Pacific Island Mangroves in a Changing Climate and Rising Sea

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Mangroves in a Changing Climate and Rising Sea
coastal and marine environment. It is within this context that RSP has cooperated with SPREP and the
Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council on the issue mangrove responses to sea level and
climate change.
One of the priority areas for the RSP is the conservation and management of marine and coastal ecosystems.
The overarching goal of ecosystem-based management is to protect and restore natural functioning to ensure
the provision of ecosystem services. Marine ecosystem-based management is important, for example, for
fisheries management and for maintaining important habitats for endangered sea turtles and marine
mammals. Marine ecosystems around the globe are experiencing unprecedented change. Human activities,
including aquaculture, coastal development, fisheries, and introduction of invasive species, present a
cumulative threat to our oceans. Coral reefs are among the most productive and diverse of all natural
ecosystems but recent decades have seen 10 percent of the world’s reefs degraded beyond recovery, with
another 30 percent in decline. In addition, biologically rich coastal wetlands, including mangrove forests and
salt marshes, are favorite sites for dredging and filling by industry, farmers and home builders and are
threatened by global warming and rising sea levels.
The RSP is trying to help countries to work together to protect mangrove ecosystems, recognizing that
success involves transboundary action, regional cooperation and clear demonstration of successful
approaches. Establishing effective protected areas is one approach to provide a measure of protection to
coastal and marine ecosystems. Efforts to protect mangroves and other wetland habitats are underway in the
RSP, through programmes of Integrated Coastal Zone Management and establishment of Specially-Protected
Areas.
The Small Islands Developing States' Programme of Action (SIDS/POA) explicitly identifies coastal and
marine resources as requiring urgent action. It calls for the establishment and strengthening of programmes
within the framework of the GPA and the Regional Seas programmes, to assess the impact of planning and
development on the coastal environment, including coastal communities, wetlands, coral reefs and areas
under the national jurisdiction of SIDS, and to implement the POA.
As a group, SIDS have special needs if they are to develop in a sustainable way. They share characteristics
that make them economically, environmentally and socially vulnerable to forces over which they exercise little
or no control, placing them at a distinct disadvantage in comparison with larger countries. The marine and
coastal environments of SIDS represent a vital resource for socio-economic development. The ecosystems of
SIDS are much more fragile than those of countries with larger landmasses. Since the ecosystems of SIDS
are already under stress, they are consequently more vulnerable to the negative impacts of climate change
and sea level rise. The sensitivity and excessive fragility of the ecosystems of SIDS are partly a function of the
population’s management practices and increasing demands for resources. The coastal areas of SIDS
contain some of the worlds most diverse and productive ecosystems, including mangrove forests, coral reefs,
and sea grasses. Low-lying deltas, coral atolls and reefs are particularly sensitive to changes in the frequency
and intensity of rainfall and storms. The biological diversity of SIDS – the source of enormous environmental,
economic, and cultural value – will be threatened by rapid climate change.
The Regional Seas Programme provides an important globally coordinated, region-wide mechanism to
implement all relevant global environmental conventions and agreements. Though SIDS predominate in
mainly two regions; the Wider Caribbean and the Pacific, all SIDS are part of a Regional Seas programme.
The international Meeting for the Ten-Year Review of the Barbados Programme of Action (BPOA) for the
sustainable development of SIDS resulted in the Mauritius Strategy for the further implementation of the
Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of SIDS. UNEP has prepared a workplan to internalize
the Mauritius Strategy in alignment with the BPOA. A Memorandum of Understanding covering the annual
programme of work to renew cooperation with the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment
Programme was signed in May 2005.