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The NISSAP aims to protect the RMI’s natural resources, environment, and communities from the impact of invasive species. Further, it seeks to enhance and strengthen cooperation and coordination to combat invasive species by improving public awareness, enhancing capacity for managing and preventing the introduction and spread of invasive species. The NISSAP includes an overview of the current situation of invasive species in the RMI and identifies the process for their management. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Commerce will implement the NISSAP in cooperation with key stakeholders and partners.

Field support and training was provided to Government of Kiribati staff at Kiritimati (Christmas Island) during 1-15 November 2023 as part of a Biopama project facilitated by BirdLife/SPREP. This project focused on rat eradication for biodiversity recovery, and associated outcome monitoring and capacity building. Specific objectives (and outcomes) included eradicating Kimoa (Rattus exulans) which had reinvaded Big Nimroona and SW Nimroona motu in 2017 (both motu were baited 6 days apart); confirming the status of invasives and birds on other key motu (checks of other significant motu indicated that Kimoa remain absent and rat-sensitive birds are thriving as a result); monitoring of endangered seabirds revealed that the Kiritimati population of Te Ruru continues to increase, while a large number of smaller motu provide secure nesting for Te Bwebwe ni Marawa; determining island and motu biosecurity needs (detailed biosecurity needs lists were completed and motu surveillance protocols adapted); and some additional training was completed for all.

Papua New Guinea is a high biodiversity country in both the terrestrial and marine environments. Many new species of many different genera of plants and animals are still being 'uncovered' through ongoing and concentrated efforts by various researchers and institutions, incrementally filling in the gaps of our knowledge. Areas that were blank on the Conservation Needs Assessment map of 1994 have been filled in over the last 20 years, although many areas are yet to be surveyed.

Many developing countries are unable to fulfil their obligations as signatories of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) as they tackle increasingly complex scientific and technical issues. Inadequate human, financial, and technical capacity are some of the constraints that severely impact their ability to implement MEAs. In order to address this pressing issue, the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) have joined forces with the European Commission (EC) and the ACP Secretariat (African, Caribbean, Pacific Group of States Secretariat) and regional organizations, namely, the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), the Caribbean Community Secretariat (CARICOM) and the African Union Commission (AUC) to enhance the capacity of African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries to improve the implementation of specific MEAs.

Many developing countries are unable to fulfil their obligations as signatories of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) as they tackle increasingly complex scientific and technical issues. Inadequate human, financial, and technical capacity are some of the constraints that severely impact their ability to implement MEAs. In order to address this pressing issue, the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) have joined forces with the European Commission (EC) and the ACP Secretariat (African, Caribbean, Pacific Group of States Secretariat) and regional organizations, namely, the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), the Caribbean Community Secretariat (CARICOM) and the African Union Commission (AUC) to enhance the capacity of African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries to improve the implementation of specific MEAs.

ABSTRACT: Coastal fish populations are typically threatened by multiple human activities, including fishing pressure and run-off of terrestrial pollution. Linking multiple threats to their impacts on fish populations is challenging because the threats may influence a species directly, or indirectly, via its habitats and its interactions with other species. Here we examine spatial variation in abundance of coral reef fish across gradients of fishing pressure and turbidity in Fiji. We explicitly account for multiple pathways of influence to test the alternative hypotheses that (1) habitat moderates predation by providing shelter, so habitat loss only affects prey fish populations if there are abundant predators, (2) habitat change co-drives biomass of both prey and predator functional groups. We examined responses of 7 fish functional groups and found that habitat change co-drives both predator and prey responses to turbidity. Abundances of all functional groups were associated with changes in habitat cover; however, the responses of their habitats to turbidity were mixed. Planktivore and piscivore abundance were lower in areas of high turbidity, because cover of their preferred habitats was lower. Invertivore, browser and grazer abundance did not change strongly over the turbidity gradient, because different components of their habitats exhibited both increases and decreases with turbidity. The effects of turbidity on fish populations were minor in areas where fish populations were already depleted by fishing. These findings suggest that terrestrial run-off modifies the composition of reef fish communities indirectly by affecting the benthic habitats that reef fish use.

Coastal ecosystems can be degraded by poor water quality. Tracing the causes of poor water quality back to land-use change is necessary to target catchment management for coastal zone management. However, existing models for tracing the sources of pollution require extensive data-sets which are not available for many of the world’s coral reef regions that may have severe water quality issues. Here we develop a hierarchical Bayesian model that uses freely available satellite data to infer the connection between land-uses in catchments and water clarity in coastal oceans. We apply the model to estimate the influence of land-use change on water clarity in Fiji. We tested the model’s predictions against underwater surveys, finding that predictions of poor water quality are consistent with observations of high siltation and low coverage of sediment-sensitive coral genera. The model thus provides a means to link land-use change to declines in coastal water quality

Indigenous peoples and local communities often depend on natural resources and biodiversity to meet their subsistence needs and sustain their livelihoods. They have demonstrated their ability to be highly effective natural resource managers under the right conditions, but are also vulnerable to environmental degradation and climate change.

In 2010, the Conference of the Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) agreed to an ambitious set of 20 targets, called the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, as part of their commitment to the CBD Strategic Plan. One of the Targets (target 17) called for each country to revise its National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plan (NBSAP) in accordance with the Aichi Biodiversity Targets. From 2010 to November 2016, virtually all countries have revised, or are currently completing the revision of, their NBSAP.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is committed to supporting Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in their efforts to achieving the Strategic Plan of Biodiversity (2011-2020) and the Aichi biodiversity targets.