 years, the thickness of sea ice in the Arctic has decreased by 40 per cent, while total available water in the Niger, Lake Chad and Senegal basins has decreased by 40-60 per cent, In the face of such changes to the basic structure and functions of ecosystems, climate change is already forcing species to adapt either through shifting habitat, changing life-cycles, or the development of new physical traits.

International waters is one of four focal areas of the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The GEF was created in 1994 to provide financing for programmes and projects to achieve global environment benefits in four focal areas: ?? biodiversity; ?? climate change; ?? international waters; and ?? and ozone layer depletion. International waters include oceans, large marine ecosystems, enclosed or semi-enclosed seas and estuaries as well as rivers, lakes, groundwater systems, and wetlands with trans-boundary drainage basins or common borders involving two or more countries. The ecosystems and habitats associated with these waters are essential parts of the system (IWP 2002c).

Water lettuce is a free floating aquatic plant in rosettes of green leaves, rosettes occuring singly or connected to others by short stolons whose origins are uncertain. It forms large, dense floating mats. The plant can adapt to life in ponds, dams, lakes and quiet areas of rivers and streams, but cannot withstand salt water. Still continue with observation whether it is to survive in winter.