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The extensive Pacific Islands region comprises around 30.000 islands scattered across the vast central Pacific Ocean. The island groups and sea areas are divided into 22 countries, with a total population of around 6 million people. The great majority of people live in relatively small and isolated coastal or rural village communities, and remain closely reliant on their local natural resources for subsistence and economic development. Customary resource tenure systems prevail, in diverse, fluid, and adaptable forms, and provide an essential foundation for management of resource uses and conservation. The region contains extensive bio- logical diversity of global significance, including coral reef, coastal and open ocean ecosystems, unique island communities, and large numbers of endemic species of island plants and animals. The biodiversity of small islands and their surrounding shallow sea areas is highly vulnerable to human impacts from over-exploitation, habitat destruction, and introductions of invasive, alien species.

Like most Pacific Island countries, Tonga is vulnerable to external economic shocks and natural disasters, particularly droughts and cyclones. Tonga ranks third on a global ranking of 111 development countries by the Composite Vulnerability Index. Tonga’s resident population is approximately 100,000 and is almost entirely Polynesian. The same number of Tongans is believed to reside in overseas countries, mainly in New Zealand, Australia and the United States of America.