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Fiji is one of the wealthiest countries in the South Pacific, partly because of its extensive marine resources, which provide important services such as protein from fishing and income from tourism. The country is made up of approximately 844 volcanic islands and is dominated by the Viti Levu and Vanua Levu platforms which account for 87% of the total land area (Vuki et al., 2000). Fiji has a moderate tropical climate and hence reefs are well developed around all of the islands.

Some underwater photographs of live sea cucumbers are reproduced with kind permission from the French Institute of Research for Development (IRD) and the WorldFish Center. Photographs of dried beche-de-mer are by Eric Aubry and Jipé LeBars, Noumea, New Caledonia.

Two families of lizards are widespread and common colonizers of the islands of Occania. The skinks (Scincidae) are diurnal and predominantly terrestrial lizards; the geckos are nocturnal and mainly arboreal ones. The origins and dates of these lizards’ colonization of Oceania remain debatable, although recent man-assisted colonization seems unquestionably the mode of dispersal for a few species. E.g. moth skink (Lipinia noctua; Austin 1999) and house gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus; Case et al. 1994).

"The Pacific islands maintain resource access rights and management responsibilities over 30 million square kilometres of ocean - equivalent to the combined land areas of Canada, China and the USA. The total population of the Pacific islands is only 6.7 million people, and only 2.6 million if the largely inland population of Papua New Guinea is excluded. There are at least 11 square kilometres of ocean for each and every Pacific Islander. Jurisdictionally, the sea is nearly 200 tijmes more significant to the average Pacific islander than it is to the average global citizen" (Adams et al 1995)

Provides applied ocean, island and coastal geoscience services to support countries to govern and develop their natural resources, increase their resilience to hazards and facilitates data-based approaches to adaptation

The major theme of this study is the management of solid waste in the Fiji Islands, a Small Island Developing State situated in the South Pacific region. In this study, the “management of solid waste (SW)” is approached with a holistic perspective: it not only refers to the collection and the disposal of SW in municipal councils, but it also deals with some necessary preventative strategies like SW prevention, re-use, recycling and recovery.

The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) is designed to safeguard the world's biodiversity hotspots. CEPF is a joint initiative of Conservation International, l'Agence Française de Développement, the Global Environment Facility, the Government of Japan, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the World Bank

The waters and beaches of the Western Pacific are important nesting beaches, feeding areas and nurseries for leatherbacks, hawksbills, green and loggerhead turtles. These turtles are important culturally, economically and nutritionally for the people of Melanesia. However, they are being threatened from natural and human impacts and some species like the Western Pacific leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) turtles are on the verge of extinction.