pacific islands report_NU.indd - Whale and Dolphin Conservation ...

identified as marine and coastal ecosystems,tourism assets, human settlements andinfrastructure (IPCC 1998). Coupled withEl Niño, the impacts have included watershortages and drought in Papua New Guinea,the Marshall Islands, Federated States ofMicronesia, American Samoa, Samoa andFiji. Current risks are likely to persist (Joneset al. 1999). Sea-level rise is obviously amajor concern for the low-lying atoll islandsas repercussions of encroachment are alreadybeing felt (Govt of Samoa 1999, Hsu 1999,Govt of the Republic of the Marshall Islands2000, WWF 2003, Hunt 2002, Thaman 2002).Additional potential impacts of climate changeon the marine environment include: seatemperature rise, changes in ocean circulation,changes in salinity, ocean acidification,changes in rainfall patterns, and an increasein storm frequency (Hansen et al. 2001, IPCC2001, Sear et al. 2001, Hulme et al. 2002,ICES 2004, Bass et al. 2006). Althoughthe biological consequences of a changingclimate upon the ocean are far from beingunderstood, it is plausible there could bestrong implications in terms of nutrientavailability, biological productivity, and thestructure and functions of marine ecosystems(Gillespie 2002). In the Pacific Islands Regionthere have already been noted ramificationson coral reefs, tuna distribution, and mangrovesystems (Hoegh-Guldberg et al. 2000, Lehodey2001, Crosby et al. 2002, Hunt 2002, Thaman2002, UNEP 2006). These marine ecosystemimplications will be expanded on in the nextchapter.