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Under a signed Letter of Agreement between SPREP and Environmental Protection Authority (RMI-EPA), the Government of the Marshall Islands agreed to submit a National Report on implementing the UNCCD to the Secretariat by April 2002. However, it was not until September 20, 2002, that the Chief Secretary nominated RMI- EPA as the official Operation Focal Point. The report gives the overall picture of the activities that the RMI Government had already initiated under the UNCCD and its future activities as well.

In summarizing the content of this report, a small proportion of the lands of the Cook Islands, less than 30%. is affected by activities carried out in the Cook Islands. This area of land is mainly on the main island of Rarotonga. Much of the natural environment described, which is very special to the continued existence and sustainable development of the scattered islands of the Cook Islands, is at the mercy of global events. To contribute to the efforts of countries to combat land degradation, and to address the global issues, this repent provided a list of future initiatives that the Government intends to carry through in order to address the various land degradation challenges identified in this report and summarized in the table below.

This is a preliminary report by the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) to the Committee on the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC) for the Convention to Combat Desertification (CCD). This preliminary report is based on the FSM State of the Environment Report, the FSM Nationwide Environmental Management Strategies (NEMS) (SPREP 1993), the Proceedings of the Second FSM Economic Summit (1999), the proceedings of the Coastal Fisheries Consortium (FSM 2000), the National Planning Framework (2002) and primarily 011 the National Report to the Biodiversity Convention. The FSM is currently in the process of formulating its First National Report as required under article 26.1 of the Convention with financial assistance from the Secretariat of the Convention. This National Report will be submitted at a later date and information will be based upon State-wide consultations as part of the process of preparing the Report. It will also include a review of agencies and programs whose work relates to the FSM UNCCD Report. This preliminary report, however, provides basic information on the nations land resources, threats and constraints to the conservation and sustainable use of land resources. The legislation and institutional framework relating to land degradation is also presented.

Although Fiji's climate is described as tropical, it is not uniform across the islands due to the relief of high islands and the impact of easterly maritime airstream - known as the South East Trades which predominates throughout 8 months of the year. Seasonally, climate ranges from hot and dry to warm and wet.

The Solomon Islands faces a crucial test of sustainability as a nation. Its component provinces resent the rule of its centralist government. The economy, weakened through a decade of poor economic management and low quality governance, has been pushed to the brink of collapse by a civil uprising between militia of two of the country's main islands. Post-Independence gains 111 health, education and infrastructure are being eroded. The commercial timbers of the nation's natural forest resources are almost spent. A frank and detailed assessment of the country's circumstances is a necessary pre-requisite to identifying the areas where UN agency support can assist recovery.

The United Nations Development Assistance Framework for Kiribati for 2003-2007 is based directly on the analysis and findings of the Common Country Assessment, the UNDAF and CCA having been developed as a single, coherent process. Together, they provide a framework for the United Nations agencies to serve Kiribati in accordance with the Secretary General’s vision of a unified UN system at the country level.

The preparation of the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF)for Papua New Guinea for the period 2003-2007, as well as the Common Country Assessment (CCA) report on which it is based, has moved the United Nations Country Team (UNCT) in Papua New Guinea closer toward the UN Secretary General's vision of a unified system at the country level.

The United Nations Development Assistance Framework for Tuvalu for 2003-2007 is based directly on the analysis and findings of the Common Country Assessment, the UNDAF and CCA having been developed as a single process. Together, they provide a framework for the United Nations agencies to serve Tuvalu in accordance with the Secretary General's vision of a unified UN system at the country level.

The preparation of the Common Country Assessment (CCA) followed by the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) are key elements in the promotion by the United Nations Country Team (UNCT) for Vanuatu of the UN Secretary General’s vision of a unified system at the country level. The CCA/UNDAF process has allowed those UN agencies actively supporting development in Vanuatu to jointly assess, with the government and other major stakeholders, the key challenges facing the country. Through the UNDAF, the UN agencies have reviewed these challenges as well as their own comparative advantages and based on the Government’s own development aspirations identified a programme of support for the 2003-2007 period.

Tuvalu has entered into numerous international commitments. These include endorsing the goals of the Decade for Education for All; the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development; the Beijing Platform of Action; the World Summit Goals for Children, the Convention on Rights of the Child, the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the Pacific Platform of Action on Women. In 2000, Tuvalu endorsed the Millennium Declaration including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), most to be reached by 2015. It seems likely (table at right) that Tuvalu will meet most key MDGs.