SPC Women in Fisheries Information Bulletin #22 – July 2012
This document was approved by the Cabinet of the Cook Islands Government on 6th March 2020 (CM (20) 060).
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.
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
DEFINITION - Level of extractive terrestrial wildlife use by humans
PURPOSE- Increase the safety to species, ecosystems, and people from the sustainable use of terrestrial wildlife
DESIRED OUTCOME - Monitored and sustainable use of wildlife with stable populations; zero use of protected species
DEFINITION - Percentage native forest cover of total land area
PURPOSE- Indicates the suite of environmental values associated with forests (e.g. biodiversity, carbon sequestration, subsistence hunting)
DESIRED OUTCOME - Stable or positive trend in tree cover, or reduced rate of tree cover loss
DEFINITION - E. coli levels in water samples
PURPOSE - E. coli are indicators of faecal contamination in freshwater bodies and are associated with a range of possible human diseases. High levels of E. coli can be associated with cloudy water and decreased dissolved oxygen
DESIRED OUTCOME - E. coli threshold at or below globally accepted standards for drinking and bathing water, which is none detectable per 100 mL for both E. coli and total coliforms for drinking water; standards vary for bathing and swimming water
DEFINITION - % of total arable land that is under cultivation
PURPOSE - Tracks the area of arable land that is developed for agriculture
DESIRE OUTCOME - Stable trend in area under cultivation. A decreasing area under cultivation might affect food security and an increasing trend under area under cultivation implies some conversion of natural vegetation to agriculture
DEFINITION - % cover of wetlands, mangroves, and seagrass
PURPOSE - Wetlands, mangroves and seagrass provide ecosystem services not provided by other ecosystems (such as nurseries for economically important fish species, natural flood mitigation and water filter systems). They also support plants and animals not found in other ecosystems.
DESIRED OUTCOME - Stable or positive trend in area of wetlands and mangroves