Strategic Action Programme
for International Waters of
Pacific Islands
by: Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati,
Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Papua New Guinea,
Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu
through their respective
National Task Forces for International Waters
with the guidance of:
The Regional Task Force
The South Pacific Organisations Coordinating Committee
with the financial support of:
The Government of Australia
The Government of New Zealand
The Global Environment Facility through
The United Nations Development Programme
with the assistance of:
the staff of the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme
August 1997
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
I. Introduction
II.
International Waters
III.
The
Region
Physical
Setting
Biological
Environment
Cultural
Characteristics
Economic
Structure
Legal
Framework
Intergovernmental
Cooperation
Non-governmental
Organisations
Global
Programmes
IV.
Transboundary Environmental Concerns
V. Imminent
Threats
VI.
Root Causes
VII.
Information
Gaps
VIII.
Proposed
Solutions
IX.
Priorities for Action
Tables
1.
Environmental and Socio-Economic Effects
2.
Proximate
Root
Causes
3.
Ultimate
Root
Causes
4.
Management
Issues
5.
Information
Gaps
Annexes
1.
Bibliography
2.
Acronyms
and
Abbreviations
3.
Coordinators of National Task Forces
4.
Regional Task Force
5.
The SAP Process
2
Executive Summary
I. Introduction
This Strategic Action Programme (SAP) for International Waters of the Pacific Islands
Region was initiated and developed by the thirteen Pacific Island States participating in the work of
the Global Environment Facility (GEF). It represents a pioneering effort by our group of small island
developing states (SIDS) to integrate our national and regional sustainable development priorities
with shared global environmental concerns for protecting International Waters.
The SAP has built on considerable national and regional work related to our International
Waters. This work includes, e.g., reports of the National Consultations, the State of the Environment
(SOE) Report or National Environmental Management Strategy (NEMS) for each country, the
Action Plan for Managing the Environment of the South Pacific Region 1997-2000, the Draft
Regional Strategy for Development Priorities of the Forum Island Countries, the Action Strategy for
Nature Conservation in the South Pacific Region 1994-1998, the Global Programme of Action for
the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities, the Report to the United
Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) on Activities to Implement the
Barbados Programme of Action in the Pacific Region (1996) and the 1992 Report to the United
Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in The Pacific Way.
II. International
Waters
International Waters include oceans, large marine ecosystems, enclosed or semi-enclosed
seas and estuaries as well as rivers, lakes, groundwater systems, and wetlands with transboundary
drainage basins or common borders.
The water-related ecosystems and critical habitats associated with these waters are integral
parts of the system. International Waters extend far inland and far out to sea. This is because the
global hydrological cycle links watersheds, airsheds, estuaries, and coastal and marine waters
through transboundary movement of water, pollutants and living resources.
This definition of International Waters could have been designed with our Pacific Islands in
mind. Although separated by vast distances, our islands are linked and controlled by our marine
environment. Our land to sea ratio is generally so small that all our islands are wholly coastal in
character. The importance of the health of International Waters to our islands cannot be overstated.
III. The
Region
This section is descriptive rather than prescriptive, intending to highlight those parts of the
Pacific picture most relevant to the sustainable development of our International Waters as a
background to the analysis and proposals for action.
IV.
Transboundary Environmental Concerns
We have identified three priority transboundary concerns for our International Waters. These
are:
1.
Degradation of their quality
3
2.
Degradation of their associated critical habitats
3.
Unsustainable use of their living and nonliving resources
These concerns are inextricably linked by their causes and by the cumulative, mutually
exacerbating effects of these causes on the transboundary concerns.
4
V. Imminent
Threats
Our International Waters are subject to a number of threats giving rise to the transboundary
concerns. The threats were examined from the perspective of critical species and their habitats,
living marine resources and non-living resources.We consider that the priority transboundary
concerns for our International Waters arise from the following imminent threats to the health of
those waters:
1.
pollution of marine and freshwater (including groundwater) from land-based activities
2.
physical, ecological and hydrological modification of critical habitats
3.
unsustainable exploitation of living and nonliving resources
Each imminent threat affects each transboundary concern. The linkages between the
imminent threats to and the transboundary concerns for International Waters require integrated
measures to address the concerns effectively.
VI. Root
Causes
The root causes were examined in their legal, institutional, socio-economic and
environmental context. We recognised that an important, ultimate root cause underlying the
imminent threats is deficiencies in management. The factors contributing to the management root
cause can be grouped into two linked subsets: a) governance and b) understanding. The governance
subset is characterised by the need for mechanisms to integrate environmental concerns,
development planning and decision-making. The understanding subset is characterised by the need
to achieve an island-wide ecosystem awareness in our people. This provides a focus for intervention
to protect International Waters.
VII. Information
Gaps
Our analysis revealed a set of information gaps relevant in particular to decision-makers (as
opposed to researchers) who must address ultimate root causes and respond to imminent threats.
Particularly important is the lack of strategic information presented in an appropriate manner to
decision-makers, resource users, managers and communities to evaluate costs and benefits of, and to
decide between alternative activities. Improving information input and exchange at regional and
national levels is an objective of this SAP.
VIII. Proposed
Solutions
We propose to address the root causes of degradation of International Waters through
regionally consistent, country-driven targeted actions that integrate development and environment
needs. These actions are designed to encourage comprehensive, cross-sectoral, ecosystem-based
approaches to mitigate and prevent imminent threats to International Waters. The SAP provides the
regional framework within which actions are identified, developed and implemented. Targeted
actions will be carried out in two complementary, linked consultative contexts: Integrated Coastal
and Watershed Management (ICWM) and Oceanic Fisheries Management (OFM). Through the
5
ICWM and OFM approaches, the SAP sets out a path for the transition by our islands from sectoral
to integrated management of International Waters as a whole, which we consider to be essential for
their protection over the long term.
