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The case study reported here is part of an assessment of ‘coastal, small island and coral reef ecosystems’ in Papua New Guinea (PNG), which is being undertaken by a team of scientists coordinated by staff at the Australian National University and the University of Papua New Guinea. The first phase of the assessment (due for completion in 2005) is a nationwide survey of the relationship between coastal communities and coastal ecosystems, with a number of local-level case studies of this relationship (see Figure 1). The second phase (due for completion in 2007) will focus on community-based assessments in one of the case study areas. This second phase is an integral component of the Milne Bay Community-Based Coastal and Marine Conservation Project (MBCP), which is being implemented by the UN Development Programme and executed by Conservation International.

In September 2000, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) issued a call for proposals to undertake ‘sub-global’ assessments at local, national, and regional scales. The Call for Proposals was circulated amongst a group of social scientists who had previously had some connection to PNG’s Biodiversity Conservation and Resource Management Program – an initiative which had been funded by the Global Environment Facility from 1993 to 1998. This program had sought to evaluate the actual and potential effectiveness of ‘integrated conservation and development projects’ in forested areas of PNG where high biodiversity values are associated with low population densities. One of the key lessons of the program had been that local communities in these areas are far more interested in ‘development’ than in ‘conservation’, because they can reasonably say that they have been conserving their ecosystems for thousands of years, but are now lagging in their access to modern health and education services because of their small and scattered populations (McCallum and Sekhran 1997; van Helden 1998, 2001; Filer 2004b). If the Government cannot afford to provide these services to remote and thinly populated areas, then local people tend to dream of the day when a logging company or mining company will deliver them from their state of backwardness.

Long lifespans and wide-ranging migrations make the seven species of sea turtles difficult to monitor. They are susceptible to many sources of mortality, including direct and incidental “takes” (basically any potential impact on a turtle or its behavior [50 CFR 17.3]) from coastal and oceanic human activities worldwide. All six of the species that occur in U.S. waters1 (loggerhead [Caretta caretta], green [Chelonia mydas], hawksbill [Eretmochelys imbricata], Kemp’s ridley [Lepidochelys kempii], olive ridley [Lepidochelys olivacea], and leatherback [Dermochelys coriacea]) are listed as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act, thereby prohibiting their direct harvest, although incidental take is permitted under some circumstances. (The seventh sea-turtle species is the flatback (Natator depressus), which is only found in the waters around Australia, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia.) Accurate assessments are necessary to evaluate the status and trends of populations and the impacts of incidental takes and to assess the value of implemented protections on specific populations.

Ecosystems, from forests and freshwater to coral reefs and soils, deliver essential services to humankind estimated to be worth over USD 72 trillion a year – comparable to World Gross National Income. Yet in 2010, nearly two-thirds of the globe’s ecosystems are considered degraded as a result of damage, mismanagement and a failure to invest and reinvest in their productivity, health and sustainability.

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is a ‘Rio Convention’ resulting from the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992. Fiji signed the Convention at that time, indicating its commitment to the Convention’s objectives. Fiji ratified the CBD on 25 February 1993.

This report provides an overview of the key problems and perspectives toward sustainable production and use of biofuels. It is based on an extensive literature study, taking into account recent major reviews, and considering a wide range of different views from eminent experts worldwide. The focus is on so-called first generation biofuels while considering further lines of development. This focus is due to state-of-the-art and data availability until the end of 2008. Potential benefits and impacts of second and third generation biofuels – preferably referred to as ‘advanced biofuels’ – are partially included, and might be subject to a specific report at a later stage. The report focusses on the global situation, recognising regional differences.

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.

Massive coral bleaching episodes have impacted the function of the reefs and increased rates of mortality. Coral reefs support over one million plant and animal species and their economic value is pro¬jected to more than US $ 30 billion annually. Extreme climatic con¬ditions, however, are most likely to increase in the future with cur¬rent climate scenarios. Projected increases in carbon dioxide and temperature exceed the conditions under which coral reefs have flourished over the past 500 000 years. Coral reefs are crucial bio¬diversity hotspots and support both coastal fisheries and tourism in many regions. Coral reefs, however, are in decline in many regions as a result of numerous pressures, including, but not limited to, extreme climate events, unsustainable fishing practices, diseases, sedimentation, and discharge of untreated sewage. Increasing re¬silience and securing rapid recovery of coral reefs will be essen¬tial for the ability of these ecosystems to support coastal fisheries and coastal livelihoods and cultures in the future. However, this resilience and recovery may be seriously impounded by unsustain¬able coastal infrastructure development and marine pollution from land-based sources. At the current rate of growth, coastal develop¬ment may impact up to 90% of the tropical and temperate coast¬lines by 2032 if development continues unchecked. While progress has been made to reduce the discharge and impacts of oil spills and persistent organic pollutants (POP’s), there now needs to be a focus on the largest current threats to the coastal marine environment : untreated sewage and piecemeal coastal development.

The surge in food prices in the last years, following a century of decline, has been the most marked of the past century in its magnitude, duration and the number of commodity groups whose prices have increased. The ensuing crisis has resulted in a 50–200% increase in selected commodity prices, driven 110 million people into poverty and added 44 million more to the undernourished. Elevated food prices have had dramatic impacts on the lives and livelihoods, including increased infant and child mortality, of those already undernourished or living in poverty and spending 70–80% of their daily income on food. Key causes of the current food crisis are the combined effects of speculation in food stocks, extreme weather events, low cereal stocks, growth in biofuels competing for cropland and high oil prices. Although prices have fallen sharply since the peak in July 2008, they are still high above those in 2004 for many key commodities. The underlying supply and demand tensions are little changed from those that existed just a few months ago when these prices were close to all-time highs.

A rapid assessment of the environmental impacts of the 29 September tsunami was conducted by a multi-agency team from 3 to 14 October, 2009. Fourteen “green” and 10 “brown” environmental variables were selected and measured based on the experience of the survey team and similar reports from elsewhere. During a tour of the affected area on Upolu by car and on foot those “assessable” variables were scored “high” (over two thirds affected), “medium” (over one third, less than two thirds affected), “low” (less than a third affected) or zero (unaffected). Manono and Savaii were surveyed by air with the former showing evidence of some damage and the later apparently none or very little. The most affected areas in Upolu were villages in the Aleipata, Lepa and Falealili districts with the most obvious indicators of the tsunami’s impact being solid waste (sometimes resulting from the complete destruction of a village), erosion of the beach and fore-shore and the (expected) impact on marine resources. Other environmental variables assessed also showed similar patterns. Impacts on a wharf/dry dock facility are also described (including lost fuel drums) as are the possible environmental implications of new settlements created by displaced persons (mainly revolving around sanitation, drainage and water supply).