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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.

Launch of the State of the Environment (SoE) report and the National Environmental Management Strategy (NEMS) for Tuvalu

The Tuvalu State of Environment Report presents an overview across four thematic areas: Environmental Governance, Coastal and Marine, Atmosphere and Climate, and Built Environment. The report uses the 'Drivers, Pressure, State, Impact and Response' model to describe the environment, As far as possible the report is based on quantitative data relating to the state of the environment, supplemented by stakeholder input to describe casual relationships and environmental effects. The report presents; a description of key drivers and pressure on the environment, an assessment of the current state of the environment, and a description of current responses and future recommendations of each thematic areas.

This island nation contains many marine eco-systems, from globally significant coral reefs to mangroves, seagrass areas, seamounts and deep-sea trenches supporting at least 769 fish species, including sharks and rays, as well as whales, dolphins and sea turtles.

The regionally unique Constitution of the Republic of Vanuatu provides that ―all land in Vanuatu belongs to custom owners and their descendants‖ and that the ―rules of custom shall form the basis of ownership and use of land.‖1Implementing this principle, however,after decades of land alienation by foreign ersusing alien laws has proven to be challenging. Concerns over actual and perceived problems of land alienation through leasing in Vanuatu triggered a National Land Summit in 2006,2followed by an Interim Transitional Implementation Strategy and a National Land Review, all of which set the stage for a legislative and administrative reform agenda and served as a guide to short-and long-term assistance to the land sector.

Th e Vanuatu Economic Report 2009 outlines the state of economy and social development in the country and presents a road map for addressing key development challenges. It identifies the principal binding development constraints and opportunities in public sector performance, private sector and social development, and governance.

The Government of Vanuatu has decided to set up a micro hydro electric-power station on the Epong river to provide up to 25KW of electric power for the village of Epao and to use this development project as a pilot plant for training purposes on hydro electric power management.

This Environmental Legislation Review for Tuvalu has been produced as an important component of the National Environmental Management Strategies (NEMS) Project. The NEMS Project was developed to address sustainable environmental development and planning issues in a number of Pacific island countries. It was funded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Australian International Development Assistance Bureau (AIDAB) and implemented through the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) as part of a broader UNDP assistance project called PMI: Planning and Implementation of Pacific Regional Environment Programme which concentrates oil regional and in-country institution strengthening and training of environmental managers.