Abstract The wetlands of 21 countries and territories of the Pacific Islands region are reviewed: American Samoa, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Wallis and Futuna. The regions’ wetlands are classified into seven systems: coral reefs, seagrass beds, mangrove swamps, riverine, lacustrine, freshwater swamp forests and marshes.
Executive Summary
This report is presented in 4 chapters.
Chapter 1 provides background on the process of developing the Cook Island
National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP). The Cook Islands was one
of the first countries to commit to the CBD by signing it at the Earth Summit in 1992,
and the Cook Island National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) was
one of the first to be completed for the Pacific Region. This in itself was a positive
step towards implementation of the CBD. The NBSAP was prepared based on
Summary of Wetland Situation
There are four main types of wetlands in the Cook Islands:
• Freshwater marshes and swamps: on Rarotonga, Mangaia, Atiu, Mitiaro and Mauke.
• Permanent freshwater lakes: Lake Tiriara on Mangaia, Lake Tiroto on Atiu, and Lake Rotonui and
Lake Rotoiti on Mitiaro.
• Tidal salt marsh: at Ngatangiia Harbour on Rarotonga.
• Mountain streams: on Rarotonga.
There are no mangroves in the islands.
This document was approved by the Cabinet of the Cook Islands Government on 6th March 2020 (CM (20) 060).
The Action Plan was endorsed by PAWG members at the Annual Meeting and was presented to the 18th Pacific Islands Round Table (PIRT) Annual Meeting held in July 2015.
The handbook is a joint publication of Environment Canada and the University of Joensuu – United Nations Environment Programme Course on International Environmental Law-making and Diplomacy. Environment Canada initiated this project and provided core contributions for the main text. UNEP generously provided the glossary, as well as expert advice on the handbook as a whole.
This publication is a companion piece to Island Innovations—UNDP and GEF: Leveraging Environment and Energy
for the Sustainable Development of SIDS, a joint UNDP and GEF (Global Environment Facility) book launched at the Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States, 2014.
Practical arrangements for the regional meeting
Summary table for the SPREP core national environment indicators. Includes theme and indicator definition, purpose and desired outcome.
Pacific Vision is for a region of peace, harmony, security, social inclusion, and prosperity, so that all Pacific people can lead free, healthy, and productive lives.
The Convention for the Protection of the Natural Resources and Environment of the South Pacific Region (1986), along with its two additional Protocols, entered into force in 1990. The Convention is a comprehensive umbrella agreement for the protection, management and development of the marine and coastal environment of the South Pacific Region, and represents the legal framework of the Action Plan for managing the Natural Resources and Environment of the South Pacific adopted in 1982 on behalf of the South Pacific Conference on Human Environment.
In this report, a set of recommendations is provided for each indicator to support the next best steps for management action that will advance progress towards the target outcome and support Pacific people and biodiversity.
**This pdf combines all 31 indicators in one document**
DEFINITION - % of national budget allocated to Environment Ministry or equivalent
PURPOSE - Determine trends in prioritisation of environmental funding within government
DESIRED OUTCOME - Stable or positive trend; sufficient and sustainable financing to implement environmental programmes
DEFINITION - % of MEA reporting requirements met on time
PURPOSE - Determine if MEAs are being reported on
DESIRED OUTCOME - 100% of MEA reporting requirements met on time or positive trend. PICTs successfully meet reporting obligations under MEAs in a timely manner, ideally using the State of Environment Reporting as the basis for responding to these reporting requirements