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To include your latest news on our site, please contact us International Seminar on Islands and Oceans 2010 Ocean Policy Research Foundation, Tokyo, Japan On January 20-22, 2010 a Pacific Islands delegation (University of the South Pacific Division of Marine Studies and Institute of Marine Resources; and the Secretariat for the Pacific Islands Geoscience Commission) joined a group of other invited participants at this important seminar. Hosted by OPRF, SOPAC and the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS), the seminar was attended by some 30 participants. The Seminar marks the beginning of a three-year project on Management and Conservation of Islands and their surrounding Ocean Areas, which addresses three themes: 1. The management and conservation of islands 2. Adverse effects of climate change and variability on islands, and 3. Island-based management of ocean areas. In the first year current issues facing island conservation and marine management in Pacific Island States were addressed. The second year will identify the most pressing of these issues, and in the third year, ways will be sought on how to address these issues and make policy proposals. Assoc. Prof. Joeli Veitayaki presented a paper on Drowning in their Waste: Waste Management issues threatening sustainability of Pacific Island States, and Prof. South, in association with Dr Posa A. Skelton, Coordinator, Pacific Islands Network for Taxonomy, presented a paper: Marine Biodiversity and Climate Change in the Pacific Islands. These and all other presentations will be published by OPRF by mid-2010. The Seminar concluded with a Public Forum, which was attended by some 100 members of the general public.
The need to place a value on MPAs, as highlighted by the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) was the focus of a workshop held in Suva, Fiji from May 26-30, 2008. In the South Pacific the use of environmental economic valuation for conservation and resource management is not yet well developed, and faces challenges that include the need to take into account the small island context with limited economic options and very specific socio-cultural backgrounds. The Workshop on Economic Evaluation of MPAs in the Pacific Islands was sponsored by the Coral Reef Initiative for the South Pacific (CRISP) in collaboration with IUCN Oceania. Prof Robin South, IOI (Australia) and Dr Vina Ram-Bidesi (IOI-Pacific Islands) were among the 30 invited experts in attendance. The goals of the workshop were to discuss economic valuation adapted to Pacific needs and the development of tools to support investment decisions; to ensure efficient ownership by policy-makers; to increase the effectiveness and utility of economic tools; to identify sources to finance MPAs for managers and decision-makers, and to identify case studies that will be funded by CRISP in the coming year. Case studies from the South Pacific region were shared, including a joint presentation on the Economic Valuation of the Great Barrier Reef Catchment Areas by Robin South and Clive Wilkinson. The workshop concluded that baseline studies should be an integral part of the marine managed area creation process, and in assessing its success. The workshop also noted that the cost of doing nothing to protect and restore Pacific marine resources would be very high for local communities. The recommendations included the need for capacity building and raising awareness of local, national and regional decision makers. It was also noted that people should get a clear message on the values and the limitations of economic instruments when applied to the enhancement of marine resources for poverty reduction. For more information on the outcomes of the workshop contact Eric Clua: ericc@spc.int
Reefs at Risk Revisited - Pacific Islands Workshop |
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