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Samoa's National Environmental Capacity Strategy (NECS) is drawn on the assessment and analysis of priority thematic and cross-cutting capacity needs. These needs have identified priority actions for capacity development and opportunities to promote synergies across the 3 Conventions which are highlighted as project profiles in the NECS. Strategies to implement these project profiles including means of monitoring and evaluation of outcomes are also highlighted in the NECS.

The need for a management response to mass coral bleaching is now well established. The incidence and severity of mass coral bleaching events has increased continuously over the last two decades. As a result, almost every reef region in the world has now suffered extensive stress or coral mortality. Observations of these past impacts and studies of expected future trends have prompted leading researchers and managers to declare that coral reefs are in crisis. In keeping with this, the scientific community has suggested that the impacts of mass coral bleaching events, in combination with those from chronic local stressors, will largely determine the condition of coral reefs in the next 50 years.

Biosafety issues are becoming very contentious today given the uncertainty of the impact of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) on the environment, biodiversity and the people. There are those that view GMOs as an answer to alleviating world hunger and mitigating global health problems through the introduction of new and technologically advanced GMO for food, feed, food processing and pharmaceuticals. Then there is the other group that argue that GMOs pose a risk to the environment, biological diversity and the safety and health of the people.

This document describes a protocol for monitoring the key aspects of coral bleaching events, which has been designed to be used by people with different levels of experience and varying levels of resources. It represents an important step towards more comprehensive analyses of bleaching events and the testing of hypotheses regarding the causes and impacts of bleaching.

The National Capacity Self-Assessments (NCSA) projects assist developing countries and economies in transition to assess capacity to meet requirements under the United Nations Convention for Biological Diversity (UNCBD), the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). UNDP is supporting 116 countries to prepare a NCSA. This Resource Kit is the core of UNDP's technical backstopping to those countries. Its purpose is to guide Project Teams through every step of project implementation, from project signature until project cb- sure.

Biological diversity is the variety and variability of all species of plants, animals and microorganisms, as well as the ecosystems they compose. It serves and sustains our lives in countless ways by providing food, fuel, shelter, and medicines. Conserving biodiversity is in our self-interest.