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Conservation of biodiversity, improving rural livelihoods and supporting sustainable agriculture are key issues globally, but for many Pacific Island Countries (PICs) key biodiversity reserves are under considerable pressure from clearing and degradation. Rural communities are often put in a situation where clearing of forest margins is undertaken to meet demand for arable land to produce food and generate income. Forest reserves are also degraded by logging, where timber royalties are important in the absence of other sources of income for traditional landowners and communities. Therefore, agroforestry and ecologically based agriculture systems in the forest margins can help to offset reliance on forest degradation and can enhance the buffers around key reserves. Sustainable forest management and ecotourism also need to be maximised to help meet these challenges of generating income whilst maintaining or enhancing biodiversity, conserving soil and water resources.

The international community is increasingly aware of the link between biodiversity and sustainable development and its direct impact on wealth, health and well-being. Biodiversity is the origin of all crops and domesticated livestock. It is also the source of vital ecosystem services and functions, including soil conservation, water cycling, pollination, pest and disease regulation, carbon sequestration and nitrogen fixation. Biodiversity and the ecosystem services it supports are thus key to nutritional diversity and to agricultural productivity and resilience. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020 and its 20 Aichi Biodiversity Targets provide a framework for countries to develop national targets and policies for sustaining biodiversity for a healthy planet. To meet rising global food demands, agricultural systems need to produce greater quantities of more diverse and nutritious food in a sustainable way. This progress can and must be achieved without driving biodiversity loss. It must come through gains in the efficiency of resource use, through sustainable intensification and a landscape perspective in agricultural production. By contributing to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, agriculture will be a key driver for eliminating poverty, improving human health and providing energy, food and clean water for all while maintaining natural ecosystems.

Fisheries and aquaculture remain important sources of food, nutrition, income and livelihoods for hundreds of millions of people around the world. World per capita fish supply reached a new record high of 20 kg in 2014, thanks to vigorous growth in aquaculture, which now provides half of all fish for human consumption, and to a slight improvement in the state of certain fish stocks due to improved fisheries management. Moreover, fish continues to be one of the most-traded food commodities worldwide with more than half of fish exports by value originating in developing countries. Recent reports by high-level experts, international organizations, industry and civil society representatives all highlight the tremendous potential of the oceans and inland waters now, and even more so in the future, to contribute significantly to food security and adequate nutrition for a global population expected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050.l

Three-quarters of the Earth's surface is covered by oceans and seas which are an engine for global economic growth and a key source of food security. The global ocean economic activity is estimated to be USD 3-5 trillion. Ninety percent of global trade moves by marine transport. Over 30 percent of global oil and gas produced is extracted offshore. Expanding knowledge of marine biodiversity has provided breakthroughs in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, food production and aquaculture. Over 3.1 billion of the world's population lives within 100 kilometers of the ocean or sea in about 150 coastal and island nations.

At the international level, a number of global instruments provide mechanisms to facilitate addressing today's challenges. Two of which are the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (IT-PGRFA) and it's supporting component, the Global Plan of Action for the Conservation and Sustainable Utilization of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (Global Plan of Action), which was adopted by the Pacific Island Countries along with other members of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA) in 1996 through the Leipzig Declaration.

The inextricable links between climate change and sustainable development have been increasingly recognised over the past decade. In 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)1 concluded with very high confidence that climate change would impede the ability of many nations to achieve sustainable development by mid-century and become a security risk that would steadily intensify, particularly under greater warming scenarios. Article 4.8 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) lists several groups of countries that merit particular consideration for assistance to adapt to climate change “especially: (a) small island countries, (b) countries with low-lying coastal areas, c) countries with areas prone to natural disasters.” Small Island Developing States (SIDS) have characteristics which make them particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, sea level rise (SLR) and extreme events, including: relative isolation, small land masses, concentrations of population and infrastructure in coastal areas, limited economic base and dependency on natural resources, combined with limited financial, technical and institutional capacity for adaptation.2