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On 2 April 2007 a large earthquake and tsunami hit the western Solomon Islands causing varying degrees of damage and disruption to coastal communities. In order to assist with prioritisation of assistance to affected communities, the WorldFish Center and WWF-Solomon Islands (WWF-SI) combined to carry out an immediate assessment of impacts on selected villages within the affected area. This assessment was focused on immediate damage to and needs of the coastal fisheries, including environment and infrastructure, though the opportunity was taken to assess more general damage and threats to the long term, sustainable recovery of coastal fisheries.

The global impacts of desertification and land degradation prompted the United Nations Organization to adopt the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in 1994. Tonga acceded to the UNCCD on September 25, 1998 and ratified the Convention in December 24, 1998. Under the UNCCD all parties to the Convention are expected to meet their national and international commitment to implement key activities. This report is the result of the National Capacity self-Assessment to identify and characterize critical capacity constraints relevant to effective environmental management in Tonga, and to develop a plan of action to address these constraints, in a co-ordinated manner to fulfil its obligation under the United Nation Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).

Natural and anthropogenic exploitation of natural resources led to the increasing rate of biodiversity loss. Concern was expressed by the international communities about the loss of biodiversity. In an effort to address the biodiversity crisis the United Nations Convention of Biological Diversity (UNCBD) was opened for signature at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992. The UNCBD was opened together with two other conventions namely the United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). These conventions are known as the “Three Rio Conventions”. Tonga acceded to the UNCBD, on the19th May 1998. As a party to the UNCBD, Tonga is required to take measures to ensure biodiversity conservation, sustainable use and the equitable sharing of benefits from the use of its biological diversity. The articles of the Convention also require adhering to. Tonga identified seventeen obligations under the UNCBD to be fulfilled.

Increasing recognition of the changes in the natural environment as a result of human interference has lead to the international community agreeing on a number of multi-lateral environmental agreements (MEAs). At the 1992 Earth Summit, world leaders agreed on a comprehensive strategy for "sustainable development" – meeting our needs while ensuring that we leave a healthy and viable world for future generations. Three key agreements from the Summit are the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. These three are known as the Rio Conventions.

The waters surrounding Choiseul contain some of the highest diversities of coral and reef fish in the world, with the 2004 Solomon Island Marine Assessment showing that the Solomon Islands are part of the global centre for marine diversity known as the Coral Triangle. Other countries that make up the Coral Triangle are Indonesia, Philippines, parts of Malaysia, East Timor and Papua New Guinea. Since 2004 The Nature Conservancy (TNC), the Lauru Land Conference of Tribal Community (LLCTC) and Choiseul provincial fisheries have assisted five local communities around Choiseul in their efforts to establish Marine Conservation Areas (MCA) on their traditional reefs. The first MCA to be established was the Zinoa MCA. Zinoa is located on the south-west side of Choiseul in the Solomon Islands. The Zinoa MCA was established by traditional leaders in November 2004, covering 150 hectares and consisting of two islands and associated reefs that occur approximately one kilometre offshore from Voza village on the Choiseul mainland. The reefs around Zinoa Islands are representative of this region of the South coast of Choiseul. In early 2005 sea cucumbers, trochus and giant clams around Zinoa Islands were reported by traditional reef owners to be only a tiny fraction of their former abundance and food fish populations were also reported to be in decline.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was set up jointly by the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme to provide an authoritative international statement of scientifi c understanding of climate change. The IPCC’s periodic assessments of the causes, impacts and possible response strategies to climate change are the most comprehensive and up-to-date reports available on the subject, and form the standard reference for all concerned with climate change in academia, government and industry worldwide. Through three working groups, many hundreds of international experts assess climate change in this Fourth Assessment Report. The Report consists of three main volumes under the umbrella title Climate Change 2007, all available from Cambridge University Press