Search the SPREP Catalogue

Updates on the work being done by PRISMSS is published in the PRISMSS Newsletter.

The Pacific Island nations of Niue and Tonga are leading global efforts to expand the management of invasive species at a large-landscape scale and increase the resilience of their ecosystems and communities to the impacts of climate change. Niue’s Environment Minister, Hon. Mona Ainuu, recently made an ambitious pledge for the country to control four priority invasive species by 2030, including Taro Vine, rats, feral pigs, and the coral eating Drupella snail. This work will help to enhance Niue’s premium ecotourism brand and directly support the provision of green jobs. Tonga has also pledged to expand the management of priority invasive species at a large-landscape scale following the successful eradication of rats from Late Island, the largest eradication ever undertaken in the Pacific Islands region. Studies have shown that, once rats are removed, the nutrients from returning seabird populations restore the climate resilience of coral reefs and increase the productivity of fish stocks by up to 50%. Tonga’s plans to scale-up the management of priority invasive species will help expand its national park system, provide refugia for 95% of the country’s biodiversity, and directly increase the climate resilience of its ecosystems and communities.

The Pacific Island nations of Niue and Tonga are leading global efforts to expand the management of invasive species at a large-landscape scale and increase the resilience of their ecosystems and communities to the impacts of climate change. Niue’s Environment Minister, Hon. Mona Ainuu, recently made an ambitious pledge for the country to control four priority invasive species by 2030, including Taro Vine, rats, feral pigs, and the coral eating Drupella snail. This work will help to enhance Niue’s premium ecotourism brand and directly support the provision of green jobs. Tonga has also pledged to expand the management of priority invasive species at a large-landscape scale following the successful eradication of rats from Late Island, the largest eradication ever undertaken in the Pacific Islands region. Studies have shown that, once rats are removed, the nutrients from returning seabird populations restore the climate resilience of coral reefs and increase the productivity of fish stocks by up to 50%. Tonga’s plans to scale-up the management of priority invasive species will help expand its national park system, provide refugia for 95% of the country’s biodiversity, and directly increase the climate resilience of its ecosystems and communities.

The guidance in this document is for invasive species management practitioners and local authorities in Pacific countries who wish to improve biosecurity for their islands. Preventing invasive species from spreading between islands is everyone’s responsibility and is to everyone’s benefit. This document provides guidance on biosecurity measures for anyone involved in inter-island travel, trade, and transport.

Sustainable financing is about gaining access to funding in a way that can continue permanently for all the work that needs to be done and, typically, that does not rely on grants. Those involved in conservation or environmental management know how important funding is and how much effort is involved in getting the funding needed for projects and activities. The task of getting money is usually the role of the director or manager of an organisation. In the case of government departments, this responsibility typically lies with the finance manager.

PBIF is a Pacific version of the GBIF that aims to increase data mobilization capacity in the Pacific. This opens up the opportunity to engage with the organization more broadly to institutionalize data mobilization processes and promote GBIF across the region.

The launch of the Pacific Battler Lounge on November 27, 2020 also announced the fourth Pacific Battler of the Year for 2020 during the 10th Pacific Islands Conference on Nature Conservation and Protected Areas.

The natural environment has always been a part of Pacific island culture. It has shaped our way of leaving in our early lives. the kingdom of Tonga SOE report aims to give Tonga the best and clearest status of it environment by answering the following key questons:|What is the current condition of the Tongan environment?|What are the risk the Togan environment faces and what measures have been put forward to minimise them? This could provide lessons for the Togan.|Where is the environment of Togan headed based on the assessed thermatic areas?|some of the drivers that triggers the change of the environment in TOgan are, social, economic, technological and culture forces referred to as drivers.

The Asia and Pacific region is extremely vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Unabated warming could significantly undo previous achievements of economic development and improvements of living standards. At the same time, the region has both the economic capacity and weight of influence to change the present fossil-fuel based development pathway and curb global emissions. This report sheds light on the regional implications of the latest projections of changes in climate conditions over Asia and the Pacific. The assessment concludes that, even under the Paris consensus scenario in which global warming is limited to 1.5°C to 2°C above preindustrial levels, some of the land area, ecosystems, and socioeconomic sectors will be significantly affected by climate change impacts, to which policy makers and the investment community need to adapt to. However, under a Business-As-Usual (BAU) scenario, which will cause a global mean temperature rise of over 4°C by the end of this century, the possibilities for adaptation are drastically reduced. Among others, climate change impacts such as the deterioration of the Asian “water towers”, prolonged heat waves, coastal sea-level rise and changes in rainfall patterns could disrupt ecosystem services and lead to severe effects on livelihoods which in turn would affect human health, migration dynamics and the potential for conflicts. This assessment also underlines that, for many areas vital to the region’s economy, research on the effects of climate change is still lacking.

The First Pacific Ministerial Meeting on Meteorology (PMMM-1) and the Third Pacific Meteorological Council Meeting (PMC-3) convened at the Fa’onelua Convention Centre in Nuku’alofa, Tonga on the 20 to 24 July, 2015. A total of a hundred and sixty eight (168) participants including ministers, associated ministers, directors from National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) and government officials from the following countries and territories: American Samoa, Australia, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, United States of America and Vanuatu plus development partners, media, regional institutions, regional and international organisations and donors.