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Standards are living documents which reflect progress in science, technology and systems. To maintain their currency all Standards are periodically reviewed, and new editions are published.

The Pacific island regions is unique in having a single LCC with the same footprint as the regional CSC.

The purpose of thei review was to assess the effectiveness of the Pacific Plan and ensure that it remains the driver of regional efforts for integration and cooperation.

Lying about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to Australia, Vanuatu represents the main bulk of an island chain which continues into the eastern Solomon Islands. The islands are volcanic rock or uplifted carbonate structures and there is ongoing volcanic activity in a number of locations. Fringing reefs predominate. Crown-of-thorns sea star (Acanthaster planci) outbreaks have been reported. Up to the present time the larger islands have remained forested, however, increased logging threatens to destroy Vanuatu’s rainforests. Rising pollution from sewage inputs and sediment run off and overharvesting of some non-motile reef species are also concerns.

Situated between Fiji to the west and Samoa to the northeast, the Kingdom of Tonga (referred to as Tonga) is comprised of 171 scattered islands of which less than 50 are inhabited. The islands are mainly composed of limestone formed from uplifted coral. Current critical environmental concerns have arisen due to deforestation; damage to coral reefs and the introduction and spread of invasive alien species. Anthropogenic pressure has resulted in extensive modification of all ecosystems on the limestone islands of this group. Only uninhabited and steep volcanic islands still support large tracts of forest.

A Global Environment Facility (GEF) funded project is currently being implemented in Niue titled the “Prevention, Control and Management of Invasive Alien Species in the Pacific Islands”. This is a multicountry project and includes the Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Palau, Tonga, and Samoa. Activities within the framework of this project include the conservation of priority species and ecosystems and the management of Invasive Alien Species (IAS).