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This document details a cost benefit analysis of investing in a new weather radar for Vanuau, under the project Climate Information Services for Resilient Development in Vanuatu. Weather radar are primarily designed to detect and map areas of precipitation, measures their intensity and motion, and their type.

In January 2009, heavy rain resulting from a tropical depression caused severe flooding in the North, Central and Western divisions of Fiji. Floods in Nadi led to death, severe damage and major disruption to services. This report documents a socioeconomic assessment of gross losses sustained by the local community in Nadi as a result of those floods. The Government of Fiji agreed for SOPAC to organise the assessment, which estimated losses for families and retail businesses, eateries, manufacturers/exporters and service businesses. (Hotels on Denarau Island were not included in the estimates of business losses.)

Breeding success of 5 Cory’s shearwater Calonectris diomedea sub-colonies of Lavezzu Island (Lavezzi Archipelago, Corsica) was checked annually for 25 consecutive years from 1979 to 2004. Between 1989 and 1994, 4 ship rat Rattus rattus controls were performed in several subcolonies. In November 2000, rats were eradicated from Lavezzu Island and its 16 peripheral islets (85 ha) using traps then toxic baits. We compare cost (number of person-hours required in the field) and benefit (Cory’s shearwater breeding success) of control and eradication. The average breeding success doubled when rats were controlled or eradicated (0.82) compared to the situation without rat management (0.45). Moreover, the average breeding success after eradication (0.86) was significantly (11%) higher than after rat controls (0.75). Furthermore, the great variation in breeding success recorded among sub-colonies both with and without rat control declined dramatically after eradication, suggesting that rats had a major impact on breeding success. The estimated effort needed to perform eradication and checking of the permanent bait-station system during the year following eradication was 1360 person-hours. In contrast, rat control was estimated to require 240 or 1440 person-hours per year when implemented by trained and untrained staff, respectively. Within 6 yr, eradication cost is lower than control cost performed by untrained staff and confers several ecological advantages on more ecosystem components than Cory’s shearwater alone. Improved eradication tools such as hand or aerial broadcasting of toxic baits instead of the fairly labour-intensive eradication strategy we used would dramatically increase the economic advantage of eradication vs. control. Therefore, when feasible, we recommend eradication rather than control of non-native rat populations. Nevertheless, control remains a useful management tool when eradication is not practicable.

The framework for management of the ocean and coasts of the Pacific Islands region has been evolving since the early 1970s when Pacific Island countries played a significant role in the negotiations leading to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Commencing with a summary of the provisions of relevant international instruments, this paper presents a broad overview of regional arrangements for ocean and coastal management in the Pacific Islands region. It considers the work of the various regional intergovernmental organizations with active programmes in ocean research and governance and the consultative arrangements that support coordination and collaboration. Consultative arrangements involving other stakeholders, such as local, regional and international nongovernmental organizations are summarised. To improve environmental governance and address increasing environmental threats, particularly in relation to coastal area management, consultative arrangements need strengthening. This applies equally to national and regional level consultation. The institutional and policy framework for the management and conservation of oceanic fish stocks that Pacific Island countries have been refining over a period of 25 years is suggested as providing useful lessons for strengthening coastal management processes and strategies in the region.

Project monitoring is now a standard requirement in natural resource management programs, bringing opportunities for greater accountability, adaptive management and social learning. While considerable effort has gone into designing appropriate monitoring frameworks and indicators for marine and coastal management, there has been less sharing of the mechanics of approaches that maximise collaboration and learning by multiple stakeholders. This paper outlines the project monitoring approach developed in the Pacific Islands International Waters Project (IWP), a project funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) involving 14 Pacific Island Countries. We find that a monitoring approach based on indicators to assess supportive processes, behavioural change and human-environmental conditions is useful for monitoring the long- and short-term impacts associated with integrated coastal management programs. Giving project staff the lead in indicator development has supported more strategic project planning and improved the relevance and value of the indicators developed. However, successful implementation of monitoring programs calls for ongoing collaboration, technical support and capacity building amongst key stakeholders.

The International Waters Project (IWP) is a seven-year project aimed at addressing the root causes of degradation in Pacific island international waters. The coastal component of the IWP supports the establishment of 'pilot' projects in each of 14 participating countries. Among other things, the project aims to address economic incentives that result in unsustainable practices.

International waters is one of four focal areas of the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The GEF was created in 1994 to provide financing for programmes and projects to achieve global environment benefits in four focal areas: ?? biodiversity; ?? climate change; ?? international waters; and ?? and ozone layer depletion. International waters include oceans, large marine ecosystems, enclosed or semi-enclosed seas and estuaries as well as rivers, lakes, groundwater systems, and wetlands with trans-boundary drainage basins or common borders involving two or more countries. The ecosystems and habitats associated with these waters are essential parts of the system (IWP 2002c).