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Over two-thirds of the world’s surface is covered by water. Open oceans, semi-enclosed or enclosed seas, coastal areas, estuaries, rivers and lakes are host to highly diverse ecosystems that span all of earth’s climatologic zones. The productivity of these ecosystems has largely shaped development of human society and led to human settlement along coastal margins. Globally, the number of people living within 100 km of the coast increased from ca 2 billion in 1990 to 2.2 billion in 1995, or 39 percent of the world’s population (WRI 2006). The number continues to increase.

Climate change is one of the greatest global threats. Scientists confidently predict that average global warming of 2°C or more will result in dangerous and irreversible effects on nature, people and the economy.10 The ultimate aim (Article 2) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (unfccc) 11 is to avoid dangerous climate change. It includes stabilising atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases at a level and in a time frame that allows ecosystems to adapt naturally. The value and importance of ecosystems in tackling and responding to climate change, both in adaptation and mitigation, is therefore recognised inherently by the Convention.

The Indian, or common, myna, Acridotheres tristis (Sturnidae: Passeriformes: Aves) was introduced throughout New Zealand in the 1870?s by locals and Acclimatisation Societies (Bull et al., 1985). Birds subsequently established in most of the North Island, with high densities present in the urban and suburban areas. Common mynas continue to flourish in the northern and central North Island, and are usually more abundant than most native birds in gardens and parks (LCR, 2008)

A project team composed of staff of the various division of MNREM was formed as a Technical Team to assist the Project Manager in the implementation of project activities. The Project Team and Manager were able to compile a Summary Report of Existing Information on Lake Lanoto’o, organized and started the initial detail surveys on the site’s flora and fauna ecologies; and prepare a list of stakeholders for engagement in the formulation of an effective management/development plan for the site.

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).

A marine protected area (MPA) is an area of sea especially dedicated to the protection and maintenance of biodiversity, and of natural and associated cultural resources, and managed through legal or other effective means. MPAs include marine parks, nature reserves and locally managed marine areas that protect reefs, seagrass beds, shipwrecks, archaeological sites, tidal lagoons, mudflats, saltmarshes, mangroves, rock platforms, underwater areas on the coast and the seabed in deep water, as well as open water (the water column). In 1988, The World Conservation Union (IUCN) General Assembly called upon national governments, international agencies and the non-governmental community to: Provide for the protection, restoration, wise use, understanding and enjoyment of the marine heritage of the world through the creation of a global, representative system of marine protected areas and through management in accordance with the principles of the World Conservation Strategy of human activities that use or affect the marine environment. In many parts of the world there is a growing focus and appreciation of the need for more MPAs and for better management generally of coastal and marine environments.

Several recent studies have reported adaptation costs for climate change, including for developing countries. They have similar-sized estimates and have been influential in discussions on this issue. However, the studies have a number of deficiencies which need to be transparent and addressed more systematically in the future. A re-assessment of the UNFCCC estimates for 2030 suggests that they are likely to be substantial under-estimates. The purpose of this report is to illustrate the uncertainties in these estimates rather than to develop new cost estimates, which is a much larger task than can be accomplished here. The main reasons for under-estimation are that: (i) some sectors have not been included in an assessment of cost (e.g. ecosystems, energy, manufacturing, retailing, and tourism); (ii) some of those sectors which have been included have been only partially covered; and (iii) the additional costs of adaptation have sometimes been calculated as ‘climate mark-ups’ against low levels of assumed investment. In some parts of the world low levels of investment have led to a current adaptation deficit, and this deficit will need to be made good by full funding of development, without which the funding for adaptation will be insufficient. Residual damages also need to be evaluated and reported because not all damages can be avoided due to technical and economic constraints. There is an urgent need for more detailed assessments of these costs, including case studies of costs of adaptation in specific places and sectors.

Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) are obligated by the Convention and various decisions of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to assess their national-level impacts of climate change and their efforts to adapt to these impacts as inputs for their national communications. Parties need to select from a daunting array of potentially applicable methods and tools for making these assessments, and from various sources of information concerning their use. New methods and tools are constantly being developed and the application of those that are already in use is steadily being refined. There is therefore a need for a centralized source of information that can be maintained and regularly updated.

In this era of the global economy, tourism has become a primary source of revenue for many regions of the world, generating nearly $500 billion in worldwide revenues in 2001, and continuing to grow (WTO, 2001). The United Nations Environment Program recently facilitated a study which points out that the tourism industry now represents more than 10% of the world’s gross domestic product (UNEP, 2002). While tourism brings significant benefits for both local and global economies, its rapid growth and development in recent decades has caused widespread social and environmental change across the globe, particularly in popular coastal resort destinations. In contrast, the concept of sustainable tourism is now seen as a way to promote socio-economic development in a given region while simultaneously protecting local culture and the natural environment.