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Coral reefs face threats from climate change and local pressures, but many initiatives designed to deliver conservation outcomes for them and the social-economic system they support are limited by sustainable finance and the availability of funds over the long term.

Since the launch of the 50 reefs portfolio in 2018, the worlds coral reefs have experienced continued climate change impacts that have led to mass coral bleaching and mortality.

Hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) are exploited for their beautiful shell known as tortoiseshell or bekko, making them extremely vulnerable in the illegal global trade of tortoiseshell products. In this study, we developed an effective, standardized method using a commercially available kit to extract DNA and obtain informative mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region sequences (∼800 bp) from hawksbill turtle products in order to trace the sample back to a likely stock origin. We also sequenced additional skin samples from nesting beaches of Milman Island, Australia and Arnavon Island, Solomon Islands to add to the baseline data for hawksbill turtles in the Indo-Pacific. Our results indicate that nine of the 13 tortoiseshell products obtained from Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands were from turtles with haplotypes found primarily at the Solomon Islands rookery and did not match those from nesting populations in Australia or SE Asia, with the exception of one haplo type also found in 3% of turtles at Milman Island. We also found that 23% of the market samples have haplo types only documented in foraging populations, which illustrates the urgent need for more extensive sampling of rookeries to fill gaps in the reference baseline database. Nevertheless, our study results demonstrate an effective methodology for obtaining DNA of sufficient quantity and quality from hawks bill turtle products.

Children's story book, illustrated by students from Bekabeka High School and Biche Village in Marovo Lagoon, Solomon Islands with words by Carol Albert.

The enhancement of state effectiveness should begin paradoxically with an understanding of the diverse communities that constitute each state system. Shifting the focus from state institutions and analyzing sources of community strength, resilience and security (and the traditional values, customs, beliefs that underpin them) will help generate a better sense of “grounded legitimacy” which is a pre-requisite for the development of more effective political and judicial institutions in post colonial states.

This article briefly outlines the cause of global warming, its trends and consequences as indicated by the International Panel on Climate Change. Sea-level rise is one consequence of particular concern to Pacific island states. It also reviews the views of economists about connections between economic growth and global warming. Whereas the majority of economists did not foresee a conflict between economic growth and global warming, the possibility of such a conflict is now more widely recognized following the Stem Report. International efforts, such as through the Kyoto Protocol, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and their atmospheric concentration are discussed and prospects for post-Kyoto policies are considered. It is predicted that a significant reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions is unlikely to be achieved in the foreseeable future due to conflicting national interest (a prisoners' dilemma problem) and because is will take time to develop new technologies which will reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, payment for greenhouse gas emissions (for example, via tradable permits) will accelerate desirable technological advance. Both international political action and efforts to develop and use technologies that lower greenhouse gas emissions need to be pursued. Given current and likely increases in greenhouse gas emissions, continuing global warming in this century appears to be inevitable and consequently Pacific island states will be adversely affected by sea-level rise and climate change. How they will be affected and to what extent is discussed together with their ability to cope with the emerging problem Ways are also examined of addressing the consequences for Pacific island states of global warming.

This proposal will provide the scientific basis to support sustainable management of the Marovo Lagoon in the Solomon Islands, while maximising use of local marine resources for the benefit of local communities. The health of coastal marine ecosystems in the Marovo lagoon, like many sites around the world, are at risk due to inappropriate land use adjacent to coastal rivers and the lagoon (FAO 1994; Umali etal. 1987; WWF 1999a & b; World Bank 2000). Mangrove, seagrass and coral habitats provide the basis of most food chains in tropical regions; hence any deterioration in the condition or health of these habitats will lead to significant losses in both physical and functional benefits derived from these coastal ecosystems. Both intentional (wetland reclamation, point source pollution discharge, destructive fishing practices) and unintentional (increased run-off due to clearing, non-point source pollutant release) anthropogenic activities can lead to serious degradation of these important habitats and lead to a reduction in productivity of the ecosystem.

This thesis is a critical ethnographic account of the Wartha people, a small group of hunter-horticulturalists living on the Torassi or Bensbach River, in the southwest corner of the Western Province of Papua New Guinea (PNG). This area is adjacent to the international border between PNG and Indonesia's Papua Province (West Papua).