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The American Samoa Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources (“DMWR”)began working with local communities on the island of Tutuila in 2001 to develop the Community­Based Fisheries Management Program (“CBFMP”). Through a series of meetings with representatives from select villages, DMWR sought the voluntary participation of communities in an effort to manage and monitor their own coral reef resources. The program has grown to include seven villages, each of which is responsible for all aspects of managing and monitoring their own resources, with technical assistance from DMWR. Committees from each village have designed and implemented management plans which vary from village to village, but generally include some type of restriction on fishing activity on part or all of the reef fronting their villages. Many of the participating villages have reported anecdotally that they have seen improvement in their resources since the program’s inception, but as of yet, there has been no effort devoted towards scientifically monitoring these areas. As such, a robust, quantitative analysis of the effectiveness of the management efforts has not been possible in any of the participating villages. While it may be too late to obtain useful “baseline” data that shows the state of the marine resources prior to the implementation of the management plans, it is imperative that monitoring commence as soon as possible to allow for future analysis of the trends in the health of the reefs of the villages participating in the CBFMP.

This collection of articles provides a glimpse into the marine and wildlife resources in American Samoa's tropical, oceanic environment. The articles were written by 8 biologists at the Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources (DMWR), National Park of American Samoa (NPS) and Land Grant Program at the American Samoa Community College (ASCC). Our purpose in writing these was to make the results of our studies available to local teachers, students, visitors and whoever else might be curious about Samoa's unique environment. The use of English, Samoan and scientific names of plants and animals varies.

This film is about the ARM programme in the Pacific Ocean. Currently there are 2 research stations: in Papua New Guinea and Nauru. Both stations have been set up in a collaborative effort between ARM, the Government of Papua New Guinea and Nauru and SPREP, the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme. This film gives an insight into the ARM Programme itself, the stations in the Pacific and why climate research in the Pacific is particularly important.

The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program (ARM) contracted with SPREP's Climate Change Programme to act as an independent regional consultant to determine likely environmental impacts of locating and operating an Atmospheric Radiation and Cloud Station (ARCS) in the Republic of Nauru. In particular, ARM is concerned with the appropriate improvement of the seawall at the proposed ARCS site.

This 1995 video produced by the American Samoan Government and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) highlights the vital role of coastal wetlands in American Samoa's ecosystem. It emphasizes the importance of preserving these wetlands, which provide essential services such as flood mitigation, habitat for diverse species, and support for local livelihoods. The film underscores the need for effective coastal management strategies to protect these critical environments for future generations. The video is part of SPREP's "Anamua: Treasures of the Pacific Environment" collection and serves as an educational resource on wetland conservation in the Pacific region.

The recorded flora of the raised phosphatic limestone island of Nauru in the equatorial Pacific Ocean consists of approximately 493 species. Only 59 are possibly indigenous, none of which are endemic. The balance is composed of ornamentals, weedy exotics, food plants, and a limited number of other useful cultigens. Twelve of the recorded species are either extinct or were never successfully established on Nauru. Long human settlement, expansion of coconut monoculture during the colonial period, widespread destruction during World War II, and almost a century of open-cast phosphate mining, have led to serious vegetation degradation, disturbance, and displacement

Reef coral collections from American Samoa are in the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., and in the Hessisches Landesmuseum, Darmstadt, W. Germany. The author has a collection of 790 coral specimens for a total of 1547 items known to be from American Samoa. A total of 177 species (including 3 species of non-scleractinian corals) belonging to 48 genera and subgenera (including the genera Millepora and Heliopora) known to date are listed with data as of frequency of occurrence and habitat.

The Republic of Nauru welcomes this opportunity to submit its updated nationally determined contribution pursuant to Article 4.2 of the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This is updated nationally determined contribution (NDC) is intended to cover the time period of 1 January 2021 through 31 December 2030, and replaces the initial NDC submitted by Nauru to the UNFCCC on 17 November 2015.

Nauru is a single raised coral island with a total land area of 21 sq km. Despite its small land area, Nauru has an EEZ that extends over more than 320 000 sq km. Its maximum height above sea level is approximately 70 m.

Mongabay rainforest profiles: American Samoa, French Polynesia, Guam, Kiribati, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu