Battling invasive species in the Pacific : outcomes of the regional GEF-PAS IAS project : prevention, control and management of invasive alien species in the Pacific islands 2011-2016.

color illustrations; mapsThis publication is a snapshot of how Pacific Invasive Species Battlers are protecting their islands with the assistance of the Global Environment Facility’s Pacific Alliance for Sustainability (GEF-PAS) project “Prevention, control and management of invasive alien species in the Pacific”. The project, one of the largest investments in invasive species management in Pacific history, has raised the benchmark of invasive species management in the Pacific and enhanced the regional mechanisms that are the envy of other oceanic regions. We hope the people within this story inspire and assist other battlers to join the fight and protect our islands from invasive species

South Pacific Regional Environment Programme. Annual report

volumes : illustrations ; 30 cm. Annual.Annual report of the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme. Began publishing under this title in 2005. Previously published under the title South Pacific Regional Environment Programme. Annual report. Pacific Collection holds hard copy of this publication from 2014 backward, cataloged under call number HC681.Z9 E5744 Published in both English and French (the latter as "Rapport Annuel.

Practical guide to Solid Waste Management in Pacific Island Countries and Territories

Color illustrations; mapsThis Practical Guide is the compilation of good practices identified and developed by experts in the region through J-PRISM Phase I. This covers all solid waste management (SWM) issues from the technical ones, such as waste generation survey and landfill improvement, to the managerial ones, such as contract management and user pays system. These good practices have high applicability to other Pacific islands, although modification and adaptation are always necessary

Ecosystems, Climate Change and Development Scenarios, Vanuatu

illustrations; mapsPort Vila is the capital and largest city of the Melanesian island nation of Vanuatu, and is situated on the southern coast of Efate, the third largest island in Vanuatu. Metropolitan Port Vila is where more than a quarter of Vanuatu’s total population live. In 2016 the population of the city was approximately 75 000 and current growth rates are as high as 8% per annum. Population growth in Port Vila is much higher than in other provinces and the city is attracting internal migrants from all other islands in Vanuatu. Most new internal migrants reside in outer urban or peri-urban settlements where they do not generally have formal access to housing or land for growing food. Tropical Cyclone Pam (TC Pam) in March 2015 was one of the most severe cyclones in living memory, causing at least 16 fatalities and more than US$360 million worth of damage. Efate was one of the worst affected islands by TC Pam because of the infrastructure and population concentration in Port Vila. Vanuatu’s experience of TC Pam, followed immediately by a severe El Niño-Southern Oscillation drought which caused widespread food shortages, highlighted the vulnerability of Vanuatu to natural hazards and other risk factors. The Pacific Ecosystem-based Adaptation to Climate Change (PEBACC) Project responds to these vulnerability challenges. The five-year Project (implemented by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)) explores and promotes Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) options for adapting to climate change in the Pacific region. EbA is the practice of strengthening ecosystems to increase people’s ability to adapt to the impacts of climate change. It draws upon knowledge of ecosystem services and is based on the premise that if ecosystems are protected, remediated, or regenerated, this leads to healthier ecosystems, more ecosystem services, and therefore greater human well-being and resilience to the impacts of climate change. The current study continues the PEBACC project in Vanuatu. It builds on an earlier PEBACC study that undertook a baseline ecosystem and socio-economic resilience analysis and mapping appraisal of the Port Vila Metropolitan area. The methodology approach adopted provided for mainly desk-top review work, supplemented by four key workshops (including one in Port Vila), interviews with Port Vila stakeholders, and brief field inspection in Port Vila." (From Executive Summary

Anthropogenic and environmental drivers shape diversity of naturalized plants across the Pacific

Aim The Pacific exhibits an exceptional number of naturalized plant species, but the drivers of this high diversity and the associated compositional patterns remain largely unknown. Here, we aim to (a) improve our understanding of introduction and establishment processes and (b) evaluate whether this information is sufficient to create scientific conservation tools, such as watchlists. Location Islands in the Pacific Ocean, excluding larger islands such as New Zealand, Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia. Methods We combined information from the most up‐to‐date data sources to quantify naturalized plant species richness and turnover across island groups and investigate the effects of anthropogenic, biogeographic and climate drivers on these patterns. In total, we found 2,672 naturalized plant species across 481 islands and 50 island groups, with a total of 11,074 records. Results Most naturalized species were restricted to few island groups, and most island groups have a low number of naturalized species. Island groups with few naturalized species were characterized by a set of widespread naturalized species. Several plant families that contributed many naturalized species globally also did so in the Pacific, particularly Fabaceae and Poaceae. However, many families were significantly over‐ or under‐represented in the Pacific naturalized flora compared to other regions of the world. Naturalized species richness increased primarily with increased human activity and island altitude/area, whereas similarity between island groups in temperature along with richness differences was most important for beta diversity. Main conclusions The distribution and richness of naturalized species can be explained by a small set of drivers. The Pacific region contains many naturalized plant species also naturalized in other regions in the world, but our results highlight key differences such as a stronger role of anthropogenic drivers in shaping diversity patterns. Our results establish a basis for predicting and preventing future naturalizations in a threatened biodiversity hotspot