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The objective of the Caribbean Environment Outlook is to provie information on the state of the environment in the Caribbean to help identify regional environmental concerns and highlight policy priorities.

This report provides an overview of the state of environment (SOE) focusing on the Lomé countries of the Western Indian Ocean - the Federal Islamic Republic of Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius and Seychelles, followed by the reiew of current policy responses including multilateral environmental agreements and regional and national policy initiatives already undertaken in the region.

The Pacific islands region is unique, not because its geographical, biological, sociological and economic characteristics are found exclusively here but because of combination of these characteristics within the region. The region is characterized by: smal land masses dispersed over 5.8 % of the Earth's surface; a high degree of ecosystem and species diversity an extraordinary level of endemicity a high degree of economic and cultural dependence on the natural environment, vulnerability to a wide range of natural and environmental disasters and a diversity of cultures and languages, traditional practices and customs focused on the marine and coastal environment.