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Dugong dugon are the last extant species in the Family Dugongidae and are listed as Vulnerable to extinction by the IUCN Red List. The dugong population is believed to be in decline globally. Throughout its range, relic populations remain and are separated by large areas where populations have disappeared (Marsh & Lefebvre 1994). The degree of the decline of numbers or fragmentation of its range is not known for any country. For many countries the only information available is from incidental sightings, drownings and anecdotal information. The Pacific region supports the world's largest remaining population of dugongs (Marsh et al. 2002). Dugong occur in most of Melanesia, Papua New Guinea (PNG), the northeast and east coasts of Australia and as far east as Vanuatu.. The current status of dugongs is unknown throughout the region (Marsh et al. 2002) and information on dugong distribution and abundance is outdated or non-existent. It is likely that dugongs are widely distributed in small numbers in much of PNG. the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu and that larger numbers occur in the Papua New Guinea waters of Torres Strait. Marsh et al. (2002) states that their reliance on relatively shallow water seagrass beds for food, limits the ability of dugongs to travel between islands and continents that are separated by extensive areas of deep water. For this reason, many island populations become essentially isolated, making these populations especially vulnerable to extinction.

This research and training expedition was organised in conjunction with the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and the Vanuatu Environment Unit. The survey follows up a questionnaire written in Bislama and sent to various islands in the Vanuatu Archipelago in 1989/1990. A survey was scheduled for November 1991, but was postponed and then cancelled due to typhoon damage. The area designated to be surveyed, the Maskelyne Islands, was chosen from the information provided in response to the questionnaire. The objectives of this research expedition were to estimate numbers of turtle nesting and the amount of harvest, and to train members of the Vanuatu Environment Unit, as well as any interested members in the local communities, in the methods of tagging, species identification, measurements of the curved carapace length (CCL) and tail length to the carapace (TLC), checking the turtle for damage, barnacles and fibropapillomas, and recording any other relevant information on turtles. Blood samples for genetic analysis were to be collected for the University of Queensland.

The islands of Beliliou (Peleliu) and Ngemelis and stretches of beach along the east coast of Babeldaob, Republic of Palau, were surveyed for evidence of hawksbill, Eretmochelys Imbricata and green, Chelonia mydas turtles during the peak of the turtle nesting season. Incidental sightings of nesting seabirds and Micronesian Megapodes, Negapodius laperouse were also recorded. Ngerduais beach on the east coast of Babeldaob was the only area surveyed which showed any recent signs of nesting turtles. Local information suggests that only sparse nesting has ever taken place in Babeldaob and the islands of Ngemelis, Angaur and Beliliou in recent years. Micronesian Megapodes are reported rare on these islands, and there was no evidence of Megapode nesting on any of the sites surveyed. Although many seabirds are known from these islands, none were observed nesting. However, the Vanikoro Swiftlet, Aerodramus vanikorensis, Collared Kingfisher, Halcyon chlorls, Rufous Night Heron, Nycticorax caledonicus, Pacific Reef Heron, Egretta sacra, and Black Noddy, Anous minutus, were sighted on several of the islands surveyed. The limited evidence of recent turtle nesting and the lack of evidence of Megapode and seabird nesting combined with the information provided by members of the local communities, indicates that the areas surveyed during this phase of the Rapid Ecological Assessment are not significant nesting areas for these wildlife at this time.

Green turtles, Chelonia mydas, nest on all of the islands in Southwest Palau in varying abundance, generally between the months of March and July. The largest nesting area for the region surveyed is Merir Island, which hosted an active nesting population of approximately 50 green turtles for the 1992 season. Helen Island also supports a small population of nesting green turtles, and Helen Reef accommodates a resident feeding population of both C. mydas and hawksbill turtles, Eretmochelys Imbricata. Even though E. imbricata feed in the reef areas, this species is not known to nest on any of these islands. The fluctuation of green turtle nesting numbers is regulated by the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in Australasia. It appears that the population of the Southwest Islands is also influenced by this phenomenon. Both species of turtle and their eggs are a food source for the islanders. It was estimated that 75-300 turtles per year are taken for subsistence use in the Southwest Islands, not including the numbers taken by poachers. The legislation governing the take of turtles and turtle eggs is ineffective in such remote areas due to lack of enforcement.

Solomon Islands is emerging from four turbulent years (1999 – 2003) of an ethnic crisis with a very weak economy, a rapidly growing population and a government system struggling to cope with the delivery of basic services. The country’s people are custodians to globally significant terrestrial and marine biodiversity that is at risk of being over-exploited and lost due to uncontrolled and unsustainable development activities. In recognition of the importance of environmental management and conservation the country ratified the United Nations Convention to Combat Land Degradation (UNCCD) as well as a host of other Multilateral Environment Agreements (MEA) including the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Despite its affiliations to these global agendas the country’s performance in addressing its obligations has been very poor

The undertaking has been in operation for about 4 years now (to 2008) starting in late 2004 with the sole objective of establishing an income generating avenue targeting tourists. [However, a similar survey conducted in 2002 by SPREP and the Samoa Visitors Bureau confirms the existence of this operation then. Thus it started before 2004]. This operation is popular and is listed by the Pacific Travel Guide as one of the Top 10 things to do in Samoa.

The purpose of this survey is to assist the Fisheries Department in gathering data for the stock assessment program so management strategies can be formulated for the long term. This stock assessment survey was year two of a three-year program. The survey encompassed the Torba Province, which is the northern most province of the Vanuatu group and is made up of the Banks and Torres group of islands. The species surveyed were beche-de-mer, rock lobsters, giant clams, and coconut crabs. This area has not been surveyed before so this will provide a base line for future surveys and play an integral part in formulating management plans for the fishery.

This report is the review of terrestrial biological information in Samoa and was written by MNRE with the technical support of Conservation International (CI). It is a contribution to Samoa’s Programme of Work on Protected Areas (PoWPA) which is currently being implemented by the Ministry of Natural Resources & Environment (MNRE), with funding provided by the Global Environment Facility (GEF). Samoa has 13 declared protected areas (PAs), including three Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and 3 community managed conservation areas (CAs) (see annex 1). The terrestrial coverage of Samoa’s protected area network is approximately 7% of Samoa’s land area. However Samoa’s Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (SBSAP) has a target protected area coverage of 15% of land and presumably, near shore (Schuster and Butler (eds) 2001).

The seriousness of waste problems in Pacific Small Island Countries is rapidly increasing and has lead people to understand the importance of executing proper waste management and urgently taking proper actions. Various initiatives aimed at solving problems concerning municipal waste have been taken and progress made, however, there are still many problems caused by other wastes which have yet to be addressed.

The Tokelau Government prepared a State of Environment Report in 19942 (SOE) and an Environmental Management Strategy3 in 1995. An Environmental Legislation Review4 has also been undertaken which gives an overview of existing legislation that impacts on the environment and proposes recommendations for improved environmental planning and management. In all of these reports priority was given to the development of a conservation strategy to address the protection of lagoon and reef fisheries from the effects of pollution, siltation. sand and coral extraction and over-fishing. Recommendations included the establishment of an ecosystem profile, protected areas, regulation of fishing, resource monitoring, as well as monitoring the effects of land-based pollution.