Pacific Islands Marine Portal

ReefBase Pacific Projects Database
The ReefBase Pacific project database contains details (project name, organisations involved, key contact, project summary, project duration etc) of at least 150 projects that deal reef associated systems in the Pacific.

see also links to selected initiatives as follows::

Coral Reef Initiatives for the Pacific [CRISP]
The Initiative aims to:

- combine cross-cutting networking activities, local field projects and conservation and economic development objectives;- combine research, management and development;

- combine the contributions of different scientific disciplines, including biology, ecology, geography, economics, sociology, law and anthropology;

- be active in all areas - land and marine-that have a bearing on the reefs, including watershed management and land tenure arrangements;

- avoid creating a new structure but, instead, make financial resources available to already active partners who indicate an interest in developing and consolidating their activities in a spirit of regional cooperation.

Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security
The 5.7 million km² of the Coral Triangle is home to the highest diversity of marine life on earth. This region stretches across six countries: Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Timor Leste. The Coral Triangle is recognized as an area of global significance, blessed with over 75 % of known coral species, over 30 % of the world's coral reefs, over 3,000 species of fish, and the greatest extent of mangrove forests of any region in the world.

These extraordinary marine biological resources directly sustain the lives of over 120 million people and benefit millions more worldwide. The primary human benefits include:

Direct livelihood, income and food security benefits;
Major spawning and nursery ground for commercially important tuna species, which support multi-billion dollar industry;
Healthy marine ecosystems contribute to a growing nature-based tourism industry;
Healthy reefs systems and mangroves help to protect coastal communities from storms and tsunamis, reducing casualties, injuries, and reconstruction costs;
On many of the region's islands, the marine and coastal realm is a foundation for traditional cultures and social fabric.
Unfortunately, the marine-based natural resources of the CT and the economic and social benefits they generate are at risk, threatened by a range of factors. These include over-fishing, destructive fishing practices such as cyanide and blast fishing, coral bleaching and ocean acidification due to global climate change, pollution, and sedimentation from coastal development. Individually, each of these threats can weaken the living ocean's health; combined they are causing a situation of crisis that only a transformational approach can resolve.

The Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) Call for Action

Expert support to develop CTI Plan of Action;
CTI Technical Working Group Meetings;
Targeted Research on CTI areas especially on tuna spawning, climate change adaptation and threatened species status;
Senior Officials Meetings (SOMs);
CTI Ministerial Meeting;
CTI launched at World Ocean Conference 2009;
CTI promotions;
Implementation of CTI programs in pilot areas in each country;
Implementation of CTI programs in priority seascapes;
Development of marine protected areas network;
Alternative livelihood programs;
Establishment of a rapid alert system for marine biodiversity in the Coral Triangle.

French Marine Protected Areas Agency
The French Marine Protected Areas Agency (Agence des aires marines protégées) is a public entity under the control of an administrative board composed of national representatives of State, local authorities and stakeholders.

Its aims are:
- support public policies in the field of marine protected areas, both concerning their creation and their management,
- manage the human and financial resources dedicated to marine nature parks,
- and give technical and administrative support to managers of marine protected areas.

Beyond its practical missions, the French Agency is due to foster the attention on marine biodiversity issues and to keep the momentum on the ambitious objective of establishing a significant marine protected areas network before 2012. It is also expected that the Agency will contribute to strengthen the participation of France to the international arrangements concerning the protection of the oceans.

Pacific Islands Global Ocean Observing System [PI-GOOS]
The Pacific Islands - Global Ocean Observing System (PI-GOOS) is a regional initiative to develop capacity in operational oceanography in the Pacific region. The primary focus is to work within an integrated framework that systemically acquires oceanographic and marine data, and disseminates as useful information in response to the needs of government, scientific research and the public, to address marine related issues. A program objective is to assure maximum operation of the system within and by the region. The PI-GOOS was established in 1998 at the Pacific Regional GOOS Capacity Building Workshop, which convened in Suva, Fiji. The PI-GOOS Secretariat is based at the South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC), also in Suva.

South Pacific Sea Level and Climate Monitoring Project
The South Pacific Sea Level and Climate Monitoring Project (SPSLCMP) is an Australian Government initiative, funded by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), which will enable South Pacific Island Countries to better manage their own environments and contribute to achieving sustainable development. Includes access to country reports.

Vulnerability and adaptation of coastal fisheries to climate change
With funding assistance from the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), and in relation with an ongoing assessment of the vulnerability of coastal fisheries to climate change, the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) has launched a project to assist Pacific Island countries and territories (PICTs) to design and field-test monitoring pilot projects to determine whether changes are occurring in the productivity of coastal fisheries and, if changes are found, to identify the extent to which such changes are due to climate change as opposed to other causes.