Protecting Our Ocean for Future Generations: French Polynesia's Marine Conservation Opportunity

French Polynesia is home to the world's largest contiguous exclusive economic zone, or EEZ, the waters over which the territory has jurisdiction. At almost 5 million square kilometers (2 million square miles), the expanse surrounds fi ve archipelagoes—the Austral, Society, Marquesas, Tuamotu, and Gambier—and is equal in size to the land area of the European Union. Spanning 118 islands, French Polynesia's waters hold a wealth of marine life. Twenty-one shark species and an exceptional coral reef system that is home to 176 coral and 1,024 fi sh species are found here. The richness of the fl ora and fauna, along with the spectacular natural beauty, contributes greatly to the local economy, particularly tourism, fi shing, and pearl farming. In recognition of this marine treasure, the government of French Polynesia announced in November 2013 a commitment to protect at least 20 percent of its waters—about 1 million square kilometers (386,000 square miles)—by 2020. Protection on this level would make French Polynesia a Pacifi c and global leader in ocean conservation, while highlighting and preserving its deep Polynesian ocean heritage for current and future generations

International migration in a sea of islands: Challenges and opportunities for insular Pacific spaces

Our contribution to the International Conference “Connecting Worlds: Emigration, Immigration and Development in Insular Spaces”, held in the Azores between 28 and 30 May 2008, examines contemporary mobility of Pacific peoples in a transnational context with reference to processes of out-migration, return, re-migration and the complex systems of circular mobility between island countries as well as to and from countries on the Pacific rim. There are some significant differences between parts of the Pacific region in terms of the access their peoples have to work and residence opportunities outside their island countries. These are reviewed with reference to some major challenges for development in the region: rapid growth of youthful populations; high levels of unemployment; limited markets for local produce; unsustainable levels of extraction of timber, fish and mineral resources; changing climates; and unstable governance systems in some countries

A Scientific Review of French Polynesia's Austral Islands: An Overview

In November 2013, French Polynesia's government committed to protecting at least 20 percent of the French territory's waters by 2020. More than 50 local organizations voiced support for this goal at a June 2014 event celebrating the local visit of the Hokule'a—the traditional Polynesian vessel and its crew that stopped in Tahiti as part of its travels from Hawaii across the Pacific to promote ocean protection. The Austral Islands, the southernmost archipelago in French Polynesia, present a great opportunity for conservation. They benefit from extraordinarily rich marine ecosystems, and their people have long sought to protect their environmental legacy. In 2014, municipal councils of the five inhabited islands called for the creation of a large marine protected area (MPA) surrounding the Australs. The government listened and announced in November at the World Parks Congress in Sydney that it intended to establish a large MPA in those waters. Earlier that year, French Polynesia invited The Pew Charitable Trusts to conduct a detailed scientific inventory of the Austral Islands' marine environment and examine the relationship between the islands and life in the surrounding waters. This interdisciplinary report is the result, produced with input from a wide range of experts. It is intended to serve as a foundation of knowledge to help define the conservation measures that the government and local communities will consider

Archaeology of Atafu, Tokelau: Some initial results from 2008

Surface survey, shovel testing, and stratigraphic excavations were done on Atafu Atoll in Tokelau during August 2008. Initial results suggest that Fale Islet has the most potential for further archaeological research. Dense cultural deposits on this islet are >1 m (39 in.) deep. Cultural material recovered includes food bone, fire-affected volcanic rock, tool-grade basalt flakes and tool fragments, Tridacna shell adzes, and pearl-shell fishhook fragments. Dog bone occurs from the earliest deposits through to the late prehistoric, while pig bone is found only in historic contexts. Fish bone is common throughout, and, with the exception of Tridacna, there are few edible mollusk remains. Initial EDXRF (Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence) analyses have found the basalt to be consistent with documented sources on Tutuila, Samoa. Basal radiocarbon dates from two excavation units are 660-540 cal. BP and 500-310 cal. BP (at 2σ)

What may be learnt about the archaeology of islands from archaeologically derived models of the exploration of Polynesia, 1966-2001?

