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To engage broader audiences at the Adaptation Futures 2025 conference, PRISMSS launched an interactive video quiz using Pacific humour, featuring the renowned Pacific comedian, Tofiga, to educate viewers on invasive species in a fun and culturally resonant way. The interactive quiz called, Ohh…That’s a bit Invasive, has received positive responses for its creativity and effectiveness in raising awareness on sustainable invasive species management in the Pacific. Participate in this quiz from the comfort of your home and come laugh, learn and battle the baddies of the Pacific with the PRISMSS interactive video quiz on invasive species that’s part science, part stand-up, and all heart. A quiz so funny, even the invasive species want to join. Learn how they impact biodiversity, island resilience & climate change, discover how Pacific partnerships are fighting back sustainably, gut-busting laughs, yes, learning can be funny and smarter brains thanks to our interactive video quiz

The Pacific Island nation of Niue was a leading voice at the recent COP28, calling for efforts to significantly scale up investment in the management of invasive species as a key action for increasing the climate resilience of vulnerable island nations.

Managing Invasive Species to Create a Great Green Line of Defense for the Pacific. Controlling invasive species is one of the most effective tool for restoring island resilience.

Invasive Alien Species (IAS) are a major threat to marine, freshwater and terrestrial biodiversity of the Pacific islands and to the people there that depend on biodiversity for their livelihoods. Invasive species are implicated in the decline of hundreds of species in the region. Participating Pacific states and the executing agency SPREP (Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme) recognised the need to implement the regional IAS strategy, “Guidelines for Invasive Species Management in the Pacific. A Pacific strategy for managing pests, weeds and other invasive species” (hereafter, the Guidelines) and develop and implement national IAS plans and strategies. The Guidelines were originally identified as a product under this project, but were completed in 2009 prior to writing this proposal. As envisaged during the PIF process the proposed project contributes to the implementation of the Guidelines, each country’s National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan and helps each to meet its responsibilities under Article 8 (h) of the CBD and several other international agreements addressing IAS. The three main components (not including components related to project management) of the proposed project are designed to capture outcomes and outputs described in the Project Identification Form but they have been reorganized to follow the structure of the Guidelines.

Factsheet for the Invasive species programme management course

The PRISMSS is a regional mechanism, which facilitates the scaling up of invasive species management in the Pacific. It provides management support for on the groud invasive species actions

The biological invasions have been increasing at multiple spatial scales and the management of invasive alien species is becoming more challenging due to confounding effects of climate change on the distribution of those species. Identification of climatically suitable areas for invasive alien species and their range under future climate change scenarios areessentialfor long-term management planningofthesespecies. Using occurrence data of six of the most problematic invasive alien plants (IAPs) of Nepal (Ageratum houstonianum Mill., Chromolaenaodorata (L.) R.M. King & H. Rob., Hyptis suaveolens (L.) Poit., Lantana camara L., Mikania micrantha Kunth, and Parthenium hysterophorus L.), we have predicted their climatically suitable areas across the country under the current and two future climate change scenarios (RCP 4.5 scenarios for 2050 and 2070). We have developed an ensemble of eight different species distribution modelling approaches to predict the location of climatically suitable areas. Under the current climatic condition, P. hysterophorus had the highest suitable area (18% of the total country’s area) while it was the lowest for M. micrantha (12%). A predicted increase in the currently suitable areas ranges from 3% (M. micrantha) to 70% (A. houstonianum) with the mean value for all six species being 29% under the future climate change scenario for 2050. For four species (A. houstonianum, C. odorata, H.suaveolens and L. camara), additional areas at elevations higher than the current distribution will provide suitable habitat under the projected future climate. In conclusion, all six IAPs assessed are likely to invade additional areas in future due to climate change and these scenarios need to be considered while planning for IAPs management as well as climate change adaptation.

Days 1 and 2 of the workshop course exposed participants to the theory behind rodent eradications (Fig 1). The nature and importance of undertaking a project feasibility assessment was explained and the key questions that need to be answered to determine if a project is feasible were discussed.  

The Prevention and Management of Invasive Species: Forging Cooperation throughout the Austral Pacific

The presence of invasive species generally leads to negative impacts, some perhaps irreversible, and the economic costs from the impacts and their management can be substantial and long-lasting. Efforts to understand the extent of damages caused by invasive species are slowly gaining momentum globally; however, in many countries, efforts are only beginning. This guide will assist Pacific island practitioners to use the costs that result from invasive species incursions to gain support to fund prevention, management, restoration, research and outreach. SPREP thanks James Stanford, Aaron Buncle, and Jarrod Troutbeck, who advised the development of this guide.