Coral reefs in every region of the world are threatened by climate change, no matter how remote or well protected. Identifying and protecting climate refugia is a popular recommendation for coral reef management. Climate refugia are locations that maintain suitable environmental conditions for a resident species even when surrounding areas become inhospitable.
The SOE uses the 2011 report by Cook Islands to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) to identify the country’s terrestrial protected areas. There are 14 terrestrial PAs, which total at least 1407.2 hectares (five PAs are uncalculated), or about six per cent of the Cook Islands’ total 240 km2 land mass.
Dedicated State of Environment (SOE) reports in an online interactive web format for SPREP members.
The Pacific Network for Environmental Assessment (PNEA) Portal is an initiative of the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) to support government officials from Pacific Island countries and territories who work with environmental impact assessment (EIA), strategic environmental assessment (SEA) as well as Environmental and Social Safeguards (ESS).
The portal complements SPREP’s current capacity building program for EIA and SEA - including the recently launched Regional EIA Guidelines, the Coastal Tourism EIA guidelines, and SEA guidelines.
This dataset has training materials on the use and operation of the Cook Islands Data Portal Training.
Information related to the GIS course launch on Wednesday 18th May 2022
This dataset has the google analytics of portal users and access in the period January to August 2022.
This will be regularly updated.
for analysis results of waste audit in the region
This report describes the background, progress and status of activities under the accountability of SPREP's Assistant Project Officer. Ozone Depleting Substances (APO ODS) during the three-year contract at SPREP. It is intended as an overview primarily for SPREP Management, the new APO ODS and SPREP programme staff. This report may also be used by Pacific Island Countries (PICs).
executing agency (UNEP) and donors (Montreal Protocol's Multilateral Fund and Australia) on the status of the Project at SPREP.
Available online
Call Number: [EL]
The Government of Samoa under its Environmental Policy Framework established rules and procedures to be followed under IAMP Phase 2 with regard to environmental assessment, monitoring and mitigation of potential negative impacts. For projects with no, or low but acceptable environmental impacts, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) may issue a waiver to the proponent from the further requirements of the draft EIA Regulations. In issuing a waiver, the CEO MNRE will rely on the advice of the Assistant CEO, PUMA.
The Government of Samoa under its Environmental Policy Framework established rules and procedures to be followed under IAMP Phase 2 with regard to environmental assessment, monitoring and mitigation of potential negative impacts. For projects with no, or low but acceptable environmental impacts, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) may issue a waiver to the proponent from the further requirements of the draft EIA Regulations. In issuing a waiver, the CEO MNRE will rely on the advice of the Assistant CEO, PUMA.
One of the greatest challanges we face in protecting our islands biodiversity is how to balance the needs of the people that use it, and the future of the environment. There are many reasons why the Pacific islands way of life is endangered, it is
necessary to address these threats, all of them. Understand ing their causes will help to stop them, if it is possible or to change or adapt our way of life. It is necessary to focus on long term sustainability strategies, but in the mean time develop and carry out short term projects to address the immediate needs of our islands.
For Pacific SIDS, the need for adaptation to climate change has become increasingly urgent. Long-term climate changes, including the increasing frequency and severity of extreme events such as high rainfall, droughts, tropical cyclones, and storm surges are affecting the lives and livelihoods of people in PICs. Coupled with non-climate drivers, such as inappropriate land use, overexploitation of resources, increasing urbanization and population increase, development in the region is increasingly undermined.
The Pacific Islands region is important for a great number of cetaceans (whales and dolphins), whether as a permanent habitat, a breeding ground or a migration corridor. Currently, more
than thirty species of whales and dolphins have been identified in this area.
The presence and diversity of cetaceans in our region has led to the development of whale watching, both on a commercial and recreational basis. Whale watching is defined as viewing
In preparation for the upcoming meeting of the Pacific Climate Change Roundtable (PCCR), to be held in Majuro in October, 2009, the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) commissioned a stocktake of the progress made in implementing the Pacific Islands Framework for Action on Climate Change (PIFACC) in terms of its principles and expected outcomes, with an emphasis on adaptation and the associated enabling environment.
There is now a consensus that there is a discernible human influence on global climate. The form these global changes will take in the Pacific is far less certain, but the most significant and more immediate consequences are likely to be related to changes in rainfall regimes and soil moisture budgets, prevailing winds (both speed and direction) and in regional and local sea levels and patterns of wave action.
Available online
Call Number: 341.7623[EL]
ISBN/ISSN: 982-04-0194-1
Physical Description: 84 p.
Invasive species are the primary cause of extinction on islands (IUCN Red List 2020, SPREP 2016, SOCO 2017). Invasive species have been formally identified as a threat for 1,531 species in the Pacific islands region to date (IUCN Red List, 2020). Pacific leaders have established two core regional indicators for invasive species management. Efforts for invasive management are ongoing in almost all Pacific island countries and territories.
Pacific islands are hotspots of unique biodiversity. Our ancestral traditions are linked
to nature. However, these traditions, the natural environment, and biodiversity are
threatened by changing global and regional environmental pressures, ecological
degradation, growing human populations, changing demands of our societies, and the
impacts of climate change and sea level rise.
Call Number: [EL]
ISBN/ISSN: 978-982-04-0905-7,978-982-04-0906-4
Physical Description: 156 p. 29 cm.
Here, we focus on the production of electricity from renewable sources. As such, we focus on a statistic distinct from SDG 7.2.1 “Renewable energy share in the total final energy consumption”. Data for this Pacific regional indicator are relevant for SDG 7.b.1 “Installed renewable energy-generating capacity in developing countries (in watts per capita)”.
Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 5 p.
There are active drinking water or freshwater monitoring progra mmes in 11 of 14 Pacific countries and 6 of 7 territories. The primary challenge is the regularity and frequency of sampling, the capacity to process samples accurately in country, and the official response process to the findings. There is no regional data collation for this proposed indicator , to date. Escherichia coli occurs naturally in human and animal intestines and therefore can be used as a proxy for untreated sewage contamination or other pollution.
Call Number: [EL]