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In 1993 a study of coastal villages in Vanuatu revealed that within the previous three years there had been a rapid increase in marine resource management (MRM) activities. The initial impetus for these events was the Vanuatu Fisheries Department's promotion of a voluntary, village-based trochus management programme. Initially the programme involved only a few fishing villages out of a total of several hundred. The Department surveyed their community trochus stocks, advised the people that regular several-year closures of their trochus fishery, followed by brief openings, would generate far more profit than the usual practice of harvesting continually. They left it to the villagers to decide whether or not to act on this advice.

In common with other Pacific Island countries, the Government of Vanuatu has pursued a policy of developing small scale artisanal fisheries to improve the supply of fresh fish and to provide income earning opportunities at the village level. This policy has led to the development of an artisanal fishing industry that was initially based on the exploitation of deep slope fishes but is presently diversifying into catching large pelagic fishes and shallow water reef fish. Vanuatu also has a button and ornamental shell industry based chiefly on the harvests of the top shell (Trochus niloticus) that has grown from two processing plants in 1990 to eight in 1992. Finally, the islands of Vanuatu have large numbers of coconut crabs, which are harvested mainly for hotels and restaurants that serve the important tourism industry in Vanuatu.

The plastic demijohn Origin: streets, streams, beaches and boats. Behaviour: can cause serious, even fatal intestinal blockages in marine animals if swallowed. Average lifespan: 400 to 600 years. The battery Origin: streets, streams and boats. Behaviour: discharges liquids that are highly toxic for marine animals and plants. Average lifespan: more than 1000 years. The plastic bottle Origin: streets, streams, beaches and boats. Behaviour: can cause fatal intestinal blockages in marine animals that swallow it. Average lifespan: 300 to 500 years.

The 7th Conference of the Pacific Community and 41st Meeting of the Committee of Representatives of Governments and Administrations (CRGA) took place at SPC headquarters in Noumea from 1 to 8 November. The Conference of the Pacific Community — SPC's governing body - is held every two years and is immediately preceded by the meeting of CRGA, which makes recommendations to the Conference.

The Pacific Regional Framework comprising this Background Note. Model Law and Explanatory Memorandum, has been developed to assist Pacific Island countries and territories wishing to legally protect its Traditional Knowledge and Expressions of Culture. The framework is developed in response to calls from the region, in the face of increasing exploitation and inappropriate commercialization of their traditional knowledge and expressions of culture.

This Strategic Plan for the Regional Maritime Programme (RMP) of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) follows on from RMP's Three year strategic plan 2003 to 2005. It builds on achievements of the previous plan period and sets out the direction of the Programme over the next five years (2006 to 2010).

This Strategic Plan for the Land Resources Division (LRD) of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) sets out the direction of the division over the next four years (2005 to 2008). It follows and supersedes the 2001–2004 Strategic Plan of the Agriculture Programme and the 2001–2005 Strategic Plan of the Forestry Programme. It recognises the achievement of several objectives contained in these earlier documents, as well as current and emerging regional priorities in the agriculture and forestry sectors. The plan reflects the recent organisational restructure, which brought together the previously separate Agriculture and Forestry programmes under the umbrella of an integrated Land Resources Division.

Some underwater photographs of live sea cucumbers are reproduced with kind permission from the French Institute of Research for Development (IRD) and the WorldFish Center. Photographs of dried beche-de-mer are by Eric Aubry and Jipé LeBars, Noumea, New Caledonia.

As the importance of community participation is increasingly recognized in natural resource management and community development, participatory tools are increasingly utilized. With this, a vast pool of community information is collected and there is a need for agencies to make knowledgeable and accurate interpretations of this data.

This style manual has been written to help SPC and SPREP authors produce documents for publication and has been designed to establish a convention for style and grammar, streamline the editing process and facilitate layout. It is not meant to cover every style and grammatical issue the SPC or SPREP author may encounter. Volumes have been written on such subjects.