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This policy analysis identifies threats to coral reefs, evaluates the effectiveness of the existing legal framework to address these threats and formulates recommendations to strengthen community-based natural resource management in Solomon Islands coral reefs of crucial importance for food security and rural livelihoods in the archipelago. Logging is a major yet often overlooked threat to coral reefs in the country. Large-scale logging operations cause massive erosion, which has a detrimental effect on water quality. The shipping accidents oil pollution and uncontrolled construction of log pond associated with the logging industry also have a significant impact on coastal ecosystems.

The community based conservation (CBC)paradigm predicts that sustainable biodiversity can only be achieved if local people perceive benefits from conservation. Through interviews, the situation in Samoa portrays that the CBC of mangroves was received with apprehension because the mangrove biodiversity was more significant than sustaining the livelihood of the local communities. In contrast, Iriomote Island residents were able to achieve maximum socio-economic benefits but to the extent that they were over commercializing the mangrove ecosystem. More research is imperative to find out how biodiversity conservation can be married with sustainable development objectives to sustain the local communities' livelihood.

Land is at the very core of everything connected to the faa-Samoa (Samoa way) - culture, titles, language, aiga (extended family) and people. It is often the cause of major conflicts between individuals, families, villages or districts. Drawn-out disputes are common due mainly to uncertainties over numerous beneficial owners with competing interests. One only has to visit the Lands and Titles Court at Mulinuu in Upolu and Tuasivi in Savaii to witness the extent in which Samoans would fight to protect the pule (authority) over their customary lands. This forum does not permit legal representation but allows the beneficial owners to argue their own cases themselves before a panel of Samoan judges. For such an important issue in people's lives the subject of land is not openly discussed, except in court, giving the impression that either it is too complex to deal with or too personal to be anybody else's business.

Merremia peltata, disturbance ecology, tropical cyclones and Samoa. The biology and ecology of Merremia peltata are not well understood. While some regard the species as an exotic invader of Pacific Island ecosystems (Meyer. 2000). others identify the plant as a native species likely to be harmful to native ecosystems (Whistler, 1995a. 2002) or as either native or ancient Polynesian introduction behaving invasively (Space and Flynn.(2002). In Samoa, this species occurs up to an elevation of around 300 meters (Whistler 1995a). and thus only affects lowland ecosystems. This species increases its distribution and abundance in two ways, either vegetatively. by sprawling into neighboring areas and rooting from its nodes or by seeds, although early research in the Solomons observed a low seed viability rate, and creeping may thus be its primary means of reproduction (Bacon. 1982). M. peltata has apparently been in the Pacific for hundreds of years (Whistler, pers. com.) but has only become invasive in the years following tropical cyclones Ofa (1990) and Val (1991) according to comments from local government officials. Disturbance thus appears to be an ecological contributing factor to this invasion.

The National Capacity Self-Assessments (NCSA) projects assist developing countries and economies in transition to assess capacity to meet requirements under the United Nations Convention for Biological Diversity (UNCBD), the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). UNDP is supporting 116 countries to prepare a NCSA. This Resource Kit is the core of UNDP's technical backstopping to those countries. Its purpose is to guide Project Teams through every step of project implementation, from project signature until project cb- sure.

This thesis is a case study of a new initiative of environmental conservation currently being planned in Western Samoa. The initiative is based on what are termed "Conservation Area Projects' whose primary goal is to help rural people achieve sustainable development without degrading biological diversity. The research focuses on the first Conservation Area Project proposed for Western Samoa- the Sataoa- Saanapu Conservation Area and in particular the 75 ha Sataoa-Saanapu mangrove forest. This forest is one of Samoa's priority ecosystems requiring protection. Data on conservation area ecology, geography, sociology and economics are all presented. Threats to the conservation area are outlined and ways of dealing with them discussed. Survey results showed that the mangrove forest provides food, firewood, medicines, materials for house and boat construction, cultural handicrafts and opportunities for recreation. Both subsistence and cash needs are provided by the forest Although the forest is valued highly by local people and is still in relatively good condition, overharvesting of resources and the use of inappropriate and destructive harvesting techniques such as the use of dynamite and fish poisons are threatening the forest ecosystem. A decline in fish and crab catches appears to be occurring. Population growth and increasing commercialisation of the economy may further increase these threats in future unless they are dealt with soon. To deal with these threats it is recommended that more sustainable resource harvesting regimes be encouraged and new income generating opportunities such as aquaculture, ecotourism and agricultural diversification be developed. It is also recommended that local people be involved in every stage of the planning and later implementation of all conservation area management prescriptions.