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In a study supported by the FFPS Oryx 100% fund the authors investigated the impact of traditional hunting practices on native land birds in Samoa. Hunting and habitat modification have contributed to the near extinction of several endemic species.

Marine protected areas (MBA) provide place-based management of marine ecosystem through various degrees and types of protective actions. Habitats such as coral reefs are especially susceptible to degradation resulting from climate change, as evidenced by mass bleaching events over the past two decades. Marine ecosystems are being altered by direct effecrs of climate change including ocean warming, ocean acidification rising sea level, changing circulation patterns, increasing severity of storms, and changing freshwater influxes.

Private PES schemes do not require a specific legal framework beyond basic contract law, but they are usually limited to local water problems. However, scaling their positive results up through a nested approach may require a specific policy and legal framework. PES trading schemes require a specific legal framework as they are rather complex and usually need to be established at the regional or national scale. An appropriate legislative framework which regulates public PES schemes has the potential to stimulate the development of trustworthy markets and to ensure good governance.

Recently impacts of climate change, in particular, sea level rise, a major concern for many Pacific island countries. In early 2000, there were a series of media coverage over sea level rise issues using Tuvalu as an example.

A priority for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) is effective planning and financing of actions to address the impacts of climate change. This paper examines the vital role that regional institutions play in sharing SIDS relevant approaches and knowledge, and in delivering specialist skills and knowledge to support national efforts. It goes on to highlight the work of the Climate Resilient Islands Partnership, which links the Caribbean, Indian Ocean and Pacific Regions, and is working to rapidly scale-up cost-effective services to SIDS through inter-regional cooperation and exchange.

People from all over the Pacific came to talk about ethical principles relating to the preservation, production exchange and use of knowledge at the Regional Pacific Ethics of Knowledge Production Workshop in Apia.

Oceanic islands are good model systems with which to explore factors affecting exotic species diversity. Islands vary in size, topography, substrate type, degree of isolation, native species diversity, history, human population characteristics, and economic development. Moreover, islands are highly vulnerable to exotic species establishment. We used AICc analyses of data on 1132 vascular plant species for 15 countries and 114 islands from the Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER) project to examine biological, geographical, and socioeconomic correlates of exotic species richness. PIER provides data on the distribution of naturalized non-native plant species thought to pose environmental or economic risk. We hypothesized that the numbers of PIER-listed species would be positively correlated with island size, habitat diversity, and proximity to major source pools for propagules. Further, we expected numbers of PIER-listed exotic species to be similar among islands in the same country and to be greater where human populations were larger and where economic activity was high. Most species (908) were found on ? 10 islands. Species number was significantly correlated with island and country areas and with native plant species richness. The strongest model revealed by AICc analyses of island data included log (area) and maximum elevation as well as country membership, substrate type, and presence of an airport with paved runway (an index of economic activity). By country, AICc analyses revealed two equivalent models, both of which included log (area) and per capita gross domestic product as well as a measure of population size (either log (population size) or (population density)). Our analyses provide strong evidence of the roles of biogeographic, environmental, and socioeconomic impacts on the distribution and spread of exotic species.

Climate change is expected to cause extinctions when native plants and animals are prevented from migrating out of their hotter or drier habitats to more suitable climates. But for many species a more imminent or serious threat will be the opportunities created by climate change for invasive species to proliferate and cause more harm. Invasive species have already caused many extinctions and are one of the major causes of decline of native species and ecosystem degradation. The 2009 assessment of the vulnerability of Australia’s biodiversity to climate change noted that in many cases the impacts of invasive species benefiting from climate change are likely to exceed the direct impacts of climate change.

Marine exploitation has various cultural implications. In this paper we discuss Tokelauan fishing lore, focusing on fishing practices, technologies and materials, and relate these to fish ecology. We examine the Tokelauan classification of the marine ecosystem and the ethnoecology of fish and molluscs, particularly focusing on Tokelauan folk taxonomy and ecological knowledge related to the behaviour of fish and other marine life.|In many Pacific Island cultures, sea turtles are key figures that symbolise longevity, peace and strength. Nevertheless, their existence is now under threat. The qualitative research described in this article was undertaken on the French Polynesian islands of Bora Bora and Maupiti (see Figs. 1 and 2) to inventory local perceptions regarding sea turtles, and to better understand the relationship between them and humans. The information gathered provides a better understanding and assessment of the cultural heritage of sea turtles in French Polynesia. Special emphasis was placed on understanding the perceptions of children and their potential role as “ambassadors of the environment’’.

The visit to the Tokelau Islands described below is the third carried out in a study of ecology, rat control and related problems. The first visit in 1966/67 (Wodzicki 1968 A) was devoted primarily to the study of the ecology of the Polynesian rat (Rattus exulans) and the environment, including the animals and the vegetation, of Nukunonu atoll. The main objects of the second expedition in April-June 1968 (Wodzicki 1968 B) were the initiation of a long-term investigation of rat damage on all three atolls and the training of two men from each island as rat control operatives. The present visit was planned with the following tow main objectives in mind: 1. the study of the relationship of rat damage to various coconut varieties growing in the Tokelau Islands; and 2. the conduct of rat control trials with the view of preparing for the Administrator, Tokelau Islands (Mr. Richard B. Taylor) recommendations for a rat control scheme suitable for the Tokelau Islands. The preliminary analysis of data collected during the fifteen months long investigation of rat damage in 1968/69 on the three atolls suggested that palms belonging to some varieties may be more prone to rat damage then others (Wodzicki 1970). It seemed important that we learn more about the character of palms growing on the three atolls. With regard to rat control, trials with various kinds of poisons have been carried out since our first visit to the Tokelaus in 1966/67 (Wodzicki 1968 A). However, during our first two visits knowledge of rat ecology was not sufficiently advanced to allow for more sophisticated tests. Since the author's 1968 visit, the important work on rat control in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands by F.J. Smith (Smith 1969) has become available. This information and our knowledge of rat ecology, gradually acquired since the beginning of the Tokelau Islands rat project, now makes possible a programme that could become the basis of a practical rat control scheme for the three islands. As most of the previous work had been carried out on Nukunonu atoll only, it was felt that half of the time during the visit should be spent on Fakaofo and th remainder on Atafu. Following a brief descrption of these trials is the writer's recommendation of a rat control scheme submitted to the Administrator, Tokelau Islands. Finally, some other observations on plants, animals and related aspects are friefly reported and collections made for the Botany Division, D.S.I.R. and the Dominion Museum are briefly mentioned.