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The people in the canoes are responsible for measuring 40 m along the line of the channel between pot sites, checking that the pots have been set correctlv (i.e. flat J on the bed, and checking that the rope from the buoy to the pot is long enough to ensure tiat the buoy will float freely at high tide. For measuring the 40 m between pot sites, a canoe paddles ahead with the tape measure while the dinghy, or other canoe, acts as an anchor at the previous pot position and feeds out the tape.

In 2010, under Kiribati’s Programme of Work for Protected Areas (PoWPA), a national ecological gap analysis (GA) was conducted. Its main purpose was to assess how effective the current Protected Areas (PA) network was at achieving Kiribati’s National Biodiversity Strategies Action Plan (NBSAP) conservation targets, and in particular to identify priority areas for the expansion of the PA network and priority actions for improved management of existing PAs. A complementary objective was to identify the key gaps in our knowledge of the country’s biodiversity. The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and Conservation International’s Pacific Islands Program (CI-PIP) provided technical support to the Kiribati Ministry of Environment, Lands and Agricultural Development (MELAD) to conduct a GA of Key Biodiversity Areas (KBA – areas of high biodiversity and conservation value) in Kiribati, and provided advisory support for its PA network design. The KBA approach was applied at the archipelago (Gilbert, Line and Phoenix Islands) level combining terrestrial, coastal and lagoon habitats. The KBA methodology applied here is based on an international standard methodology that focuses on worldwide threatened species. KBA sites – all designated at the island level - were identified based on the presence of globally threatened species. The KBA sites (Islands) were then prioritized based on three additional criteria including the frequency of species of local concern as identified by the NBSAP, Kiribati Adaptation Plan (KAP) II mangroves, and the PoWPA phase one consultations; areas of expert concern; and a habitat metric based on habitat diversity and numerical analysis of habitat types.

Cyclone Dani and cyclone Ella battered the northern island of Espiritu Santo early in 1999. Both cyclones were reported to have resulted in heavy rain and wind damage to the Vatthe Conservation Area. Charles Vatu, Conservation Area Support Officer estimated that about 20% of the rainforest trees in the CA were wind thrown and another 70% branchless. Damage to the ecotourism infrastructure, bungalows and trails and houses in both Sara and Matantas Villages were also reported.

In 1981, the Isabel provincial government first recognized the importance of the Arnavon Islands as a nesting ground for Hawksbill turtles, and designated the islands as a Wildlife Sanctuary. At that time, however, the government did not adequately recognize the local communities' rights and the project failed. In 1989, the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) collaborated with the Solomon Islands government and the Ministry of Natural Resources (now the Ministry of Forestry, Environment and Conservation or MFEC) to survey the Hawksbill turtle nesting beaches and populations in the northern Solomon Islands including the Amavons. The surveys documented the severe depletion of the Hawksbill turtle population due to the turtle shell (bekko) export trade which has flourished in recent years. As a result of the surveys interest was renewed for conservation in the area and local communities were approached for their support in establishing a conservation area. Through its close association with SPREP and MFEC, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) was invited by the government to take a leading role in developing and implementing a marine conservation area project to protect turtle nesting beaches and other important marine and island species on the Arnavon Islands.

The SPBCP is now two years away from the end of its funding support to Conservation Area Projects it is supporting in 12 different Pacific Island Countries. By the end of the year 2001, all CAP will have ceased receiving funds and would be very much self-dependent unless arrangements with some other donors are made.