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Marine Litter Study Report produced with the financial assistance of the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) Group funds under the SUSTAINABLE WASTE ACTIONS IN THE PACIFIC (SWAP) project in SPREP, with associated project support of the Pacific Ocean Litter Project (POLP) and the Implementing Sustainable Low and Non-Chemical Development in Small Island Developing States (GEF ISLANDS) for informational purposes only to acknowledge the support of work provided by representatives of the participating countries and territories, as well as all the organisations, communities and volunteers involved in beach clean-ups and litter audits and surveys for their valuable work throughout the implementation of the project and activities.

The Ua Pou islets Pacific rat eradication operation was undertaken in August-September 2023. It attempted a global first of aerially broadcasting rodent bait by drone from a small ship in open sea across the islets of Motu Tākaè, Motu Oa, and Motu Mokohe, at Ua Pou in the Marquesas Islands. The aerial bait application resulted in only two of the three islands having bait successfully applied across their entirety, nonetheless, monitoring 12 months later has confirmed Motu Oa and Motu Tākaè are rat free as is the partially isolated section of Motu Mokohe that was also baited. The eradication success is supported by the establishment of biosecurity knowledge and practices throughout the Ua Pou communities. The results of the seabird and other environmental monitoring will help sustain a commitment over time, as well as benefiting the wider conservation community. The operation demonstrated that drones could be operated off a boat for rodent eradication purposes but was constrained by the consistently strong winds and swell conditions. A larger vessel with a deeper draught is recommended for similar operations in the future and would likely increase the number of flyable days and improve the ease with which take-offs and landings are undertaken by the drone pilots.

Les sites d’action visé par le plan de travail font référence aux parcelles affectées par la Polynésie française à sa Direction de la Culture et du Patrimoine (DCP) pour la gestion du Paysage Culturel Taputapuātea. De par cette maîtrise foncière s’en suit un droit d’intervention dans le cadre précis sur la lutte contre les espèces exotiques envahissantes. De plus elle permet de garantir le suivi et l’évaluation des actions qui seront menées sur la période du projet et voir au-delà. Globalement, en matière de biodiversité et de la culture polynésiennne ces sites se définissent selon 3 critères: (i) chaque site présente un attrait culturel majeur avec la présence plus ou moins importante de vestiges archéologiques; (ii) la faune et la flore qui s’y développe est indigène et/ou d’introduction polynésienne “naturalisé”; et (iii) des espèces protégés par le code de l’environnement polynésien et incrites sur la liste rouge de l’UICN sont présentes. La sacralité et le respect de ces lieux par la communauté locale est un atout de préservation de ces attributs « Nature et culture ». Ces sites s’incrivents dans un paysage anthropisé, il faut néanmoins les considérés comme des points refuge pour la biodiversité.

Une Espèce Exotique est une espèce végétale ou animale introduite par l’homme, de manière volontaire ou non, en dehors de sa zone habituelle. Elles deviennent Envahissantes lorsqu’elles possèdent une forte capacité de prolifération et qu’elles éliminent les plantes indigènes (locales) et endémiques. Le « Paysage Culturel Taputapuātea » (PCT), inscrit sur la liste du Patrimoine mondial de l’UNESCO, est le site retenu pour l’opération de « Mise en œuvre d’actions de lutte contre les Espèces Exotiques Envahissantes (EEE) et d’actions de gestion de la biodiversité ». C’est la raison pour laquelle ce guide a été réalisé. - d’informer sur les dangers des EEE - d’ expliquer les impacts de ces espèces - d’aider à les reconnaître - de limiter leur développement

The Standards for Phasing-Out Single-use Plastics in Pacific Island Countries’ Tourism Industry sit within Pacific Sustainable Tourism Industry Standards. The Pacific Sustainable Tourism Industry Standard, along with the Pacific Sustainable Tourism Destination Standard, provides guidance to the SPTO and its members to work towards improved sustainability in tourism as required by the Pacific Sustainable Tourism Policy Framework (PSTPF).

These guideline will serve as a vital resource for auditors and assessors alike, providing clear instructions and methodologies for conducting environmental audits, identifying areas for improvement, and implementing sustainable solutions through industry support.

Seabirds, sharks and marine turtles are important apex species in the marine food-chain, and they maintain marine ecosystem health. These resources are caught as bycatch of commercial fisheries and some species are a source of food security and livelihoods with cultural values to some coastal communities in Vanuatu.

This activity was initiated after discussions between the SPREPs Knowledge Management team and the Threatened and Migratory Species Advisor about seabirds. The proposal was to hold an interactive session with community members about seabirds to elicit information about seabirds and provide a forum for discussion. This is to try and bridge the gap between traditional knowledge holders and scientists and to support SPREP’s Information & Knowledge Management Strategy goal on knowledge sharing with the community through collaboration with partners and stakeholders. This café style of knowledge sharing is the second workshop of this type where key stakeholders come together to discuss topics on the environment. The event provided an excellent platform for information dialogue between partners and the selected community representatives on the above topic. The community members that participated shared their knowledge and experiences on seabirds in Samoa.

The Turtle Research and monitoring Database System (TREDS) was developed in 1993, to allow members of the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) to store, collate, and organise their data for research, monitoring and reporting. This tool is intended to assist members in making informed decisions regarding turtle conservation in the region. The dataset extracted from TREDS is from 1970 to 2018 and has been manipulated for the chapters covered in this report. The difference in dates for the establishment of TREDS in 1993 and the beginning of the date of the dataset of 1970 is simply due to users submitting their existing turtle data from 1970 once the database was launched in 1993, since many users saw the importance of TREDS as a lepository for storing their historical turtle data that was probably stored in paper format or on computers that would be susceptible to corruption or crashes. The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of the data contained within TREDS since its development up until its upgrade to a web-based online database platform. The last TREDS Annual Report was published in 2009 with subsequent Country reports published until 2015.

The State of Environment Report provides the latest check on the threats, the state, and the impacts on Vanuatu’s environment and the response in mitigating the threats and managing human actions. The report is a legal requirement under the Environmental Management and Conservation Act No. 12 of 2002, which has been amended to the Environmental Protection and Conservation Act [CAP 283]. The assessment is on seven thematic areas and thirty-five indicators and sub-indicators. The process for the assessment looks at the drivers, pressure, state, impact and the response to each of the indicators. National consultations with key local stakeholders provided the data and information, as well as validation of the information that is presented in the State of Environment Report.