Protected Areas Working Group (PAWG), Pacific Islands Roundtable for Nature Conservation

While the ocean covers more than two thirds of the Earth’s surface, the oceanic territory of Vanuatu is 57 times larger than its land territory. With an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of 680,000 km2, Vanuatu is a large ocean state.

Vanuatu signed and ratified the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD) joining other 190 CBD parties to protect our global biodiversity. Vanuatu’s first National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) was developed and endorsed in November 1999.

This study aimed to estimate the economic value of seven marine and coastal ecosystem services1 in Vanuatu.

Seabirds, sharks and marine turtles are important apex species in the marine food-chain, and they maintain marine ecosystem health.

“Vemööre” is a term in the Kwenyï language spoken by people from the Isle of Pines in New Caledonia.

Island and coastal nations need to protect their waters to keep the oceans healthy. But they often have lots of debt and aren't able to prioritize ocean conservation over other needs.

Experiences from the Kiribati Ministry of Environment, Lands and Agricultural Development regarding their medium grant under the EU-ACP BIOPAMA Action Component focusing on management interventions for the Kiritimati Island Conservation Protected Area.

The aim of the National Protected Areas Forum was to fulfill mandates and strengthen policies to protect the country’s abundant natural assets into the future to benefit all life and future generations.

Palauans describe the environment as "Lukel a Klengar" - the nest of life.

This guidance document aims to build awareness, knowledge, and capacity internationally on how to best undertake economic evaluations of tourism in protected areas, and thereby contribute towards a globally acknowledged standard methodology.

This guide aims to help businesses navigate the rapidly evolving voluntary biodiversity credit (VBC) markets and decide
 whether and how to engage in VBCs.

This Management Plan was prepared by the representatives of the Vuri Clan of Sikipozo Tribe in partnership with the Natural Resources Development Foundation (NRDF), Ecological Solutions Solomon Islands (ESSI), World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-SI), the Ministry of Forestry and Research (National He

Report on Achievements for the Year 2015:  Putting Biodiversity at the Heart of Decision-Making

What are we actually protecting in the ocean?

More than 15% of global terrestrial area is under some form of protection and there is a growing impetus to increase this coverage to 30% by 2030. But not all protection is effective and the reasons some countries’ protected areas (PAs) are more effective than others’ are poorly understood.

What is a Marine Protected Area?

Community-based conservation can support livelihoods and biodiversity, while reinforcing local and Indigenous values, cultures, and institutions. Its delivery can help address cross-cutting global challenges, such as climate change, conservation, poverty, and food security.

Human rights matter for marine conservation because people and nature are inextricably linked. A thriving planet cannot be one that contains widespread human suffering or stifles human potential; and a thriving humanity cannot exist on a dying planet.

Wiawi is an important turtle-nesting site in Vanuatu known for hawksbill and green turtles.

This guide is for starting conversations about the strengths of nature in adapting to challenges of climate change.

We describe below the data and provide an overview of the specific variables that are constructed for the analysis in the papers: “Revisiting Global Biodiversity: A Spatial Analysis of Species Occurrence Data from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility” by Susmita Dasgupta, Brian

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

Full Newsletter (Pdf)

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)

The third edition of the Newsletter of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas Oceania (2018). IUCN's World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) is the world's premier network of protected area expertise.

The fourth edition of the Newsletter of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas Oceania (2019)

Full Newsletter(Pdf)

The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA)

The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) is the most comprehensive global database of marine and terrestrial protected areas, updated on a monthly basis, and is one of the key global biodiversity data sets being widely used by scientists, businesses, governments, International secretariats an

Manual - World Database on Protected Areas

East Rennell (part of the island of Rennell, in Solomon Islands) was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1998. Its listing was a milestone in the development of the World Heritage Convention regime.

World Heritage Outlook

This edition of the Living Planet Report confirms the planet is in the midst of a biodiversity and climate crisis, and that we have a last chance to act. This goes beyond conservation.

The 2023 Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement aims to conserve and sustainably use marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction. However, separating fisheries from broader conservation frameworks has led to fragmented governance.

Climate change is rapidly transforming ocean conditions. Rising temperatures and shifting currents are disrupting ecosystems and causing marine species to move in new and often unpredictable ways.