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Life on Earth is disappearing fast and will continue to do so unless urgent action is taken. Well designed and effectively managed systems of protected areas are a vital tool for reducing biodiversity loss while delivering environmental goods and services that underpin sustainable development. There are currently over 130,000 protected areas worldwide, covering around 13.9 % of the Earth’s land surface and 5.9 % of the territorial marine surface. These areas represent a tremendous resource for conserving biodiversity and for protecting vital ecosystem services. The world’s protected areas exist in a rapidly changing world. There are many issues facing protected areas, including climate change, invasive species, fragmentation of natural ecosystems, increasing urbanisation and growing demands upon natural resources. Consideration of protected areas must be framed within this context of global change

Climate change poses an unprecedented level of threat to life on the planet. In addition, predictions about the scale and speed of impact are continually being revised upwards, so that what was already a serious situation continues to look even more threatening. The facts are well known. Atmospheric greenhouse gases are creating warmer temperatures, ice melt, sea-level rise and an unpredictable climate, with a range of extremely serious and hard-to-predict consequences. Recent research shows an increasingly bleak picture. During the period of writing this report new information suggests that: we may already be too late to prevent widespread collapse of coral reef systems due to ocean acidification; climate change adaptation will cost US$75-100 billion a year from 2010 onwards for developing countries according to the World Bank; and climate change may move faster than expected with average temperatures rising 4ºC by 2060 compared to pre-industrial levels according to the UK Meteorological Office. But serious as the situation has now become, much can still be done to reduce the problems created by climate change. This report focuses on the role that protected areas can play in mitigating and adapting to climate change; a set of options that hitherto has been under-represented in global response strategies. In the rush for “new” solutions to climate change, we are in danger of neglecting a proven alternative.

Thirty years ago, half the developing world lived in extreme poverty—today, a quarter. Now, a much smaller share of children are malnourished and at risk of early death. And access to modern infrastructure is much more widespread. Critical to the progress: rapid economic growth driven by technological innovation and institutional reform, particularly in today’s middle- income countries, where per capita incomes have doubled. Yet the needs remain enormous, with the number of hungry people having passed the billion mark this year for the first time in history. With so many still in poverty and hunger, growth and poverty alleviation remain the overarching priority for developing countries. Climate change only makes the challenge more complicated. First, the impacts of a changing climate are already being felt, with more droughts, more floods, more strong storms, and more heat waves—taxing individuals, firms, and governments, drawing resources away from development. Second, continuing climate change, at current rates, will pose increasingly severe challenges to development. By century’s end, it could lead to warming of 5°C or more compared with preindustrial times and to a vastly different world from today, with more extreme weather events, many fewer species, and whole island nations submerged. Even our best efforts are unlikely to stabilize temperatures at anything less than 2°C above preindustrial temperatures, warming that will require substantial adaptation.

This report gives a climate change related overview of the institutional and donor framework for the region of the Pacific Islands Countries and Territorires (PICTs).

A Workshop on Regional Action to Combat Invasive Alien Species on Islands to Preserve Biodiversity and Adapt to Climate Change highlighted successes, deepened connections within regions and facilitated the exchange of experiences across regions.While discussions outlined significant obstacles to invasive alien species management2 on islands, they also showcased how targeted successes have led to major gains for conservation and development.Collaboration across developmental and environmental sectors and sustained support are critical to success in this field.Exciting new initiatives are developing to demonstrate large-scale management of invasive alien species across island regions. Next steps to accelerate and expand national, regional and international action and successful outcomes were agreed.The workshop outcomes will help drive effective management of invasive alien species threats to island livelihoods and biodiversity at local, national, regional and international levels.

Sandwatch provides a framework for children, youth and adults, with the help of teachers and local communities, to work together to critically evaluate the problems and conflicts facing their beach environments, and to develop sustainable approaches to address these issues. It also helps beaches become more resilient to climate change. The preliminary chapters of this publication focus on how to get started with Sandwatch activities and examine ways to address climate change impacts. The principle aim of this publication is to document the Sandwatch methodology: monitoring, analysing, sharing and taking action. An activities-orientated approach is used to provide step-by-step instructions to cover monitoring methods and data analysis, including observation and recording, erosion and accretion, beach composition, human activities, beach debris, water quality, waves, longshore currents, plants and animals. The activities are related to (a) sustainable development issues, including: beach ownership, mining beaches for construction material, conflict resolution between different beach users, pollution, conservation of endangered species, and (b) climate change adaptation issues: sea level rise, rising temperatures, ocean acidification and increased extreme events. Ways to share findings and create a Sandwatch network are detailed including methods such as the use of local media, websites, social networking and video production. Finally, ways are discussed to design, plan and implement a Sandwatch project to fulfill one or all of the following criteria: (a) addressing a particular beach-related issue, (b) enhancing the beach, and (c) promoting climate change adaptation.

Land, seascapes and natural resources are increasingly being set aside for protection in response to various drivers: to tackle biodiversity loss, to prevent deforestation as a climate change mitigation strategy, to restore declining fisheries. Within the biodiversity conservation sector, the impacts (positive or negative) of protected areas on local and indigenous communities have generated a lot of debate and discussions – and this discussion is escalating as other protection schemes come into play – for example Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation.

As part of the MacArthur Foundation funded project, ‘Enhancing coastal and marine ecosystem resilience to climate change impacts through strengthened coastal governance and conservations measures’1 , a national workshop on the ‘Integrated Coastal Fisheries Management (ICM) and Climate Change Adaptation’ was held from 13 to 16 October 2009 in Port Vila. The purpose of this workshop was to begin the necessary consultation and drafting of a ‘National Integrated Coastal Management Framework (NICMF)’ for Vanuatu.

Fiji is a large archipelago with diverse landscapes and climate. More than 300 islands are scattered over 1.3 million square kilometers of the South Pacific Ocean, lying between latitudes of 12 degrees and 22 degrees South and between longitude 175 degrees East and 178 degrees West. The two largest islands are Viti Levu, where most of the population resides, and Vanua Levu to the North. Together, they comprise 87percent of the total land area. The islands are characterized by diverse ecosystems including significant areas of natural forest. Wide ranges of coastal and marine ecosystems exist, ranging from extensive areas of mangroves to various coral formations.