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This is the report of a two week study tour in three Pacific Island countries, designed to share experience in the innovative sustainable management of marine fish stocks. The study team included two community leaders each from Papua New Guinea (PNG), Vanuatu and Samoa, accompanied by one person from the Commonwealth Policy Studies Unit (CPSU), University of London, a senior regional academic nominated by the Commonwealth Human Ecology Council (CHEC), and a Commonwealth Foundation consultant organiser.

At a time when many developed countries are searching for alternatives to national park schemes, some of the less wealthy nations have already adopted other sustainable mechanisms for protected area management. Vanuatu is one such country - a nation that has retained a surprisingly rich cultural heritage despite many years of administration by Britain and France. Vanuatu's customary laws have been successfully incorporated into a western legislation model to provide a regime, which meets the needs of its people by providing both sustainable livelihoods and environmental protection.

The objective of this study is to provide decision makers in the European Commission and other partner countries with sufficient information to identify European Commission cooperation activities with specific environmental objectives and to establish environmental safeguards for other activities.

The Government of Vanuatu has decided to set up a micro hydro electric-power station on the Epong river to provide up to 25KW of electric power for the village of Epao and to use this development project as a pilot plant for training purposes on hydro electric power management.

An illustration of the importance of a Tropical Forest found on the remote island of Espiritu Santo in Vanuatu. Whilst developers are proposing activities such as logging, a small community known as "Matantas" is employed to illustrate the importance of the forest to their people and how such development will impact their livelihood. It is an important source of food for these islanders being remote and still very much isolated from the modernised world. SPBCP assists communities with the promotion of alternative economic activities such as eco-tourism, harvesting of indigenous forests, and an improvement of agricultural and forestry practices by local people.

Two significant meetings concerning the management and conservation of fish stocks in the South Pacific were recently held at the United Nations in New York. The discussions focused on implementing sustainable fishing practices, upholding international agreements like the UN Fish Stocks Agreement, and reinforcing cooperation among Pacific Island nations. The outcomes are expected to influence future policies and strengthen the region's capacity to protect its marine resources.

The purpose of this report is to support SWAP and the Vanuatu government agencies with decision making on the allocation of funds available for waste disposal site rehabilitation and climate resilience in Port Vila and Santo.

In this article I critically reflect on participatory processes in vulnerability research in the context of cmmunity-based adaptation to climate change (CBA). CBA is an emerging form of bottom-up adaptation to climate change.

Mongabay rainforest profiles: American Samoa, French Polynesia, Guam, Kiribati, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu