603 results

In order to showcase knowledge and solutions related to nature conservation action in the Pacific Islands, the original face-to-face conference provided space in its programme for 61 parallel sessions, each with a duration of 1 hour and 30 minutes.

By going virtual a lot of that space in teh agenda was lost, but we still wanted to bring those stories! By creating a virtual galleries on the website and by the event feed on the conference platform, we were able to provide new and open spaces for lightning stories to be told and striking facts to be shared!

Avariety of factors can affect the biodiversity of tropicalmammal communities,
but their relative importance and directionality remain uncertain. Previous
global investigations of mammal functional diversity have relied on range
maps instead of observational data to determine community composition. We
test the effects of species pools, habitat heterogeneity, primary productivity
and human disturbance on the functional diversity (dispersion and richness)
of mammal communities using the largest standardized tropical forest camera

This synthesis focuses on estimates of biodiversity change as projected for the 21st century by models or
extrapolations based on experiments and observed trends. The term “biodiversity” is used in a broad
sense as it is defined in the Convention on Biological Diversity to mean the abundance and distributions
of and interactions between genotypes, species, communities, ecosystems and biomes. This synthesis
pays particular attention to the interactions between biodiversity and ecosystem services and to

The research agreement signed on 19th December 2005 by the Institute of Research for Development (IRD), the University Paul Sabatier (Toulouse III) and Nantes University, the Pharmacochemical laboratories of Natural Substances and Pharmacophores Redox (UMR 1165) and the Centre of Maritime and Ocean Law (EA 1165, CDMO) led to the international research program “Coral Reef Initiatives for the Pacific” (CRISP).

This introduction provides an overview and commentary on the papers in a special issue of PARKS, which is devoted
to the impact and implications of COVID-19 on the world’s protected and conserved areas. It describes how 11 peerreviewed
papers and 14 essays have brought together the knowledge and findings of numerous experts from all parts
of the world, supported by several wide-ranging surveys. The resulting global synthesis of experience answers some
key questions: why did the pandemic occur? what has it meant for protected and conserved areas, and the people

With increasing globalization of markets, rising environmental awareness, and attention from international conventions and agreements, the vast majority of countries are looking into managing their forests more sustainably. The main limitation appears to be lack of funding for improving forest management. Traditional sources include the government, targeted investments from the private sector, international donor support, and contributions in kind from rural communities. But these are grossly inadequate, and additional finances are required.

Promote and encourage the use of standard wetland inventory methodologies following the Ramsar Framework for Wetland Inventory (Resolution VIII.6), to undertake, update and disseminate national (or, where appropriate, provincial) scientific inventories of wetlands.

In this report, a set of recommendations is provided for each indicator to support the next best steps for management action that will advance progress towards the target outcome and support Pacific people and biodiversity.

DEFINITION - % of national budget allocated to Environment Ministry or equivalent
PURPOSE - Determine trends in prioritisation of environmental funding within government
DESIRED OUTCOME - Stable or positive trend; sufficient and sustainable financing to implement environmental programmes

DEFINITION - % of MEA reporting requirements met on time
PURPOSE - Determine if MEAs are being reported on
DESIRED OUTCOME - 100% of MEA reporting requirements met on time or positive trend. PICTs successfully meet reporting obligations under MEAs in a timely manner, ideally using the State of Environment Reporting as the basis for responding to these reporting requirements

DEFINITION - Level of extractive terrestrial wildlife use by humans
PURPOSE- Increase the safety to species, ecosystems, and people from the sustainable use of terrestrial wildlife
DESIRED OUTCOME - Monitored and sustainable use of wildlife with stable populations; zero use of protected species

DEFINITION - Percentage native forest cover of total land area
PURPOSE- Indicates the suite of environmental values associated with forests (e.g. biodiversity, carbon sequestration, subsistence hunting)
DESIRED OUTCOME - Stable or positive trend in tree cover, or reduced rate of tree cover loss

DEFINITION - E. coli levels in water samples

PURPOSE - E. coli are indicators of faecal contamination in freshwater bodies and are associated with a range of possible human diseases. High levels of E. coli can be associated with cloudy water and decreased dissolved oxygen

DESIRED OUTCOME - E. coli threshold at or below globally accepted standards for drinking and bathing water, which is none detectable per 100 mL for both E. coli and total coliforms for drinking water; standards vary for bathing and swimming water

DEFINITION - % of total arable land that is under cultivation
PURPOSE - Tracks the area of arable land that is developed for agriculture
DESIRE OUTCOME - Stable trend in area under cultivation. A decreasing area under cultivation might affect food security and an increasing trend under area under cultivation implies some conversion of natural vegetation to agriculture

DEFINITION - % cover of wetlands, mangroves, and seagrass

PURPOSE - Wetlands, mangroves and seagrass provide ecosystem services not provided by other ecosystems (such as nurseries for economically important fish species, natural flood mitigation and water filter systems). They also support plants and animals not found in other ecosystems.

DESIRED OUTCOME - Stable or positive trend in area of wetlands and mangroves

DEFINITION - % of live coral cover in coastal and marine environments
PURPOSE - Indicator of overall health of reef ecosystems. These ecosystems provide important services for humans
DESIRED OUTCOME - Stable or positive trend in live coral cover

DEFINITION - Enterococci levels in water samples

PURPOSE - Enterococci are bacteria found in the intestines of animals and humans and indicate the presence of faecal pollution in coastal waters

DESIRED OUTCOME - Enterococci levels are within the safe threshold for marine recreation at all monitored sites. Current United States EPA thresholds are

DEFINITION - Trends in biomass of tuna species
PURPOSE - Track the health of this important component of the ocean ecosystem
DESIRED OUTCOME - Stable biomass catch

DEFINITION - Fish biomass for inshore fish populations
PURPOSE - Indicates inshore fish population status and reef health
DESIRED OUTCOME - Stable level of biomass; or juvenile fish are not overrepresented in markets