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Atoll islands are often perceived as inevitably lost due to rising sea levels. However, unlike other islands, atoll islands are dynamic landforms that have evolved, at least historically, to vertically accrete at a pace commensurate with changing sea levels. Rather than atoll islands’ low elevation per se, the impairment of natural accretion processes is jeopardising their persistence. While global marine impacts are deteriorating coral reefs, local impacts also significantly affect accretion, together potentially tipping the scales toward atoll island erosion. Maintaining atoll island accretion requires intact sediment generation on coral reefs, unobstructed sediment transport from reef to island, and available vegetated deposition sites on the island. Ensuring the persistence of atoll islands must include global greenhouse gas emission reduction and local restoration of accretion proce

Mineral extraction from seabed has experienced a recent surge of interest from both the mining industry and marine scientists. While improved methods of geological investigation have enabled the mapping of new seafloor mineral reserves, the ecological impacts of mining in both the deep sea and the shallow seabed are poorly known.

The deep seafloor is regarded as a potentially large source of the minerals needed for producing batteries to fuel the transition to a low-carbon energy system, but rapid understrained mining would have severe impacts on deep-ocean ecosystems and should be avoided. We propose alternative pathways forward.

Community-based conservation can support livelihoods and biodiversity while reinforcing local and indigenous values, cultures and institutions.

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) was adopted during the 15th Conference of Parties (COP15) of the UN Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) 3:30am on the morning of December 19, 2022 aganist backdrop of protests by African countries.

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) agreed in 2008 on the need to identify Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas (EBSAs) in the world's oceans to focus future conservation and management efforts.

Other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) represent unique opportunities to help achieve the 2030 biodiversity conservation agenda. However, potential misuse by governments and economic sectors could compromise the outcome of theses conservation efforts.

Climate impacts affect marine ecosystems worldwide with islands nations such as New Zealand being extremely vulnerable because of their socio-economic and cultural dependence on the marine and coastal environment.

Marine heatwaves can have devastating impacts on marine and habitats, often with flow-on effects to human communities and livelihoods. This is particular importance to Pacific Islands countries that rely heavily on coastal can ocean resources and for which projected to increase in future marine heatwave (MHW) frequency intensity and duration could be determental across the Pacific Island region.

The climate, land, energy and water systems (CLEWs) approach guides the development of integrated assessments. The approach includes an analytical component that can be performed using a simple accounting methods, soft-linking tools, incorporating cross-systems considerations in sectoral models, or using one modelling tool to represent CLEW systems.