Polynesian archaeology is one regional specialization in the world-wide practice of archaeological investigations of islands, oceans and seas. It is timely to consider how Polynesian archaeology fits within that newly-articulated framework of theoretical and methodological advances concerned with islands. To do this, I examine the history of archaeologically-derived models of the exploration of Polynesia developed since the invention of radiocarbon dating

Mosses of Tikehau Atoll (Tuamotu Archipelago, South Pacific)

Six moss species found on Tikehau Atoll in the Tuamoto Archipelago of French Polynesia are discussed in the context of their habitats and distribution. Selected ecological observations and some bryo-geobotanical problems are considered

The Zika outbreak of the 21st century.

The Zika virus outbreak has captivated the attention of the global audience and information has spread rapidly and wildly through the internet and other media channels. This virus was first identified in 1947, when it was isolated from a sentinel rhesus monkey placed by British scientists working at the Yellow Fever Research Laboratory located in the Zika forest area of Uganda, hence its name, and is transmitted primarily by the mosquito vector, Aedes aegypti. The fact that the rhesus macaque is an Asian species being placed in an African forest brings to mind the possibility of rapid adaptation of the virus from an African to Asian species, an issue that has not been considered. Whether such adaptation has played any role in acquiring pathogenicity due to cross species transmission remains to be identified. The first human infection was described in Nigeria in 1954, with only scattered reports of about a dozen human infections identified over a 50-year period. It was not until 2007 that Zika virus raised its ugly head with infections noted in three-quarters of the population on the tiny island of Yap located between the Philippines and Papua New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean, followed by a major outbreak in French Polynesia in 2013. The virus remained confined to a narrow equatorial band in Africa and Asia until 2014 when it began to spread eastward, first toward Oceania and then to South America. Since then, millions of infected individuals have been identified in Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, including 25 additional countries in the Americas. While the symptoms associated with Zika virus infection are generally mild, consisting of fever, maculopapular rash, arthralgia and conjunctivitis, there have been reports of more severe reactions that are associated with neurological complications. In pregnant women, fetal neurological complications include brain damage and microcephaly, while in adults there have been several cases of virus-associated Guillain-Barre syndrome. The virus was until recently believed to only be transmitted via mosquitoes. But when the Zika virus was isolated from the semen specimens from a patient in Texas, this provided the basis for the recent report of possible sexual transmission of the Zika virus. Due to the neurological complications, various vectors for infection as well as the rapid spread throughout the globe, it has prompted the World Health Organization to issue a global health emergency. Various governmental organizations have recommended that pregnant women do not travel to countries where the virus is epidemic, and within the countries affected by the virus, recommendations were provided for women of childbearing age to delay pregnancy. The overall public health impact of these above findings highlights the need for a rapid but specific diagnostic test for blood banks worldwide to identify those infected and for the counseling of women who are pregnant or contemplating pregnancy. As of this date, there are neither commercially licensed diagnostic tests nor a vaccine. Because cross-reactivity of the Zika virus with dengue and Chikungunya virus is common, it may pose difficulty in being able to quickly develop such tests and vaccines. So far the most effective public health measures include controlling the mosquito populations via insecticides and preventing humans from direct exposure to mosquitoes

Zika virus and the never-ending story of emerging pathogens and transfusion medicine

In the last few years, the transfusion medicine community has been paying special attention to emerging vector-borne diseases transmitted by arboviruses. Zika virus is the latest of these pathogens and is responsible for major outbreaks in Africa, Asia and, more recently, in previously infection-naïve territories of the Pacific area. Many issues regarding this emerging pathogen remain unclear and require further investigation. National health authorities have adopted different prevention strategies. The aim of this review article is to discuss the currently available, though limited, information and the potential impact of this virus on transfusion medicine

The evolution of Marshall Sahlins

MARSHALL SAHLINS (born 1930), the Charles Grey Distinguished Professor at the University of Chicago, is the highest-profile American anthropologist currently working in the field of Oceania. There is no denying his influence in theoretical areas of concern to the discipline as a whole but his final reputation is likely to rest on a number of writings on Pacific topics. Because he is an accomplished archival researcher as well as a fieldworker, his scholarship transcends anthropology and spills over into history, greatly increasing the impact his ideas have had in contemporary intellectual life