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As we stand at the beginning of the new millennium, the threats to nature and protected areas are unprecedented. While some progress has been made and strategies such as protected areas have been successful in preserving biodiversity in some places, new threats are arising. None of these threats is as great as global climate change and none will have such large implications for the way natural resource managers plan and implement conservation strategies.

A project team composed of staff of the various division of MNREM was formed as a Technical Team to assist the Project Manager in the implementation of project activities. The Project Team and Manager were able to compile a Summary Report of Existing Information on Lake Lanoto’o, organized and started the initial detail surveys on the site’s flora and fauna ecologies; and prepare a list of stakeholders for engagement in the formulation of an effective management/development plan for the site.

We have only one planet. Its capacity to support a thriving diversity of species, humans included, is large but fundamentally limited. When human demand on this capacity exceeds what is available - when we surpass ecological limits – we erode the health of the Earth's living systems. Ultimately, this loss threatens human well-being.

Scientists have identified an area called the Coral Triangle within the Indo-Pacific - its boundaries defined by marine zones containing 500 or more species of reef-building coral. This region covers all or part of six countries: Indonesia (Central and Eastern), Malaysia (Sabah), Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste. Certain neighboring countries – including Australia, Fiji, New Caledonia and Vanuatu - contain rich coral biodiversity, but with somewhat lower numbers.