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Recent field surveys of the flora of Niue have identified three new species records for the island. Erigeron bellioides DC. (Asteraceae) and Psidium cattleyanum Sabine (Myrtaceae) are new naturalised records and Crepidomanes saxifragoides (C.Presl) P.S.Green (Hymenophyllaceae) is an addition to the indigenous flora.

We present a list of Chemicals of Concern (CoCs) in plastic toys. We started from available studies reporting chemical composition of toys to group plastic materials, as well as to gather mass fractions and function of chemicals in these materials. Chemical emissions from plastic toys and subsequent human exposures were then estimated using a series of models and a coupled near-field and far-field exposure assessment framework. Comparing human doses with reference doses shows high Hazard Quotients of up to 387 and cancer risk calculated using cancer slope factors of up to 0.0005. Plasticizers in soft plastic materials show the highest risk, with 31 out of the 126 chemicals identified as CoCs, with sum of Hazard Quotients > 1 or child cancer risk > 10􀀀 6. Our results indicate that a relevant amount of chemicals used in plastic toy materials may pose a non-negligible health risk to children, calling for more refined investigations and more human- and eco-friendly alternatives. The 126 chemicals identified as CoCs were compared with other existing regulatory prioritization lists. While some of our chemicals appear in other lists, we also identified additional priority chemicals that are not yet covered elsewhere and thus require further attention. We finally derive for all considered chemicals the maximum Acceptable Chemical Content (ACC) in the grouped toy plastic materials as powerful green chemistry tool to check whether chemical alternatives could create substantial risks.

Plastic pollution in the ocean is a global problem that requires cooperation from a wide range of groups (e.g., governments, producers, consumers, researchers, civil society). However, by virtue of their core regulatory powers, governments have a critical role to play in helping to solve this problem. This study aims to synthesize the policy response of governments to the global plastic pollution problem, as a basis for more rigorous monitoring of progress (as called for in Resolution 4/6 of the 2019 United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) meeting) and to inform future public policies.

In the Pacific island countries (PICs) one of the factors that contributes to relatively poor waste management is a lack of consistent data on the quantity and composition of the solid waste stream. A good database is a prerequisite to setting realistic targets for waste reduction, reuse and recycling, and to be able to measure success rates against. The measurement of the waste stream on a regular basis, say every three years, would enable planners to better monitor the efforts made to minimise and better manage waste in a municipality or on an island. Whilst better database on the waste stream does not necessarily mean that the stream would be better managed, it is virtually impossible to manage and monitor the same stream without a good baseline database.

A data suvey for the people of FSM on PacIOOS

Survey, quesstionnaire to be complete, so it will formulate the first draft of the next Framework (for the period 2020-2025) to be presented for feedback at the 10th Pacific Islands Conference on Nature Conservation and Protected Areas in Noumea, New Caledonia 2020.

Aichi Target 11 (AT11) under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) promotes the establishment and management of protected areas (PAs) in a socially equitable manner.

This report presents the analysis of data collected during the time and motion study conducted for Zone A rubbish collection(marked green in the map below). This zone is currently serviced by Jaffa’s Sanitary System Contractor under the Ministry of Natural Resources of Samoa’ssupervision.