Pacific island mangroves include the world’s centre of mangrove biodiversity in Papua New Guinea, and extend east through all countries and territories as far as the Marshall Islands and Samoa. This report discusses the effects of climate change on mangrove areas of the Pacific region.
Pacific Island Commonwealth Member States (Pacific CMSs) are highly vulnerable to climate change (high confidence; robust evidence, high agreement). Impacts of climate change on extreme events relevant to Pacific CMSs vary, dependent on the magnitude, frequency, and temporal and spatial extent of the event, as well as on the biophysical nature of the island and its social, economic, and political setting (high confidence).
In the Pacific Islands region, fish and invertebrates (specifically shellfish) fulfill important ecological roles in coastal and oceanic habitats, and many species are targeted by fisheries, making vital contributions to food security, livelihoods, government revenue and cultural heritage. This report discusses how climate change is expected to have profound effects on the status and distribution of coastal and oceanic habitats, the fish and invertebrates they support and, as a result, the productivity of fisheries and aquaculture
This report focuses on marine/coastal inundation and sea level and how they are affected by climate change.
The region of interest is the Pacific Islands, with a focus on Commonwealth countries (Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu).
This paper points out that the exposure to climate hazards varies between states based both on geographical factors (such as the propensity to experience cyclones and droughts, island types and topography) and on such factors as population and infrastructure distribution, all of which provide a framework for considering regional vulnerability to climate change.
This paper discuss the profound effects of climate change on oceanic fish habitats, food webs, the fish stocks they support and, as a consequence, the productivity of fisheries
This paper discuss impacts of climate change on corals according to standardized metrics. It also deals with non-climate drivers because of the synergistic effects they have with climate drivers affecting Pacific corals.
This report synthesizes the emerging evidence of climate impacts at different temperature thresholds for Pacific islands. All evidence points to vast differences in impacts in a 1.5˚C world, compared to the +3˚C world to which our current policies and climate change pledges are leading us. For Pacific islands and marine and coastal ecosystems in the region, these differences cannot be overstated; even a 0.5˚C difference (between 1.5˚C and 2˚C) may mean that critical tipping points are crossed.
This CMEP report provides a summary of climate change impacts on coasts and seas in the Pacific island region, and how Pacific islands can respond.
This compendium presents a wide-ranging overview of more than 400 projects, case studies and research activities specifically related to climate change and Indigenous Peoples. It provides a sketch of the climate and environmental changes, local observations and impacts being felt by communities in different regions, and outlines various adaptation and mitigation strategies that are currently being implemented by Indigenous Peoples
This report summarises key economic factors affecting the success of recent resource and environmental management projects in the Pacific.
This chapter describes the diversity and distribution of mangrove, seagrass and intertidal flat habitats in the tropical Pacific (25°N–25°S and 130°E–130°W), outlining the role they play in supporting coastal fisheries in the region, and summarising the critical requirements for establishing and maintaining these habitats.
This study undertakes a vulnerability assessment of the freshwater resources of the PICs, based on input from technical experts and regional resource managers.
Coastal Zone management is a much debated subject in the discourse about sustainable development in the South Pacific region. This book specifically deals with the analysis of the effects of the fundamental drivers, ecological connectivity, and root causes of coastal resource and environmental challenges using key economic concepts, principles and paradigms.
This report summarizes the conservation status of 167 freshwater fishes, 166 land snails and 157 reptiles native to the Pacific Islands. It identifies Pacific Island species that are threatened with extinction at the global level, according to the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria – the world’s most widely accepted methodology for measuring extinction risk.
Many of the sea cucumber fisheries in Pacific Island countries and territories (PICTs) are in a poor state and in need of rehabilitation. This article documents the status of sea cucumbers in the region
This article explores the phenomenon of the use of ICT for climate change activism in the Pacific.
This Renewables Global Status Report is a part of a series that contributes to the objectives of the UN Secretary-General’s Sustainable Energy for All by providing the latest data on: the development and uptake of renewable energy; the evolution of distributed renewables for energy access; and energy efficiency’s contribution to achieving sustainable energy access for all. It is relate-able to the Pacific through the provision of data on renewable energy targets
This report provides a review of our knowledge of the bycatches, defined as
discarded dead, from the tropical tuna purse seine fisheries of the world. The major
fishing grounds involved (eastern and western Pacific, eastern Atlantic, and western
Indian Oceans) share the gear, the ways of fishing, and the structure of the pelagic
communities. Because of that, the species taken in association with tuna schools tend
to be the same in all regions.
State of Environment (SoE) reports provide in-country partners with a process to gather data on current environmental indicators, document their status, and formulate a plan for keeping these indicators on track or developing policies and programs as needed. This SoE Toolkit dataset contains resources that serve as guides to help create up-to-date State of Environment reports.