Home

The purpose of this Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (BSAP) is to Assist the Marshall Islands to Plan for the Conservation of its biodiversity and for in the sustainable use of its biological resources. This is the first time that such a strategy and action plan has been formulated for the country. It provides an opportunity for the government of the Republic of the Marshall Islands to integrate principles of sustainable resource management and biodiversity conservation into the national development planning processes.

Global biodiversity loss is rapid and ongoing. International efforts are redoubling as the international community realizes the importance of biodiversity in maintaining our life support systems. In 2004 Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity committed to have effectively conserved at least 10% of marine and coastal ecological regions globally by 2010. Micronesian leaders responded to this commitment, and have taken this one step further by committing to effectively conserve 30% of nearshore marine and 20% of terrestrial resources by the year 2020.

A Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) is under discussion for the period 2021–2030, which will replace the ‘‘Aichi Targets’’ adopted by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 2010. Given the limited success in meeting most of the Aichi Targets, this new framework must adopt a different approach. A key challenge the GBF must address is its implementation at national scales. Four ways this implementation challenge can be addressed include:

Ocean health is critical to all life on this planet. Phytoplankton, the microscopic plants found in the sunlit area of almost all oceans, generate about half of the Earth’s oxygen, and the complex interaction between the ocean and the atmosphere sustains our climate. Yet the oceans are in decline, largely because of human activities that are driving the collapse of fisheries, the loss of biodiversity, and the acidification of seawater.

The definition of large-scale marine protected areas in the Pacific Ocean is fundamental to the achievement of global marine conservation targets. The threatened nature of the global ocean is emphasised, the evolution of global spatial targets for marine conservation outlined and the implementation of large-scale marine protected areas in Australia and the Pacific Ocean more broadly is reviewed. The article concludes with some reflections on the efficacy of such mechanisms in the Pacific.

The development of a new international legally binding instrument for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ agreement) is in the final negotiation phase. Legal recognition of rights of nature is emerging worldwide as a fresh imperative to preserve ecological integrity, safeguard human wellbeing, broaden participation in decision-making, and give a voice to nature – but so far exclusively within national jurisdiction. In this paper, we consider how a Rights of Nature perspective might inform the BBNJ agreement.

Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLCs) are the holders of a vast amount of traditional knowledge of the ocean and its resources.

The current report, based on the work of over 100 economists/scientists, analyses the global economic implications of a 30% PA target for agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and the PA/nature sector itself. (OECMs were only defined by the CBD in 2018, too recently to economically model, but we include a qualitative treatment of them.) n We carried out two analyses: a global financial one (concrete revenues and costs only); and a tropicsfocused economic one (including non-monetary ecosystem service values), for multiple scenarios of how a 30% PA target might be implemented.

The current report, based on the work of over 100 economists/scientists, analyses the global economic implications of a 30% PA target for agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and the PA/nature sector itself. (OECMs were only defined by the CBD in 2018, too recently to economically model, but we include a qualitative treatment of them.) n We carried out two analyses: a global financial one (concrete revenues and costs only); and a tropicsfocused economic one (including non-monetary ecosystem service values), for multiple scenarios of how a 30% PA target might be implemented.

The second edition of the Newsletter of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas Oceania (WCPA Oceania) for 2020 is now available.

Full Newsletter (Pdf)