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Pacific Island countries and territories (PICT)1 are aware that climate change presents significant and growing risks to their sustainable development, including possible loss of some small atoll islands that are barely above sea level. PICTs have been among the strongest advocates globally to argue for increased, coordinated international effort to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and their plight has been recognized in ongoing global climate change negotiations. With the support of various development partners, the PICTs have also been active in developing climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies.

SEREAD is an educational programme linked to current teaching programmes in Pacific Island schools. SEREAD stands for Scientific Educational Resources and Experience Associated with the Deployment of Argo. The Argo Project is a series floats that move up and down vertically through the water and the information they provide is used to help understand the changes taking place in today’s climate.

This manual contains a detailed emergency response plan (ERP) for ant incursions that can be used by Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs) as a basis for ant-specific ERPs. The plan was developed at a workshop conducted by SPC in Suva, Fiji between 6th and 8th October 2008 and draws heavily on an existing generic emergency response plan developed by Dr Geunther Rapp in 2001 for the Secretariat of the Pacific Community.

In the tropics, coral reefs are a conspicuous and important component in the livelihoods of many coastal communities. Coral reefs are amongst the most productive and diverse habitats in tropical oceans. The diversity of organisms on coral reefs is the highest per unit area of any known habitat. Coral reefs also act as barriers against the destructive power of oceanic waves, providing sheltered environments for the development of seagrass beds and mangrove systems. These same barriers also protect the coastline from erosion that could destroy property and houses in coastal villages. Older reef structures may also form the foundations on which communities build their houses. More importantly, from a human perspective, coral reefs have long provided a source of sustenance, livelihood and set of cultural values for many coastal communities.

With fishes, sharks, dolphins, turtles, and brightly coloured corals, Papua New Guinea has one of the most striking marine environments in the world! Below the Surface is an environmental education (EE) manual developed specifically for teachers in PNG schools. It addresses key concerns of PNG’s coastal communities, and encourages students to discover, cherish and protect their coastal environments. This manual will guide you step by step through a series of activities that pose a challenge to your students: how to conserve coral reefs for their future. Your students will do an art activity to explore biodiversity in Your Marine Scene, discover interconnectedness of the marine world in the Web of Life, play the Coral Reef Challenge, and follow-up with a community investigation in Community Connections. Finally, they will work collaboratively to design creative solutions to environmental conservation issues in Corals Reefs, Values & Beliefs, and will have the opportunity to design and implement a real-life conservation project in Reef Relief: Make it Happen!

The National Fisheries Authority (NFA) underwent a reorganisation process from 1999–2003. As part of the reorganisation, provincial and lower-level government (LLG) agencies were given greater responsibility for the development and management of inshore fisheries resources. This approach was intended to: • build natural resource management capacity at provincial and local government levels; • improve the effectiveness of fishery management arrangements through greater stakeholder participation in the management process; • meet NFA's obligations under the Organic Law to provincial and LLGs, which requires central agencies to devolve responsibility for natural resources development and management to lower levels of government; • provide revenue-raising opportunities for provincial and local governments; and • free NFA of primary responsibility for managing numerous and dispersed local fisheries, which NFA is not equipped to do.

The Papua New Guinea (PNG) National Fisheries Authority (NFA) underwent a reorganization process during the Fisheries Development Project (FDP) from 1999–2003, in which it was determined that provincial and lower-level government agencies should be more involved in the development and management of inshore fisheries resources. This approach was adopted with the expectation that it would: • build natural resource management capacity at provincial and local government levels; • improve the effectiveness of fishery management arrangements through greater stakeholder participation in the management process; • meet NFA's obligations under the Organic Law on Provincial and Local-Level Governments, which requires central agencies to devolve responsibility for natural resources development and management to lower levels of government; • provide revenue raising opportunities for provincial and local governments; and • free NFA of primary responsibility for managing numerous, dispersed local fisheries, which the Authority is not equipped to do.

Ecotourism is often seen as an option to enhance the economic well being of local populations and to encourage environmental conservation, yet rural and indigenous communities often may lack access to information and the opportunity to better discuss and understand these issues. The Ecotourism Education and Awareness Program consists of relevant and useful information regarding tourism and conservation and includes a series of activities intended to increase the capacity of communities to understand and assess the potentials of sustainable tourism. The EEAP is part of Conservation International’s Ecotourism Development Program (EDP). The EDP is a comprehensive approach to sustainable ecotourism development that addresses the issues most pertinent to a given country or region by designing a series of highly interactive workshops tailored to fit the specific needs of that area.

This Manual was designed to improve and facilitate use of the UNEP Guidelines on Compliance with and Enforcement of MEAs through a variety of means. Its organization follows that of the UNEP Guidelines, with the first part of the Manual devoted to compliance and the second part to enforcement. The Manual is intended for use by a wide audience: treaty negotiators, political officials, lawyers, police, customs officers, researchers, and legal drafters in governmental, non-governmental, academic, and professional institutions. Considering the breadth of topics and audiences entailed, this Manual is a reference tool. It is not meant to be read cover-to-cover.