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This report is targeted at policy-makers, particularly those responsible for developing climate mitigation and adaption strategies that address issues like conservation, ecosystem services, agriculture and sustainable livelihoods. It focuses on the primary linkages between invasive species and climate change, as well as the secondary and tertiary interactions of their corresponding impacts. Finally, the enclosed recommendations are intended to provide guidance on the best ways to integrate invasive species prevention and management into the consideration of climate change responses across a range of sectors. Building on a review of existing scientific and conservation literature (which is frequently centered on well-studied invasive species in developed countries), our research has reaffirmed that there are significant gaps and questions about the intersection of these two major drivers of change. The case studies included below highlight key relationships and questions related to invasive species, climate change and the role of ecosystem-based adaptation. The three key messages that can be distilled from this report are: 1. Climate change will have direct and second order impacts that facilitate the introduction, establishment and/or spread of invasive species. 2.Invasive species can increase the vulnerability of ecosystems to other climate-related stressors and also reduce their potential to sequester greenhouse gasses. 3.Using an ecosystem-based adaptation approach, these pressures on ecosystems and their ability to provide important services can be offset by preventing the introduction of new invasive species and by eradicating or controlling those damaging species already present.

Providing access to safe drinking-water and basic sanitation is a proven engine driving development and promoting health. The water and sanitation targets of Millennium Development Goal 7 have galvanized the international community into a collective effort towards achieving sustainable access to drinking-water and sanitation for millions of people. To safeguard these achievements, we must remain vigilant to emerging trends and risks that could derail our efforts and undermine our impact on poor communities.

This case study in Vanuatu has targeted the review of legislative, administrative, and traditional/community information processes for mainstreaming the environment into development processes. Lessons learned, constraints, and positive contributions for integration of economic, social, and environmental parameters for sustainable development are highlighted. The Vanuatu Case Study Team worked in association, with the approval of the government and stakeholders, with the Tagabe River Catchment Management Initiative, a stakeholder group formed to address catchment issues within the greater Mele Catchment. The objectives of the case study are to (i) identify the shortcomings and positive aspects identified in the review of legislative, administrative, and traditional/community information processes that act as barriers or potential strengths to mainstreaming; and to (ii) identify actions that can be taken to stimulate the evolution of current planning practices to more effectively manage the environmental, sociocultural, and economic needs of the community.

The Climate Change Wildlife Action Plan Guidance Document provides voluntary guidance for state fish and wildlife agencies wanting to better incorporate the impacts of climate change on wildlife and their habitats into Wildlife Action Plans. The approaches and techniques described in this document also will be useful in modifying other wildlife plans (e.g. big game/upland game/migratory bird plans, joint venture implementation plans, national fish habitat action plan, etc.) to address climate change. The document provides an overview of the information currently available on climate change, tools that can be used to plan for and implement climate change adaptation, voluntary guidance and case studies. Climate change is a large and growing threat to all wildlife and natural systems and will also exacerbate many existing threats. Efforts to address climate change should not diminish the immediate need to deal with threats that may be independent of climate change such as habitat loss/fragmentation from development, introduction of invasive species, water pollution and wildlife diseases. Since climate change is a complex and often politically-charged issue, it’s understood that the decision to revise Wildlife Action Plans or other plans to address climate change, rests solely with each state fish and wildlife agency.

The European Union has established a Programme for Water Governance (PfWG), for three regions, Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific. A successful Pacific region submission in 2002 by the South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC) proposed three pilot studies in Fiji Islands, Kiribati, and the Solomon Islands for water governance at different scales: national, major utility and local village, island or catchment based. Increasing demographic trends, hydrogeology, climatic variation and change, urbanisation and the impacts of human activities all combine to impose significant risks to water resources in small island nations. The challenges faced in the water and sanitation sector in small island states are amongst the most difficult in the world. They require a strategic, coordinated whole-of-government approach, in partnership with island communities, that incorporates the existing expertise and experience throughout the government and community sectors and which represents the hopes and needs of communities for adequate water and sanitation.

Research for this study was carried out under a two-year project to support the implementation of Ecosystem-Based Management (EBM) at two catchment-to-reef sites on Vanua Levu, Fiji. While the original scope of the study was to draw on lessons from community monitoring of infringements within their marine protected area (MPA) networks, efforts to assist communities to keep regular records of non-compliance met with numerous challenges. Because of the limited community monitoring data, the report has changed in scope to discuss some of the root causes of non-compliance with fisheries regulations within the traditional fishing grounds (qoliqoli) of Kubulau District and Macuata Province.

