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This document provides a plan to protect and enhance the cloud forests of Rarotonga so that their indigenous ecosystems, habitats for endemic species, and water supply functions are preserved in perpetuity.

Pacific islands are long-settled by mankind, dating back several hundreds to thousands of years ago since discovery by islanders traveling by boat. Amongst these islands are atoll islands, which are small coral islands that lie at a low elevation and are usually part of a ring-like coral reef formation. Past and present islanders collect water from rainwater catchments and groundwater wells, with rainwater used primarily for drinking water and groundwater used as a supplement for wash water. Unfortunately, this region can experience severe drought, over-wash events during strong tropical storms, and typhoons, all of which threaten the freshwater supply for these islands. Due to rising concerns over climate change, there is interest in studying the water security of these especially vulnerable land forms. This thesis evaluates the reliability of the water supplies on four atoll islands in Yap, Micronesia by modeling the reliability of the two main sources. To first analyze rainwater catchment performance, Ifalik Island is evaluated using data collected on the island in 2015 by a collaborative research field team and a water balance model. Second, the results are used to develop design curves as a tool for rainwater catchment design and improvement. The fresh groundwater source is also modeled for each of the four islands to test the effects of varying climate conditions on the shallow, freshwater lens. Rainwater catchment systems on Ifalik Island are evaluated for their performance using a mass balance model that quantifies water storage through time. Performance is quantified primarily by reliability, which is a term to represent the percentage of days a rainwater catchment supplies sufficient water to the users. Based on the data from the Ifalik field survey, ii the average household rainwater catchment system on Ifalik uses a 16.5 square meter guttered roof with a 2,000 liter storage tank and serves seven individuals at 12 liters per capita per day. As a result of a rainwater catchment system sensitivity analyses based on the average rainwater catchment conditions, the most important factors in performance are effective roof area size, water demand, and gutter-downspout efficiency. Further analyses using the mass balance model found that the performance of each individual catchment is sufficient to provide water to the community during conditions similar to the severe drought year of 1997-1998, as well as projected rainfall conditions for the next 30 years. Therefore, analyses suggest Ifalik Island has sufficient rainwater catchment performance to provide water for the community. However, to introduce a conservative measure for water security, it is recommended that the catchment area be extended to the full size of the roof area. This would thereby increase the storage supply for the community by 25 cubic meters on the day of lowest supply under the 1997-1998 severe drought conditions.

This book aims to help people manage coral reefs and other coastal ecosystems; especially to solve problems that flow from nearby catchment (watershed) areas. Such catchment areas may be adjacent to the coral reef, or include areas a long way away and outside the jurisdiction and control of the coastal manager. This book introduces ways to reduce some of that damage through cooperation with people and industries upstream, based on the experiences of many coastal managers around the world. A catchment area is defined as all the land that channels rainwater and groundwater into a river or stream, that then delivers water to coastal areas, in this case areas that contain coral reefs. The term catchment is often interchangeable with watershed, which is particularly used in the USA and nearby countries. However, watershed is also used to describe the boundary line between two catchment areas i.e. a line drawn across the tops of hills or mountains.

Research for this study was carried out under a two-year project to support the implementation of Ecosystem-Based Management (EBM) at two catchment-to-reef sites on Vanua Levu, Fiji. While the original scope of the study was to draw on lessons from community monitoring of infringements within their marine protected area (MPA) networks, efforts to assist communities to keep regular records of non-compliance met with numerous challenges. Because of the limited community monitoring data, the report has changed in scope to discuss some of the root causes of non-compliance with fisheries regulations within the traditional fishing grounds (qoliqoli) of Kubulau District and Macuata Province.

As a component of the Fiji Ecosystem Based management project, this study examined seasonal patterns of variation in the ichthyofaunal communities in seven river systems in Macuata and Kubulau districts, Vanua Levu, Fiji. The study was designed to determine the abundance, diversity and biomass of fishes within different reaches of the systems during the wet and dry seasons. Catchment characteristics clearly distinguish the districts in terms of potential impacts on ecological integrity. Macuata catchments, on average, are much larger (25789 vs 3306 ha), possess much less natural forest cover (49.6 vs 76 %), have greater density of roads (1.7 vs 0.51/km2 ) and river crossings (1.4 vs 0/km2 ), and are heavily invaded by exotic species Oreochromis spp and Gambusia affinis. Rainfall patterns are similar during the wet season for the districts but Kubulau has on average twice the rainfall during the dry season. 1616 individual fishes were collected or observed from 32 families, 19 genera and 87 species both seasons. 12% more species were seen during the wet season (68 vs 58), however the two districts show conflicting patterns with higher numbers of species in the wet in Kubulau District and higher numbers of species in the dry in Macuata District. Over half of species were observed in only one season (55%), 19 (21%) species only in the dry, 29 (33%) only in the wet. Proportions of life history patterns remain relatively consistent across both seasons although there are 6 % more estuarine migrant species (particularly mud dwelling species) and 1 % more amphidromous species in the wet while there is a 4% increase in freshwater straggler species in the dry mainly driven by additional pipefish species. It is clear that Kubulau, despite its smaller average catchment sizes is significantly (p = 0.035) more diverse than Macuata. Examination of community structure across reach and season suggest that position in river reach is a greater determinant of what species are in a community than season. A conflicting pattern between the districts with regard to seasonal influence on species richness, diversity, abundance and biomass of fishes if taken in conjunction with the water quality information, suggests the wet season is having a net positive effect on habitable space for fishes in Kubulau District and having a net negative effect in Macuata District. This result suggests degraded catchments are losing ecological resilience and natural responses to cycles of seasonal change. Comparison of mean abundance and biomass in Vanua Levu to the pristine rivers of Tetepare Island, Solomon Islands suggest that the rivers of Vanua Levu are already severely ecologically compromised and in most cases adequate biomass for food utilization is only energetically worthwhile in lower reaches.

Flooding imposes significant costs on households and businesses located in the lower Vaisigano catchment area. SOPAC, under the European Development Fund (EDF) project Reducing Vulnerability of Pacific ACP States, has worked with the Government of Samoa to develop the Samoa Flood Management and Action Plan, which identifies actions for government agencies, the private sector, NGOs and communities responsible for flood and floodplain management that can assist in reducing flood risks in Samoa, particularly in the lower Vaisigano catchment area located in Apia, which is subject to frequent flooding.

Prior to this survey, the island nation of Samoa had not been systematically surveyed for freshwater biodiversity despite the clear role of freshwater and the associated biodiversity in providing essential ecosystem services. This report is beginning to address this gap in knowledge in Samoa by presenting the preliminary results from the first of an anticipated series of freshwater surveys and in-field trainings for Samoa with the target organisms being fishes and macro-crustaceans. A two week initial survey and training in the last fortnight of july (2008) was conducted as a collaborative effort led by Wetlands International-Oceania and the Paris National Museum of Natural History and supported by a range of agencies. Materials developed prior to the training and surveys include catchment maps with inferred catchment integrity, a pictorial training and awareness “flashcard” book for common fresh and estuarine fished, identification keys for crustaceans and fishes, two lectures and a CD of compiled material relevant to the identification of taxa and management of freshwater system.

In this report we present the results of a study carried out between May 2004 and May 2005 as a contribution to the Tropical Rivers Inventory and Assessment Project (TRIAP) of Australia's Tropical Rivers Program. The aim was to provide a framework for the analysis of the ecosystem services provided by the wetland and riverine ecosystems of northern Australia. The analyses drew heavily on the conceptual framework provided by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) where ecosystem services were defined as 'the benefits people obtain from ecosystems'. These benefits include: provisioning services such as food and water; regulating services such as flood and disease control; cultural services such as spiritual, recreational, and cultural benefits; and supporting services such as nutrient cycling that maintain the conditions for life on earth. The term 'ecosystem services' is now broadly used to encompass what can also be referred to as ecosystem goods and services and/or ecosystem functions and, at times, also environmental services. For the purposes of this report - given that the study was undertaken using the recognised 'function analysis framework' - the terms ecosystem services and functions are considered to be interchangeable unless a distinction is made otherwise.

Mangrove ecosystems are threatened by climate change. We review the state of knowledge of mangrove vulnerability and responses to predicted climate change and consider adaptation options. Based on available evidence, of all the climate change outcomes, relative sea-level rise may be the greatest threat to mangroves. Most mangrove sediment surface elevations are not keeping pace with sea-level rise, although longer term studies from a larger number of regions are needed. Rising sea-level will have the greatest impact on mangroves experiencing net lowering in sediment elevation, where there is limited area for landward migration. The Pacific Islands mangroves have been demonstrated to be at high risk of substantial reductions. There is less certainty over other climate change outcomes and mangrove responses. More research is needed on assessment methods and standard indicators of change in response to effects from climate change, while regional monitoring networks are needed to observe these responses to enable educated adaptation. Adaptation measures can offset anticipated mangrove losses and improve resistance and resilience to climate change. Coastal planning can adapt to facilitate mangrove migration with sea-level rise. Management of activities within the catchment that affect long-term trends in the mangrove sediment elevation, better management of other stressors on mangroves, rehabilitation of degraded mangrove areas, and increases in systems of strategically designed protected area networks that include mangroves and functionally linked ecosystems through representation, replication and refugia, are additional adaptation options.