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A rapid biodiversity assessment of 3 sites on Vanuatu's Malekula island covering flora, reptiles, birds, freshwater fish and crustaceans, and invasive ants.

This First Country Report to the Conference of the Parties for Niue is being submitted around the same time as the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) and 2nd Country Report, to complete the outputs under a UNDP-funded Enabling Activities project. Given its timing it has been decided to format this First Country Report according to the headings used for the ‘Synthesis of Information contained in National Reports... ‘ (UNEP/CBD/COP/4/11/Rev.1). More detailed information is available in the NBSAP.

The Vanuatu Government signed the CBD (Convention on Biological Diversity) at its launch in 1992 and ratified it in 1993. As a party to the CBD, the government is obliged to report to the other convention signatories on in-country biodiversity management activities and to develop a strategy and action plan to manage and conserve Vanuatu's biological diversity. The first national report was prepared by the NBSAP project team and was sent to the CBD Secretariat in December 1997. This paper is the first national biodiversity conservation strategy and action plan.

It may be possible to tell that a species is likely to be invasive, for example because it has been a problem elsewhere. However it will be difficult to say with certainty that a species will not be invasive. A species in it's natural place is not considered invasive may behave differently in a new environment.