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In 2001, the Government of Samoa released the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) for the conservation and sustainable development of the country's biological resources. The NBSAP identifies invasive alien species (IAS) as being one of the greatest threats to Samoa's biodiversity. The National Invasive Alien Species Implementation Action Plan (NIASIAP) addresses this threat, building on the actions identified in 'Theme 6 - Biosecurity' of the NBSAP, as well as elements of Themes 1, 2, 3 and 7, and pursuing the following objective: To protect Samoa's native biodiversity from the impacts of invasive alien species, through effective border control and quarantine, and the development and implementation of effective eradication and management programs.

The Pacific Invasives Learning Network (PILN) serves teams of Pacific Island agencies responsible for invasives management, including agencies responsible for agriculture, international trade and other economic interests, as well as conservation and natural resource management. PILNs mission is to empower effective invasive species management through a participant-driven network that meets priority needs, rapidly shares skills and resources, provides links to technical expertise, increases information exchange, and accelerates on- the-ground action.

In 1989, the kakerori (Pomarea dimidiata) was one of the ten rarest bird species in the world, with a declining population of just 29 birds in the Takitumu Conservation Area (TCA) of southeastern Rarotonga. As a result of conservation management, the kakerori population rebounded, with up to 300 birds being recorded on Rarotonga and Atiu in 2004/05. The southern Cook Islands was, however, hit by five tropical cyclones over a 4-week period in February–March 2005, and much of the forest on exposed faces, spurs and ridges (traditional kakerori habitat) was severely damaged. The population survived remarkably well, with a minimum of 274 adults known to be alive in the TCA in August 2005. An additional 17 adults were found on Atiu between August 2005 and March 2006. The main\ casualties of the cyclones on Rarotonga appeared to be young birds (1–3 years old) and very old birds (> 20 years old). Because the population on Rarotonga remained well within the management target of 250–300 individuals, rat poisoning was again done fortnightly, as in the previous 2 years. Breeding productivity was exceptionally poor in 2005/06, mainly because of nesting failures or early fledgling deaths caused by abnormally wet conditions during the main fledging periods. Nests were more exposed to the elements because the cyclones had extensively defoliated the canopy. Furthermore, rats were often seen foraging during the day, apparently struggling to find food (few trees were fruiting). Only 22 fledglings were definitely seen in 2005/06; however, some territories were not checked or poorly checked during the breeding season, and some fledglings may have dispersed to better vegetated sites. We recommend that rat control should return to the weekly poisoning regime used during the 1989–2001 recovery phase of the kakerori management programme if the August 2006 census reveals that the population has fallen below 220 birds (a 20% decline from pre-cyclone levels). Otherwise the regime of the sustainable management phase (fortnightly poisoning) should continue.

The intentional and unintentional transfer of species from one water body to another around the world has boomed in recent decades. Many seas and regions have been invaded by a high number of non-native species. Some of these species thrive in their new habitats, out-competing native species and changing ecosystems, sometimes dramatically. Alien Invasive Species (AIS) are currently perceived to be one of the primary threats to biological diversity. Throughout the world, marine resource managers are in the process of setting up marine protected areas (MPAs), sanctuaries, estuarine reserves and fishing closures as a means to preserve our marine biodiversity and living resources. Given the high ecological value of these areas, the efforts undertaken and the funds disbursed to conserve it, biodiversity loss in such places is even more dramatic than in others.

Through the Pohnpei Rat Eradication Research and Demonstration Project, The Conservation: Society of Pohnpei (CSP), Island Conservation (IC), and the Pacific Invasives Initiative (PII) are working together to enhance the biosecurity of Pohnpei's island ecosystems, and that of other similar ecosystems throughout the Pacific. This research and demonstration project will help NGO and government conservation organizations develop the capacity to plan. fund, and implement subsequent: rat eradications in threatened island ecosystems. CSP, IC, and PII also partnered with the following organizations to cany out this pioneering conservation project: the Pacific Invasives Learning Network, The Nature Conservancy, the Pohnpei State Government, the Micronesia Conservation Trust, Micronesians in Island Conservation, local government officials, and local landowners.

Biodiversity conservation - that is, the conservation of plants and animals that make up the species richness of a country - is widely recognised as an issue of importance for the South Pacific as it is relevant to family livelihoods, culture and economic development as well as to the unique biological story that these islands possess. The biodiversity of the region is threatened by a broad range of causes including unsustainable logging and fishing, invasive species, pollution, soil erosion, fire, habitat conversion and agricultural run-off. Climate change is an additional threat of significant potential impact, especially for coral reefs.

With the wide acceptance of forest?protection policies in the developing world comes a requirement for clear demonstrations of how deforestation may erode human well?being and economies. For centuries, it has been believed that forests provide protection against flooding. However, such claims have given rise to a heated polemic, and broad?scale quantitative evidence of the possible role of forests in flood protection has not been forthcoming. Using data collected from 1990 to 2000 from 56 developing countries, we show using generalized linear and mixed?effects models contrasted with information?theoretic measures of parsimony that flood frequency is negatively correlated with the amount of remaining natural forest and positively correlated with natural forest area loss (after controlling for rainfall, slope and degraded landscape area). The most parsimonious models accounted for over 65% of the variation in flood frequency, of which nearly 14% was due to forest cover variables alone. During the decade investigated, nearly 100?000 people were killed and 320 million people were displaced by floods, with total reported economic damages exceeding US$1151 billion. Extracted measures of flood severity (flood duration, people killed and displaced, and total damage) showed some weaker, albeit detectable correlations to natural forest cover and loss. Based on an arbitrary decrease in natural forest area of 10%, the model?averaged prediction of flood frequency increased between 4% and 28% among the countries modeled. Using the same hypothetical decline in natural forest area resulted in a 4–8% increase in total flood duration. These correlations suggest that global?scale patterns in mean forest trends across countries are meaningful with respect to flood dynamics. Unabated loss of forests may increase or exacerbate the number of flood?related disasters, negatively impact millions of poor people, and inflict trillions of dollars in damage in disadvantaged economies over the coming decades. This first global?scale empirical demonstration that forests are correlated with flood risk and severity in developing countries reinforces the imperative for large?scale forest protection to protect human welfare, and suggests that reforestation may help to reduce the frequency and severity of flood?related catastrophes.