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Mapservers containing country level data on land utilisation, forestry, mineral etc: Cook Islands; Fiji; Kiribati; Nauru; Papua New Guinea; Samoa; Solomon Islands; Tonga; Tuvalu; Vanuatu

Despite its extraordinary cultural and biological diversity and richness, the Pacific is recognised by the World Heritage Committee as one of the most under-represented regions on the World Heritage List. Moreover, the Pacific region requires special assistance for the more effective implementation of the World Heritage Convention, as it faces special challenges related to its unique geographical, cultural and social characteristics.

Thematic Frameworks for the cultural values of the Pacific / Ian Lilley and Christophe Sand|Pacific Islands World Heritage Tentative Lists / paul Dingwall|Developing the Solomon Islands Tentative List / Salamat Ali Tabbasum|The Cook Islands / Justina Nicholas and Ngatuaine Maui|Natural world heritage in Oceania: challenges and opportunities / Stuart Chape|bikini Atoll: a small remote atool of global significance/ Nicole Baker|Levuka, FijiL the heritage of culture contact in the Pacific / anita Smith, Sipiriano nemani and Anaseini Kalougata|Transnational Values in the development of a World heritage nomination for the Sacred site of Taputapuatea/Te Po of Opoa, French Polynesia / Ariihau Richard Tuheiava, Anith Smith|Yapese stone money: a transboundary serial nomination from Micronesia|Community as the First C: Conservation and development through tourism at Chief Roi Mata's Domain, Vanuatu / Meredith Wilson, Chris Ballard, Richard Matanik and Topie Warry|The ancient royal tombs of lapaha, Tonga : Community and world heritage / Geoffrey Clark, Christian Reepmeyer and Nivaleti Melekiola|Community participatory approach to heritage conservation in Samoa / Elisaia Talouli, Tuiolo Schuster|Samoan women: preservers of their cultural heritage / Luagalau Fo'isagaasina Etuati-Shon|Building Regional Capacity for World Heritage in the Pacific islands: toward a Pacific Heritage Hub / Anita Smith and Meretui Ratunabuabua|Safeguarding Nan Madol, Federated States of Micronesia / Diana Roma|The Kokoda initiativ, Papua New Guinea|UNESCO's World Heritage Programme for Small Island Developing States and the Global Strategy / Ron van Oers|Niue: a small island state in West Polynesia / Moira Enetama

The Marine Protected Area (MPA) Program Master Plan is meant to be a simple and easy to follow step-by-step roadmap to assist the American Samoa Government (ASG), Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources' MPA Program in meeting the goal to ensure protection of unique, various and diverse coral reef habitat and spawning stocks. This will also assist efforts to meet the Governor's mandate of protecting 20% of American Samoa's coral reefs by declaring no-take MPAs. The MPA Program Master Plan will provide new Program Leaders with a description of the activities that the MPA Program staff has been involved with, along with a vision of what is to come, and a foundation upon which to move forward. This structured guide will allow MPA Program Leaders to track their progress towards creating no-take MPAs. It is hoped that this plan will help to minimize the loss of institutional memory due to high staff turnover. The Master Plan will help the local staff to understand what activities the MPA Program plans to conduct. By having a plan, the MPA Program can be more transparent with the public by announcing opportunities for the public to be involved in implementing no-take MPAs. This long-term plan will help to guide the writing of future grant proposals and can assist the coordination of activities with other natural resource agencies and entities. This Master Plan is written with the assumption that the MPA Program staff and budget will remain at about the same level throughout implementation (1 program leader and 2- 3 staff, plus volunteers). If opportunities arise to increase staff and funding, the timeline may change for activities. Also, additional activities may be undertaken.

Despite substantial increases in food production in many countries over the past two decades, the world is still poorly fed. Over 500 million people suffer from malnutrition; and every year about 20 million people die of starvation and its related diseases. In this situation, it is important that every effort be made to improve nutrition and increase food security, particularly for the rural poor. This publication aims to afford proper recognition to the contribution forests and trees make to the food economies of rural societies. It also outlines the changes that need to be made within forestry institutions to enable them to make a significant contribution to the food security of local communities. Food security is increased not only by the presence of forests but also by the small stands of trees found in homegardens and on farms. We use the term `cultivated trees' to describe the latter, and reserve the term `forests' for large stands of trees situated outside the homestead or farm, whether such forests are managed or not. Both play major, often little recognized roles in improving food security in rural communities. Parts of forest plants and trees are also used in traditional medicines. These medicines stimulate appetite, help the body to utilize nutrients in food, and fight infection. Tree products provide an extra source of income for the rural poor without which many families would go hungry or become malnourished. Fuelwood and charcoal, rattan and other materials for furniture making, tendu leaves for cigarette manufacture, gum arabic for a variety of industrial uses, numerous oils and resins, dyes and medicines are all sold by the rural poor. They enable millions of the poorest people in the world to earn the cash they need to avoid starvation. Forests and agroforestry systems also play important roles in stabilizing agriculture's resource base, for example, by slowing down soil erosion by wind and water and reducing sedimentation in rivers. In some cases, trees improve and enrich agricultural soil and help stabilize water supplies, thus improving soil productivity and making sustainable cultivation of marginal lands possible. Trees also exert important influences on micro-climates, thereby improving agricultural production.