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The Wildlife Conservation Unit and BirdLife International successfully completed baiting operations to eradicate Pacific rats from 13 motu including Motu Upua in the Kiritimati Central Lagoon. Four of these motu were previously rat free (Drum islets) and 3 others (Nimroona islets) had been baited in 2023 but rats (and one cat) were confirmed present likely following a reduction in the water level of the lagoon. The 14-day field mission also strengthened WCUs capability for detecting rats and cats and in the use of tools and practices to eradicate them. A suppression response for cats was initiated on Big Peninsula but requires WCU personnel to have regular access to vehicles to operationalise it. Observations of seabirds confirmed Phoenix Petrel numbers remain high for the Drum and Nimroona islets, but few nesting Red-tailed Tropicbirds were observed and may be attributable to the widespread poaching of these and other seabirds. Access to vehicles enabling reinstatement of regular patrols by WCU personnel is considered critical and could be facilitated through specialist expertise and the provision of parts in making repairs to the existing fleet. Other recommendations include a regular surveillance programme for priority islets to detect and respond to rat incursions.

Seabirds of the Pacific Islands; 42 species of seabird known or suspected to breed throughout the tropical Pacific islands. 10 are considered endemic. 11 globally threatened (CR, EN, VU) and one near threatened species.

PACC reports

This Samoa Climate Public Expenditure and Institutional Review (CPEIR) is one of five pilot CPEIRs that test a new methodology for reviewing public expenditure related to climate change, including both adaptation and mitigation, and the way in which this is guided by policy and managed by institutions. The five pilots are being coordinated by UNDP and undertaken by ODI with national and international experts, working closely with governments. The Samoan CPEIR took place be-tween March and May 2012.

Reports from the PACC project