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The Government and UNDP have entered into a commitment to govern UNDP's assistance to the cook islands provided under the special Fund Agreement with New Zealand("SFA")Signed by the New Zealand government on its behalf on 29 june 1963. This Country Programme Action Plan together with the Annual Workplans(AWP),(which shall be deemed annexes to this CPAP)Concluded hereunder constitute toghther the project documents as refered to in the SFA.

Increasing recognition of the changes in the natural environment as a result of human interference has lead to the international community agreeing on a number of multi-lateral environmental agreements (MEAs). At the 1992 Earth Summit, world leaders agreed on a comprehensive strategy for "sustainable development" – meeting our needs while ensuring that we leave a healthy and viable world for future generations. Three key agreements from the Summit are the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. These three are known as the Rio Conventions.

Like most Pacific Island countries, Tonga is vulnerable to external economic shocks and natural disasters, particularly droughts and cyclones. Tonga ranks third on a global ranking of 111 development countries by the Composite Vulnerability Index. Tonga’s resident population is approximately 100,000 and is almost entirely Polynesian. The same number of Tongans is believed to reside in overseas countries, mainly in New Zealand, Australia and the United States of America.