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The Helping Islands Adapt workshop was held in Auckland, New Zealand between the 11th and 16th of April 2010 to support regional action against invasive species on islands, in order to preserve biodiversity and adapt to climate change. It arose from decisions under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) relating to invasive alien species and island biodiversity, and was hosted by the Government of New Zealand with support from a number of partner organisations and countries. The workshop focused on four major island regions: the Caribbean, Coral Triangle, Indian Ocean and Pacific, and involved participation by 82 people from 24 countries and territories, and 29 national, regional and international organisations (see participants list in Appendix 5). The workshop was specifically designed to allow for the maximum exchange of experience and support between representatives from diverse island regions working in invasive species management. It also included a field inspection of one of the Department of Conservation‘s invasive species management projects on Rangitoto Island in Auckland‘s Hauraki Gulf. The workshop built on efforts under the Cooperative Islands Initiative, a partnership launched at the World Summit for Sustainable Development and the CBD 6th Conference of the Parties in 2002. Its intended outputs had been agreed by the organiser‘s steering committee and set out as a 'road map‘ that was used to ensure clarity of the workshop‘s intended purpose, outputs and outcomes. An overview of the workshop, its sponsors, participants and conclusions was developed during the workshop and submitted to the 14th ?Subsidiary Body on Scientific Technical and Technological Advice (SBSSTA 14) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Nairobi 10-21 May 2010. That report is provided in full in Appendix 5 to these proceedings.

As in many tropical countries, subsistence fishers in Samoa live in discrete communities which have a high level of marine knowledge and some degree of control of adjacent waters. These factors provide an ideal basis for motivating communities to manage their marine resources. In Samoa, a community-based fisheries extension program encouraged each village community to define its key problems, discuss causes, propose solutions and take appropriate actions. Various village groups provided information which was recorded as problem/solution trees. The extension process culminated in a Village Fisheries Management Plan which listed the resource management and conservation undertakings of the community. Undertakings range from enforcing laws banning destructive fishing methods to protecting critical marine habitats. Within the first eighteen months, the extension process commenced in 57 villages of which 40 have produced Village Fisheries Management Plans. An unexpectedly large number (32) of these villages chose to establish Marine Protected Areas, the first community-owned marine reserves in the country.

In 1989, the kakerori (Pomarea dimidiata) was one of the 10 rarest bird species in the world, with a declining population of just 29 birds. During each breeding season since then, rats have been poisoned within the 155 ha of forested hill country they occupy in the Takitumu Conservation Area in southeastern Rarotonga. As a result, the kakerori population has rebounded, with a minimum of 292 birds found on Rarotonga in August 2003. In 2001/02, the emphasis of management shifted from the .recovery. of kakerori to a programme aimed at .sustaining. the population at 250.300 individuals. The major changes were an experimental reduction in rat poisoning effort to a level where recruitment of kakerori balances annual mortality, and a series of transfers to establish an insurance population on the island of Atiu. In 2003/04, all bait stations were filled fortnightly, rather than the previous mix of weekly and fortnightly refills. This reduced labour costs by 30% to 32 person days, and used a total of 39 kg of Talon® (active ingredient brodifacoum), which was only 13% of the maximum annual poison use over the same area during the .recovery. phase of the programme. Breeding success was high (0.91 fledglings/ breeding territory), even in the unpoisoned areas, and a record total of 80 fledglings was detected. The fortnightly poisoning regime offers promise as an effective, cheaper and less toxin-intensive method than that used previously, and so we recommend maintaining this regime in 2004/05, so that the longerterm effects can be assessed. A third and final batch of 10 young kakerori was transferred to Atiu Island in August 2003. This .insurance. population is becoming well established; the five breeding pairs monitored in 2003/04 each raised two fledglings, and a minimum of 15 birds was found in May.June 2004 in the small part of the island that was searched.

