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On the 21 small islands located within the northern bays and reef systems of Tongatapu, Tonga, species of terrestrial flora present were identified, and vegetation units and gemorphological features surveyed on 12 that were previously unmapped. A species/ area plot of the data shows that rock islands are consistently more diverse than sand islands. Size of flora is also a function of frequency of human use of islands, which increases with area, and proximity to the mainland. Floristic composition varies from east to west across the group, with increasing shelter provided by the mainland from prevailing winds.

At the time of the POBSP visit, cats (Felis domestica), dogs (Canis familiaris), and pigs (Sus scrofa) were being raised by the natives. Comments in Ward (1967) and by Lamont (1867) suggest that the pigs may have been introduced to Tongareva in 1853 from the ship wrecked vessel Chatham. Rats (Rattus sp.) were numerous in 1965, but as no specimens were collected their identity is unknown. Lamont (1867) stated that in 1853 "... [the natives] had never seen an animal larger than a very small rat, that lives principally in the cocoa-nut trees " Lamont's description suggests that the rats on Tongareva are Rattus elegans, a species widely distributed on the Pacific Islands.

Tongatapu, like Tahiti, was visited by many early European navigators and was one of the first of the South Pacific islands to be charted in any detail. Though it was discovered (and named Amsterdam Island) by Tasman in January 1643 (Sharp 1968, 152-158), the first comments on the sand cays of the surrounding reefs were made by Cook during his second voyage, with the Resolution and Adventure, in October 1773. On this occasion Cook spent less than a week at Tongatapu, anchored in the northwest, and commented that "it would have taken up more time than I could spare to have surveyed these parts Minutely as there are a number of small Islots and reefs of rocks extending to the NE even further than we could see" (1961, 261). His naturalists, the Forsters, did not describe the cays, though Georg Forster remarked on the emersion of reef limestones on Tongatapu and its similarity to the continuing emergence of the land in Scandinavia (1777, I, 453). Cook returned on his last voyage in 1777, with the Resolution and Discovery, and stayed for a month. He anchored near modern Nuku'alofa and landed on Pangaimotu and possibly other islands (1967, 124-125, 155, 890). He charted the area but gave no description of the cays.

This nearly 70-page EIA, prepared for the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), investigates the Ok Tedi copper–gold mine’s impact on Papua New Guinea’s Fly–Ok Tedi River system. It reveals that approximately 80,000 tonnes of ore-processing residues—plus comparable volumes of waste rock and overburden—are discharged into the headwaters daily en.wikipedia.org+6library.sprep.org+6pacific-data.sprep.org+6 . Over decades, this dumping has elevated river beds, causing altered flow patterns, severe flooding, and erosion of nearby croplands and forests. The report traces the spread of trace metals throughout the floodplain, assessing sediment metal concentrations and ecological risk. It highlights widespread environmental degradation: deforestation, reduced aquatic biodiversity, and polluted agricultural soils. These impacts threaten both ecosystems and the livelihoods of downstream communities, while also raising broader concerns about sustainable mining and the need for environmental safeguards in the Pacific.

The Government of Tonga began promoting reef resources for generating foreign revenue in the mid 1980s. These particular reef resources include small inedible1 fish, corals (soft and hard), invertebrates and live rocks (rubbles, dead rocks, aquarium rocks). The purpose of this fishery is aimed at ornamental or pets in aquaria and is not for human consumption. All fisheries fundamentally have substantial economic contribution. It follows that it also has social importance. The UNEP reported that between 1.5 to 2 million world wide keeps marine aquaria in their homes, schools, Research Institutions and in public aquaria. By global standards it is a multi million dollar trade with an estimated worth of US$200-300 million generated annually.

Country profiles on the state of coral reefs systems in the Pacific

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