As a component of the Fiji Ecosystem Based management project, this study examined seasonal patterns of variation in the ichthyofaunal communities in seven river systems in Macuata and Kubulau districts, Vanua Levu, Fiji. The study was designed to determine the abundance, diversity and biomass of fishes within different reaches of the systems during the wet and dry seasons. Catchment characteristics clearly distinguish the districts in terms of potential impacts on ecological integrity. Macuata catchments, on average, are much larger (25789 vs 3306 ha), possess much less natural forest cover (49.6 vs 76 %), have greater density of roads (1.7 vs 0.51/km2 ) and river crossings (1.4 vs 0/km2 ), and are heavily invaded by exotic species Oreochromis spp and Gambusia affinis. Rainfall patterns are similar during the wet season for the districts but Kubulau has on average twice the rainfall during the dry season. 1616 individual fishes were collected or observed from 32 families, 19 genera and 87 species both seasons. 12% more species were seen during the wet season (68 vs 58), however the two districts show conflicting patterns with higher numbers of species in the wet in Kubulau District and higher numbers of species in the dry in Macuata District. Over half of species were observed in only one season (55%), 19 (21%) species only in the dry, 29 (33%) only in the wet. Proportions of life history patterns remain relatively consistent across both seasons although there are 6 % more estuarine migrant species (particularly mud dwelling species) and 1 % more amphidromous species in the wet while there is a 4% increase in freshwater straggler species in the dry mainly driven by additional pipefish species. It is clear that Kubulau, despite its smaller average catchment sizes is significantly (p = 0.035) more diverse than Macuata. Examination of community structure across reach and season suggest that position in river reach is a greater determinant of what species are in a community than season. A conflicting pattern between the districts with regard to seasonal influence on species richness, diversity, abundance and biomass of fishes if taken in conjunction with the water quality information, suggests the wet season is having a net positive effect on habitable space for fishes in Kubulau District and having a net negative effect in Macuata District. This result suggests degraded catchments are losing ecological resilience and natural responses to cycles of seasonal change. Comparison of mean abundance and biomass in Vanua Levu to the pristine rivers of Tetepare Island, Solomon Islands suggest that the rivers of Vanua Levu are already severely ecologically compromised and in most cases adequate biomass for food utilization is only energetically worthwhile in lower reaches.

Massive coral bleaching episodes have impacted the function of the reefs and increased rates of mortality. Coral reefs support over one million plant and animal species and their economic value is pro¬jected to more than US $ 30 billion annually. Extreme climatic con¬ditions, however, are most likely to increase in the future with cur¬rent climate scenarios. Projected increases in carbon dioxide and temperature exceed the conditions under which coral reefs have flourished over the past 500 000 years. Coral reefs are crucial bio¬diversity hotspots and support both coastal fisheries and tourism in many regions. Coral reefs, however, are in decline in many regions as a result of numerous pressures, including, but not limited to, extreme climate events, unsustainable fishing practices, diseases, sedimentation, and discharge of untreated sewage. Increasing re¬silience and securing rapid recovery of coral reefs will be essen¬tial for the ability of these ecosystems to support coastal fisheries and coastal livelihoods and cultures in the future. However, this resilience and recovery may be seriously impounded by unsustain¬able coastal infrastructure development and marine pollution from land-based sources. At the current rate of growth, coastal develop¬ment may impact up to 90% of the tropical and temperate coast¬lines by 2032 if development continues unchecked. While progress has been made to reduce the discharge and impacts of oil spills and persistent organic pollutants (POP’s), there now needs to be a focus on the largest current threats to the coastal marine environment : untreated sewage and piecemeal coastal development.

Observational records and climate projections provide abundant evidence that freshwater resources are vulnerable and have the potential to be strongly impacted by climate change, with wide-ranging consequences for human societies and ecosystems. Observed warming over several decades has been linked to changes in the large-scale hydrological cycle such as: increasing atmospheric water vapour content; changing precipitation patterns, intensity and extremes; reduced snow cover and widespread melting of ice; and changes in soil moisture and runoff. Precipitation changes show substantial spatial and inter-decadal variability. Over the 20th century, precipitation has mostly increased over land in high northern latitudes, while decreases have dominated from 10°S to 30°N since the 1970s. The frequency of heavy precipitation events (or proportion of total rainfall from heavy falls) has increased over most areas (likely). Globally, the area of land classified as very dry has more than doubled since the 1970s (likely). There have been significant decreases in water storage in mountain glaciers and Northern Hemisphere snow cover. Shifts in the amplitude and timing of runoff in glacier- and snowmelt-fed rivers, and in ice-related phenomena in rivers and lakes, have been observed (high confidence).

Small island developing States (SIDS) are highly vulnerable to climate change and sea level rise owing partly to their small land masses surrounded by ocean, and their location in regions prone to natural disasters. SIDS are often characterized by having relatively large populations for the area they occupy with high growth rates and densities; poorly developed infrastructure and limited natural, human and economic resources, and their high dependence on marine resources for their livelihood needs. Most of their economies are reliant on a limited resource base and are vulnerable to external forces, such as changing terms of trade, trade liberalization, and migration flows. Adaptive capacity to climate change is generally low.