In 1989, the kakerori (Pomarea dimidiata) was one of the ten rarest bird species in the world, with a declining population of just 29 birds in the Takitumu Conservation Area (TCA) of southeastern Rarotonga. As a result of conservation management, the kakerori population rebounded, with up to 300 birds being recorded on Rarotonga and Atiu in 2004/05. The southern Cook Islands was, however, hit by five tropical cyclones over a 4-week period in February–March 2005, and much of the forest on exposed faces, spurs and ridges (traditional kakerori habitat) was severely damaged. The population survived remarkably well, with a minimum of 274 adults known to be alive in the TCA in August 2005. An additional 17 adults were found on Atiu between August 2005 and March 2006. The main\ casualties of the cyclones on Rarotonga appeared to be young birds (1–3 years old) and very old birds (> 20 years old). Because the population on Rarotonga remained well within the management target of 250–300 individuals, rat poisoning was again done fortnightly, as in the previous 2 years. Breeding productivity was exceptionally poor in 2005/06, mainly because of nesting failures or early fledgling deaths caused by abnormally wet conditions during the main fledging periods. Nests were more exposed to the elements because the cyclones had extensively defoliated the canopy. Furthermore, rats were often seen foraging during the day, apparently struggling to find food (few trees were fruiting). Only 22 fledglings were definitely seen in 2005/06; however, some territories were not checked or poorly checked during the breeding season, and some fledglings may have dispersed to better vegetated sites. We recommend that rat control should return to the weekly poisoning regime used during the 1989–2001 recovery phase of the kakerori management programme if the August 2006 census reveals that the population has fallen below 220 birds (a 20% decline from pre-cyclone levels). Otherwise the regime of the sustainable management phase (fortnightly poisoning) should continue.

In 1989, the kakerori (Pomarea dimidiata) was one of the ten rarest bird species in the world, with a declining population of just 29 birds living in south-eastern Rarotonga. As a result of conservation management, the kakerori population has rebounded, with a minimum of 281 birds on Rarotonga and 19 birds on Atiu in summer 2004/05. Since 2001, the emphasis of management in the Takitumu Conservation Area (TCA) on Rarotonga has shifted from the ‘recovery’ of kakerori to ‘sustaining’ the population at 250–300 individuals. In 2004/05, all rat bait stations were filled fortnightly, and so the labour costs were reduced by 30% to 34 person days, and toxin use (57 kg of Talon®—active ingredient brodifacoum) was reduced 81% from the peak year during the ‘recovery phase’. Kakerori breeding productivity was unusually high in 2004/05 because several pairs raised two broods. In the poisoned area, apparent breeding success was significantly higher (1.35 fledglings/breeding territory) than in the unpoisoned area (0.55 fledglings/ breeding territory); however, this difference was at least partly due to more effort being spent searching for fledglings in poisoned areas. A minimum of 59 fledglings was detected in 2004/05; however, some territories were not checked during the breeding season, and then a series of five tropical cyclones struck Rarotonga in a 4-week period in February/March 2005, which halted our fledgling searches, and caused severe damage to some habitat in the TCA. We expect that many kakerori perished during these cyclones; however, the population on Atiu, which was only affected by two of the five cyclones, survived unscathed. These catastrophic weather events highlighted the vulnerability of single-island endemic birds, and underlined the value of establishing an ‘insurance’ population on Atiu. We recommend that the poisoning regime should return to that used during the ‘recovery phase’ of the kakerori management programme if the August 2005 census reveals that the population has fallen below 220 birds (a 20% decline), otherwise the recent programme of fortnightly poisoning should continue.

In 1989, the kakerori (Pomarea dimidiata) was one of the 10 rarest birds in the world with a declining population of just 29 individuals living in forested hill country in the Takitumu Conservation Area (TCA) of south-eastern Rarotonga, Cook Islands. Following 12 years of rat poisoning, the population had increased to 255 birds in August 2001. The programme then shifted from ‘species recovery’ to ‘sustainable management’ of the Rarotonga population at 250 to 300 birds. The rat poisoning effort was reduced, and an ‘insurance’ population was established on Atiu. By August 2004, following the reduction of poisoning from weekly to fortnightly, and the transfer of 30 youngsters to Atiu in 2001–03, there were 281 birds on Rarotonga and 25 on Atiu. The southern Cook Islands were hit by five tropical cyclones in a four-week period in February–March 2005, and forests on Rarotonga were severely damaged. Kakerori survived the storms remarkably well, but the main effect was observed in the following breeding season (2005/06), when nesting success on Rarotonga was exceptionally poor. Reduced canopy cover caused nests to be exposed to abnormally wet conditions, and lack of fruit meant that rats were exceptionally hungry. Only 31 yearlings were known to be alive in August 2006—about half the expected number—and annual mortality of banded birds (25%) was the highest since management began. The kakerori population on Rarotonga fell 8% from 275 birds in August 2005 to a minimum of 254 birds in August 2006. The situation was better on Atiu, with the population growing from about 32 adult birds in 2005/06 to a minimum of 37 adult birds in 2006/07, and an Atiu-bred pair nested successfully for the first time. The 2006/07 breeding season on Rarotonga was moderately successful, with a minimum of 51 fledglings found. Because the ‘sustainable management’ regime of fortnightly rat poisoning in the TCA was only just adequate in giving protection to adult kakerori, the annual poisoning programme was modified by adding rounds of ‘interim’ poisoning in April and July 2007 aimed at reducing rat and cat numbers before the breeding season.

A review of the forest models developed and applied by Timberlands West Coast Ltd (TWCL) and Landcare Research Ltd (LRL) has been carried out. The models were reviewed on the basis of default settings for red beech in the Maruia Working Circle. After identifying the similarities and differences between the two models, a sensitivity analysis was carried out to quantify the impact of any differences on model outputs, in particular stand structure and harvest yield. A sequence of model variants was developed and run, starting with the TWCL default model and ending with the LRL default model. Each variant in the sequence differed in only one factor, thereby allowing quantification of the relative sensitivity of model outputs to that factor. The review focuses on the impact of differences between the models in terms of mathematical formulation, input data and assumptions. However, it excludes any analysis of the appropriateness and relative merit of the different mathematical formulations, input data and underlying assumptions. Although these are important considerations they are beyond the scope of this review. Both models can be categorised as Stand Class Models and use the Stand Table Projection Method to project the growth of a stand by simulating the growth of classes of trees. This is a commonly used approach for modelling, particularly for uneven-aged forests. The differences in mathematical formulation between the LRL model and the TWC model are: 1. Mortality is included in the transition coefficients in the LRL model whereas it is treated as an absolute reduction in the TWCL model. 2. The transition coefficients have a different structure because of different assumptions about the distribution of trees within a size class and the residence time of trees in each class. Incorporating mortality within the transition coefficients rather than as an absolute reduction has a minimal impact on model outputs. The use of LRL transition coefficients, without any other model changes, has a major impact on model outputs. However, once mortality is adjusted to reflect the different coefficients, model outputs for the LRL approach are similar to model outputs for the TWCL approach. Another difference between the models is that the LRL model allows for compensatory growth (Version 1.1) and mortality (Version 2). The model includes functions which allow tree growth rates and mortality to vary in response to changes in stand basal area. Invoking these functions can have a major impact on model outputs. Both models have the same initial tree size distribution. There are minor differences between the tree growth rates and the recruitment rates specified in the two models. These differences have a negligible impact on model outputs. The models (in terms of default settings) differ in the relationship between harvest and mortality. A fundamental assumption of the TWCL model "is that mortality is subsumed into harvest through the careful selection for harvest of trees already prone to direct mortality or mortality by association with dying or falling trees". In contrast, an underlying assumption of the LRL model is that "logging imposes mortality that is largely additional to natural mortality in any one year". These differences have a major impact on model output.

The report comprises four Parts. Part 1 presents an overview of risk analysis and its general application to the management of New Zealand's indigenous fauna and sets out a framework for risk analysis for indigenous fauna with reference to the example analysis for indigenous parrots in Part 3 of the report. Part 2 lists the indigenous vertebrate fauna populations of interest and considers, in general terms, the range of disease agents that need to be covered. A semi-quantitative method for prioritising each population of interest so as to allow an orderly progression of successive risk analyses based on each population's priority ranking is presented. Part 3 is an example evaluation of risk analysis for managing the threat of exotic disease to indigenous parrots (psittacines). Part 4 recommends the use of risk analysis as a standard and appropriate tool for the management of risk of exotic disease to indigenous fauna in New Zealand. The report recommends a number of actions that the Department of Conservation could make to reduce risk of exotic disease to indigenous psittacines in particular and indigenous fauna in general.

The Tahiti flycatcher (Pomarea nigra) is one of several monarch flycatcher species in the Polynesian genus Pomarea, all of which are threatened. The Tahiti flycatcher is currently known from only the western side of Tahiti where, during the 1998-99 season, at least 24 individuals, including 10 pairs, were located in four valleys (Blanvillain 1999). Although ten nests were protected from rats in 1998-99, only three were successful in fledging young. Two of these young apparently disappeared one week after fledging and the third, two months after fledging (Blanvillain 1999). Concern was raised about the possible predation by common myna (Acridotheres tristis), and/or red-vented bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer) on juveniles. In 1999-2000 the Societe d'Ornithologie de Polynesie (MANU) was granted funding for Tahiti flycatcher conservation by the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP). During 13-26 September 1999, RP visited Tahiti to advise and help CB with aspects of the programme. This advisory work was funded by the N.Z. Ornithological Congress Trust Board (ICBP). It builds on work by Gaze & Blanvillain (1998) funded by the Pacific Development and Conservation Trust.

Northern royal albatross (Diomedea sanfordi) eggs and chicks were collected at Taiaroa Head from 1995 to 1998 by Department of Conservation staff. Frozen whole eggs and chicks were submitted to ESR for chemical analysis. The analysis quantified the levels of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and a range of persistent organochlorine pesticides, including dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) group compounds. The total international dioxin equivalents (I-TEQ) ranged from 3.2 to 15.4 pg/g wet weight, while PCB concentrations (sum of 32 congeners) ranged from 15.7 to 89.2 ng/g wet weight. These values are very similar to the levels reported in northern royal albatross eggs collected from the Chatham Islands over the 1995 - 1996 period. Certain organochlorine pesticide residues were detected in all samples. The most prevalent were tachlor epoxide, which had mean concentrations in eggs of 58 ng/g, 6.2 ng/g, 5.0 ng/g and 1.2 ng/g wet weight, respectively. The profile of PCDD/F and PCB congeners was consistent with previous analysis conducted on northern royal albatross eggs from the Chatham Island. The profiles were also similar to those reported in albatross species from the North Pacific ocean. There was no apparent effect on the measured levels of sampling season (95/ 96 versus 97/98) or whether analysis was on eggs or chicks. The mean (range) I-TEQ values for eggs 1995/96, eggs 1997/98 and chicks 1997/98 were 8.14 (4.79 - 12.88), 9.91 (6.57-13.79) and 9.91 (3.20-15.37) pg/g wet weight, respectively. As all egg samples were from females of known age, the relationship between the age of females and the concentration of organochlorine residues in eggs was examined. No significant relationships were established. As an example, the regression between female age and egg concentration p,p'-DDE (y= -1.98x + 112.57) had a very weak r2 value of 0.155. The mean value and range for egg shell thickness was 0.57 min (0.53 - 0.63) indicating no egg shell thinning in the samples collected. The lack of egg shell effects and the similarity between residues in this study and samples previously collected from the Chatham Islands, suggests apparent reproductive impairment in Chatham Island albatross is not caused by the analysed organochlorine contaminants. The similarity of the organochlorine levels between Taiaroa Head and Chatham Island albatross suggests that previous conclusions regarding risk still apply: namely, that while the greatest risk of adverse effects to albatross are attributable to the I-TEQ, the residues are below the exposure levels where adverse effects would be expected to occur.