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Rarotonga the capital of the Cook Islands is rapidly developing with tourism as one of the major income earners for the country. The health of the lagoon and reef is important for the welfare of the people. It is vital that the health of the lagoon is monitored and action is taken to protect the health of the lagoon, coral reef and the people that use it. Human activities contribute to the decreased water quality, for example farming of pigs, deforestation and farming crops close to streams. The water quality monitoring programme gives an evaluation of the state of the streams and lagoon, and can be used to identify issues that need to be addressed.

The Common Myna Acridotheres tristis was originally introduced to the island of Atiu, Cook Islands, in 1915 to control the Coconut stick insect Graeffea crouanii but it has since become a pest itself. The Rimatara lorikeet Vini Kuhlii or ‘Kura’ was reintroduced, after disappearing from the Southern Cook Islands almost 200 years ago, to Atiu on 24th April 2007 from Rimatara, French Polynesia to create a reserve population due to there being only approximately 1000 birds left on Rimatara. Due to observations of mynas reportedly harassing and attacking adult and juvenile Kura at the nest, an eradication programme was introduced by Gerald McCormack, Director of the Cook Island Natural Heritage Trust (CINHT), in May 2009 to reduce the population size of myna birds to give the Kura a couple of peaceful nesting seasons to help establish a stable population on Atiu. A study by J. Mitchell of the University of Leeds in May/June 2009 estimated a starting count of approximately 6000 myna birds prior to the eradication programme. That survey was followed up in May 2010 using two strategies, the transect method and roost counts. Analysis of transect method counts, using the Distance software, estimate there are approximately 3128 mynas on Atiu. Roost counts were at variance with that figure and estimated only 1280 myna birds. The roost counts estimate of 1280 may be the most accurate because all mynas would be in the winter roosts for heat conservation from May to July alleviating the concern that females and young would be nesting away from the roosts during counts, whereas transect counts may involve recounting the same birds numerous times; a problem minimized by repeating transect counts twice daily and using different transects to cover as much of the expected habitat as possible. Only a limited survey of the population of Kura was possible during this visit to Atiu since almost all available time and logistics were focused on myna surveys. An estimate of the Kura population suggests there are approximately 100 birds, which suggests that since the 2007 introduction the Kura population is thriving on Atiu. However, comparisons with the exponential growth rate model of 184 birds suggest this difference could be due to myna bird harassment despite culling. A more comprehensive survey is recommended perhaps using similar strategies to determine whether the myna has any deleterious effect on the Kura. In July 2010 a new myna bounty was introduced and is proving successful as a further 383 myna birds were culled by the end of July. The Atiu Island Council may decide on complete eradication of the myna to give the Kura full advantage of living on Atiu in the absence of the competitive myna bird.

Coral Reefs, Seagrass beds, mangroves, sand and mud shore and intertidal flats, Barrier dunes and their associated lagoons, deltaic floodplains and estuaries, rocky shorelines, reef walls and drop-off areas, sea mounts from the complex marine habitats of PNG. Marine organisms associated with this array of habitats are important components of the rich marine biodiversity of Papua New Guinea. Coral diversity is typically very high in Papua New Guinea's reefs and this is globally significant. In Kimbe Bay of West New Britain, a total of 345 species of coral were reported. This number compares favourably to that of other detailed surveys conducted in Australia, Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines and elsewhere in Papua New Guinea and at the time was amongst the highest ever reported from such a small area. Two thirds of the coral reefs surveyed had high levels of live reef cover (greater than 50%), and many individual sites had extensive areas of very high coral cover (greater than 75%) indicating the near pristine state of the coral reefs at those locations.

Marine spatial planning (MSP) is a management tool that is increasingly being used around the country and world to coordinate decisions for coastal and ocean activities and environments in a comprehensive plan. MSP uses data on the location of important marine resources, human activities, and other key components to determine the most appropriate locations for particular uses to achieve ecological, economic and social objectives. The planning process often displays and analyzes this information using maps and other tools to inform the development of the plan.

The Government of the Republic of Palau has developed this National Spill Contingency Plan (NATPLAN) as part of its commitment to protecting our valuable coastal and marine resources from an eminent or substantial threat to the marine environment or public. NATPLAN has been developed to reflect the essential steps necessary to initiate, conduct and terminate an emergency spill response on, or into the navigable waters of the Republic of Palau, on the adjoining shorelines, the waters of the contiguous zone or into waters of the exclusive economic zone.

The Pacific Islands Roundtable for Nature Conservation (PIRT) is a coalition of nature conservation and development organizations, governments, inter-government, donor agencies and community groups created to increase effective conservation action in the Secretariat of the Pacific Islands Region. It was formed in 1997 at the request of Pacific Island countries and territories. The forum enables those organizations working on nature conservation in the Pacific to improve their collaboration and coordination towards effective conservation action. It is the key coordination mechanism for the implementation of the Action Strategy for Nature Conservation in the Pacific Island Region 2008-2012. These are the final outcomes statement of their 13th Meeting which was held in Samoa 5-9 July, 2010.

The Asian Development Bank through its contractor, the Snowy Mountain Engineering.Corporation were tasked with exploring the potential of augmenting the capacity of the Afulilo Reservoir to power a third turbine at the Ta’elafaga Hydro-power Station. To assist in this augmentation assessment, SMEC arranged with the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Program to oversight a consortium of partners to conduct a 11 month monitoring program with the purpose of assessing the status of the marine environment, particularly the coral reefs, as well as water quality in the Fagaloa and Uafato Bays. The data from the 2009-1010 marine monitoring program implies that several sites in Fagaloa Bay are exhibiting signs of various impacts from various inputs into the marine environment, which are most notable at sites 1, 2, and 14. These sites are closest to the apex of Fagaloa Bay where the Ta’elefaga Creek discharges into. Impacts for these sites include low or no coral cover and recruitment, growth in algal cover, lower salinity levels, higher rates of sedimentation and turbidity, as well as high nutrient inputs. Fish biomass at site 14 was also the lowest (sites 1 and 2 were not surveyed due to poor visibility). Other specific results across all sites include a reduction in live coral cover, a general shift to more hardier coral species, and low fish bio-mass when compared with other sites in Samoa.

The Micronesia Challenge was launched in 2006 with a general but ambitious goal to “effectively conserve at least 30% of the near?shore marine resources and 20% of the terrestrial resources by 2020” for the five MC jurisdictions. To meet this goal, government and non?government agencies across the MC region, along with MC regional and international partners, have been working together to formulate a monitoring framework that will provide the guiding structure, direction, guidelines and tools (or methods) on how we can realistically implement our respective conservation strategies at the jurisdictional level and measure conservation progress at a regional level.