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One of the greatest challanges we face in protecting our islands biodiversity is how to balance the needs of the people that use it, and the future of the environment. There are many reasons why the Pacific islands way of life is endangered, it is
necessary to address these threats, all of them. Understand ing their causes will help to stop them, if it is possible or to change or adapt our way of life. It is necessary to focus on long term sustainability strategies, but in the mean time develop and carry out short term projects to address the immediate needs of our islands.

The Regional Wetlands Action Plan (RWAP) for the Pacific Islands (SPREP, 1999) was endorsed by the 26 member countries and territories of SPREP. The Action Plan contained 28 priority actions in the areas of management, capacity building, research and monitoring for wetland ecosystems. In 2002, a formal memorandum of cooperation was signed between the Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands and SPREP to promote the importance of wetland conservation in the Pacific Islands region.

Most marine coastal conservation efforts have been species - focused and sea turles have received special attention, efforts having been made to boost depleted populations by protecting nesting beaches and hatchlings.For all the dedication,time and money applied to turtle conservation projects their effectiveness in the South Pacific region remains

The climate is equatorial marine in nature. There are 110 cyclones though rainfall is cyclic and periodic droughts are a serious problem with one year having a recorded rainfall of only 280 nun. The land biodiversity is limited with only

The islands of Nu'utele and Nu'ulua have been identified as highly significant sites for conservation in Samoa. They hold large populations of species currently found nowhere else in the country' including threatened land-birds, seabirds and nesting
turtles. They also are the only offshore islands large enough and far enough offshore to be considered as refuges for several of the nation's species threatened on the larger islands by introduced mammalian pests. Such refuges have assumed greater

On ne connait qu'une seule espece de mysticete, la
baleine de Bryde (dont il existe deux formes ou sous-
especes), qui sejourne toute l'annee dans la region du
PROE. Trois ou quatre autres especes - l'une ou les
deux especes de petit rorqual de l'hemisphere sud, la
baleine a bosse et la baleine bleue - migrent regulierement merit en saison dans certaines parties au moins de
la zone d'action du PROE. Le rorqual boreal et le rorqual commun ont egalement ete signals, mais ne sont
apparemment pas frequents (voir Rice, 1979, 321 ;

The realization that local aspirations, livelihoods, conservation and inshore fisheries management should be integrated has seen an increasing emphasis on collaborative and participatory approaches worldwide. In many respects the Pacific has taken the lead with hundreds of communities in Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Tuvalu and Micronesia now proactively managing their coastal resources.

1. Article 6 of the Convention on Biological Diversity/ requires each Party to develop or adapt national strategies, plans or programmes for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity and to integrate, as far as possible and as appropriate, the conservation and sustainable use of biological
diversity into relevant sectoral or cross-sectoral plans, programmes and policies.Available onlineCall Number: [EL]Physical Description: 11 Pages

The sustainability of conservation area projects presently supported by the South Pacific
Biodiversity Conservation Programme is a major concern as the programme winds down
to its termination in December 2001. The development and implementation of transition
strategies is currently preoccupying the Programme. This initiative seeks to ensure a
smooth transition for each project to the post-SPBCP era. The challenge is to determine
the most effective ways of using remaining SPBCP resources to ensure viable and

A Workshop on Regional Action to Combat Invasive Alien Species on Islands to Preserve Biodiversity and Adapt to Climate Change highlighted successes, deepened connections within regions and facilitated the exchange of experiences across regions.While discussions outlined significant obstacles to invasive alien species management2 on islands, they also showcased how targeted successes have led to major gains for conservation and development.Collaboration across developmental and environmental sectors and sustained support are critical to success in this field.Exciting new initiatives are dev