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1. A defining feature of the Pacific is the Western Pacific Warm Pool ecosystem. The limited land base of the area is distributed among 200 high islands and 2,500 low islands and atolls. All participating islands lie in the tropical zone and experience sea surface temperatures that rarely fall below 20 degrees Celsius. In general, the islands increase in size from east to west such that over 83% of the region's land mass is situated in Papua New Guinea, and most of the rest is in the other Melanesian countries and territories.

The economic survival of various production sectors, and of the people depending on those sectors for their livelihoods, is intricately connected to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. The word "mainstreaming" can be used synonymously with "inclusion." Mainstreaming means integrating or including actions related to conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in strategies relating to production sectors, such as agriculture, fisheries, forestry, tourism and mining. Mainstreaming might also refer to including biodiversity considerations in poverty reduction plans and national sustainable development plans. By mainstreaming biodiversity into sectoral strategies, plans and programmes, we recognize the crucial role that biodiversity has for human well-being.