Pacific Islands Environment Outlook - UNEP

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xii INTRODUCTION Figure 0.1: Countries and territories covered by the Pacific Islands Environment Outlook American Samoa Cook Islands Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) Fiji French Polynesia Guam Kiribati Marshall Islands Nauru New Caledonia Niue Northern Mariana Islands Palau Papua New Guinea (PNG) Pitcairn Samoa Solomon Islands Tokelau Tonga Tuvalu Vanuatu Wallis and Futuna Tropic of Cancer Hawaiian Islands Tropic of Cancer GUAM NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS MARSHALL ISLANDS P A C I F I C O C E A N PALAU Caroline Islands FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIA Equator NAURU Gilbert Islands KIRIBATI Phoenix Is. L i n e I s l a n Kiritimati d s Equator Tropic of Capricorn PAPUA NEW GUINEA Coral Sea SOLOMON ISLANDS VANUATU NEW CALEDONIA TUVALU FIJI WALLIS AND FUTUNA TONGA TOKELAU SAMOA AMERICAN SAMOA NIUE Northern Cook Is. COOK IS. Southern Cook Is. FRENCH POLYNESIA Tahiti Îs.de la Société Îs.Tubuai ÎS MARQUISES Îs.Tuamotu Îs.Gambier Tropic of Capricorn PITCAIRN AUSTRALIA S O U T H P A C I F I C O C E A N 40° 40° Tasman Sea NEW ZEALAND 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 1000 2000 3000 4000 7000 8000 kilometres 5000 miles 140° E 180° 140° W
INTRODUCTION xiii ● ● ● on many islands have exceeded the level that local resources can sustain. Limited land resources: Many Pacific islands are characterized by extremely limited land resources such as soil and forest. Limited land makes many terrestrial and nearshore resources very vulnerable to overexploitation and to pollution from poorly planned waste disposal. Dependence on marine resources: There is a traditional dependence on marine resources for daily needs, foods, tools, transport and waste disposal. This dependence remains in spite of new technologies and lifestyles (see National Environment Management Strategies 1992–94). The region’s ocean resources contain the highest marine diversity in the world and represent almost the sole opportunity for substantial economic development for nations such as the Marshall Islands, Kiribati and Tuvalu. Vulnerability: The Pacific is often exposed to extremely damaging natural disasters and to external and global changes (for instance in climate, trade and capital markets), and has a heavy reliance on certain economic sectors (Thistlethwaite and Votaw 1992). being implemented in the region. A review of the current policy responses is provided in Chapter Two, whilst alternative policy options for the future are addressed in Chapter Three. Chapter Four provides an analysis of emerging issues in the region. The priority environmental problems that are placing pressure on the natural resources, lifestyles and economic development of this region have been identified progressively over the last eight years as: ● ● ● ● ● loss of biological diversity; threats to freshwater resources; degradation of coastal environments; climate change and sea level rise; land and sea based pollution. These priorities have been drawn from national state of the environment reports prepared between 1991 and 1994 for National Environmental Management Strategies, regional reviews of state of the environment reporting (Thistlethwaite 1996), the Strategic Action Programme for International Waters in the Pacific Island Region (1997) and the SPREP Action Plan (1997–2000). They are reflected in international agreements reached concerning the sustainable development of islands, notably the Global Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States and related preparatory meetings (SPREP 1993c). The priority problems are explored in Chapter One. They also provide the focus of attention for the range of national, regional and global policy initiatives that are
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WATER AND FOOD SECURITY 51 addressi
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58 EMERGING ISSUES not time limited
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60 REFERENCES References ADB (in co
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62 ACRONYMS Acronyms ACP ADB ALC AO
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64 PARTICIPANTS IN THE REGIONAL CON
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Global Environment Outlook The Paci
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Pacific Islands Environment Outlook - UNEP

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