Williamson and Sabath (1982) have demonstrated a significant relationship between modern population size and environment by examining atoll area and rainfall in the Marshall Islands. The present work seeks to extend that argument into prehistory by examining the relationship of ancient habitation sites and size of aroid pit agricultural systems to atoll land area and rainfall regime along the 1,500-3,500 mm precipitation gradient in the Marshall Islands.
Nauru, in the central Pacific Ocean, is a raised atoll capping a volcanic seamount arising from an ocean floor depth of 4300m. The land area is 22km, and the island rises to 70m above sea level. Drilling has proved dolomitised limestone of upper Miocene or younger age to a depth of 55m below sea level. Gravity and magnetic surveys indicate that the limestone probably overlies volcanic bedrock at a depth of about 500m. Reverse-circulation drilling and geoelectrical probes indicate that there is a discontinuous freshwater layer averaging 5m thick beneath Nauru.
The findings of this BIORAP survey have identified or re-confirmed the critical importance of the biodiversity and ecosystems of Nauru's terrestrial and marine environments and the urgent need for follow-up activities to manage and mitigate threats for their conservation.
Documentation on getting started with the Inform Data Portal.
Survey of the regional distribution and status of asbestos- contaminated construction material and best practice options for its management in Pacific Island Countries
Report for the Republic of Nauru
This publication ‘Strategic Environmental Assessment – Guidelines for Pacific Island Countries and
Territories’ has been prepared to provide guidance on the application of SEA as a tool to support
environmental planning, policy and informed decision making. It provides background on the use and
benefits of SEA as well as providing tips and guiding steps on the process, including case studies, toolkits
and checklists for conducting an SEA in the Appendices.
To introduce this collection of studies, a logical first question to ask is why produce a “lessons learned” publication?
Avariety of factors can affect the biodiversity of tropicalmammal communities,
but their relative importance and directionality remain uncertain. Previous
global investigations of mammal functional diversity have relied on range
maps instead of observational data to determine community composition. We
test the effects of species pools, habitat heterogeneity, primary productivity
and human disturbance on the functional diversity (dispersion and richness)
of mammal communities using the largest standardized tropical forest camera
With increasing globalization of markets, rising environmental awareness, and attention from international conventions and agreements, the vast majority of countries are looking into managing their forests more sustainably. The main limitation appears to be lack of funding for improving forest management. Traditional sources include the government, targeted investments from the private sector, international donor support, and contributions in kind from rural communities. But these are grossly inadequate, and additional finances are required.
Promote and encourage the use of standard wetland inventory methodologies following the Ramsar Framework for Wetland Inventory (Resolution VIII.6), to undertake, update and disseminate national (or, where appropriate, provincial) scientific inventories of wetlands.
Available online
Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 90 p.
Important conservation areas identified through the rapid biodiversity assessment of Nauru's biodiversity
The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) is the most comprehensive global database of marine and terrestrial protected areas, updated on a monthly basis, and is one of the key global biodiversity data sets being widely used by scientists, businesses, governments, International secretariats and others to inform planning, policy decisions and management. The WDPA is a joint project between UN Environment and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Ridge to Reef Data, Coconut Vegetation Class, Limited Metadata, Compiled in 2018
Dataset includes various regional-scale spatial data layers in geojson format.
Ridge to Reef Data, BIORAP Priority Areas, Limited Metadata, Compiled in 2018
A recently published paper, titled “Coastal proximity of populations in 22 Pacific Island Countries and Territories” details the methodology used to undertake the analysis and presents the findings. **Purpose** * This analysis aims to estimate populations settled in coastal areas in 22 Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTS) using the data currently available. In addition to the coastal population estimates, the study compares the results obtained from the use of national population datasets (census) with those derived from the use of global population grids.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) represent the world’s plan of action for social inclusion, environmental sustainability and economic development. The mining industry has an unprecedented opportunity to mobilize significant human, physical, technological and financial resources to advance the SDGs.
The Convention for the Protection of Natural Resources and Environment of the South Pacific Region (1986) is also known as the SPREP Convention or Noumea Convention. The Convention has two Protocols that also entered into force in 1990. This Convention is the major multilateral umbrella agreement in the Pacific Region for the protection of natural resources and the environment.
Forum Leaders embrace Pacific regionalism as:
*The expression of a common sense of identity and purpose, leading progressively to the sharing of institutions, resources, and markets, with the purpose of complementing national efforts, overcoming common constraints, and enhancing sustainable and inclusive development within Pacific countries and territories and for the Pacific region as a whole*
Principal objectives are;
This list of indicators was developed through the Inform project at SPREP for use by Pacific Islands countries (PICs) to meet their national and international reporting obligations. The indicators are typically adopted by PICs for their State of Environment reports and are intended to be re-used for a range of MEA and SDG reporting targets. The indicators have been designed to be measurable and repeatable so that countries can track key aspect of environmental health over time.