Search the SPREP Catalogue

American Samoa's wetlands are disappearing. Between 1961 and 1991, 30% of the wetland area on the island of Tutuila was lost forever. Watch this video to see where the remaining wetlands are in American Samoa, both in Tutuila, Aunu'u, and on the islands of Manu'a. These areas will continue to be threatened until everyone makes the effort to preserve and protect this vital resource.

Scientists have hypothesised that, due to "greenhouse gases" being omitted into the atmosphere through human activities, the climate on Earth may change at an accelerated rate in the near future. The potential for serious environmental, social, physical, political and economic difficulties from this change has become a common subject throughout the Pacific during recent years. A list of recent publications on the causes of and possible effects from this climate change can be found.

Remote sensing has been proven as a powerful tooi for the monitoring and management of natural resources, this tool is now finding application in the countries of the South east Asian region. Whiie some countries, such as Thaiiand. are already advanced in the use of remote sensing, others are only now transferring this technology into the role of resource management. Recent developments in micro-computer based systems have brought digital image processing within the reach of scientists and resource managers.

Address by the Hon. Russell Marshall, Minister of Foreign Affairs to the Commonwealth Institute Pacific Environment Conference, 3 October 1988