6
Management in these two contexts will necessarily include three other pressing concerns in
our sustainable development planning, namely: biodiversity, vulnerability to climate change and
land degradation. These are both GEF focal and cross-cutting areas, and the remaining three of the
seven major issues identified in the Barbados Programme of Action for the Sustainable
Development of SIDS as common to most islands. The other three major small island issues from
the Barbados Programme have already been addressed above, and the seventh, tourism, can only be
effectively dealt with in this type of framework for national sustainable development. The SAP also
meets the objectives of the GEF operational programme entitled "Integrated Land and Water
Multiple Focal Area," to which International Waters projects addressing the needs and special
conditions of small islands are assigned by GEF. Consequently, the SAP is expected to involve and
build upon the complementary skills and experience available from organisations and groups active
in our region.
Our region is the beneficiary of much development assistance from a variety of donors for a
wide range of projects. We will be able to use the SAP together with our donors to plan and
coordinate regional and national development assistance for International Waters in order to address
imminent threats and their root causes more effectively. The SAP will facilitate the choice and
design of high priority interventions, remove duplication, and ensure that projects do not work at
cross-purposes. Funding from GEF per se can only support a small proportion of such interventions,
hence the importance of the SAP to organise and leverage additional assistance in order to receive
maximum benefit from available funds. The SAP is designed to comply with the requirements of
GEF, but also, and perhaps more importantly, to be a framework for overall national and regional
planning and assistance for the management of International Waters.
The SAP complies with the legal framework for regional cooperation and related obligations
established by the regional Conventions, the UN Convention on Law of the Sea, the Convention on
Biological Diversity, the Framework Convention on Climate Change and other international
conventions within which the Pacific Island countries identify common issues and coordinate
national approaches to address those issues. Application of ICWM and OFM approaches will
facilitate further joint action between sectors nationally and between governments regionally. As
experience with ICWM and OFM grows, this SAP will also evolve, reflecting the increased
knowledge of and changing conditions in the environment of our islands. To ensure that the SAP
remains a living, evolving and useful instrument for sustainable development, and to assess and
apply lessons learned from its implementation, the SAP will be reviewed every five years.
IX.
Priorities for Action
We are mindful that we cannot address all sustainable development issues related to
International Waters in this SAP at once. Therefore we have initially identified four high priority
areas for immediate intervention: improved waste management, better water quality, sustainable
fisheries and effective marine protected areas.
Targeted action within these activity areas is proposed in five categories: management,
capacity-building, awareness/education, research/information for decision-making, and investment.
Institutional strengthening is included under management & capacity-building.
7
The analytical framework within which proposals for assistance should be evaluated under
the SAP is set out below.
8
Goal of SAP: Integrated sustainable development and management of International Waters
Priority Concerns:
Degradation of water quality
Degradation of associated critical habitats
Unsustainable use of resources
Imminent Threats:
Pollution from land-based activities
Modification of critical habitats
Unsustainable exploitation of resources
Ultimate Root Causes:
Management deficiencies
a)
governance
b)
understanding
Solutions:
Integrated Coastal and Watershed Management
Oceanic Fisheries Management
ICWM Activity Areas:
- improved waste management
- better water quality
- sustainable fisheries
- effective marine protected areas
OFM Activity Areas:
- sustainable ocean fisheries
- improved national and regional management capability
- stock and by-catch monitoring and research
- enhanced national and regional management links
Targeted actions:
- management/institutional strengthening
-
capacity-building
-
awareness/education
- research/information for decision-making
-
investment
9
Strategic Action Programme
for International Waters of Pacific Islands
I. Introduction
This Strategic Action Programme (SAP) for International Waters of the Pacific Islands
Region was initiated and developed by the thirteen Pacific Island States participating in the work
of the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The SAP represents a pioneering effort by our group
of small island developing states (SIDS) to integrate our national and regional sustainable
development priorities with shared global environmental concerns for the protection of
International Waters.
The seminal impetus for the work that would ultimately culminate in this SAP was our
decision1 in 1990 to prepare a joint regional position to the 1992 United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development (UNCED). UNCED provided the first opportunity for our islands
to gather information, analyse the results and build a regional consensus on integrating
environmental and developmental concerns into a sustainable whole, using the knowledge and
experience gained in the twenty years since the Stockholm Conference on the Environment.
This consensus is embodied in the national and regional studies on sustainable
development of our SIDS and the constraints. Their conclusions have been approved by our
Governments. We undertook this considerable analytical effort because we realised the need for
collective action to achieve a sustainable future for our islands. An overview of this effort to date
follows; it became the starting point of the work of the National Task Forces leading to our SAP.
Our consensus position was elaborated in two fundamental documents submitted to
UNCED in 1992: Environment and Development: A Pacific Island Perspective, and The Pacific
Way: Pacific Island Developing Countries' Report to UNCED. The Perspective synthesises
National Reports from the islands and presents extensive additional information on sustainable
development in the region.2 It is a supporting document for The Pacific Way, which presents a
summary of the state of the environment for the islands and a description of the regional priority
concerns, both of which continue to be applicable.3
At national level, Pacific Island States participating in this SAP assessed the state of their
environment. We then went on to develop National Environmental Management Strategies
(NEMS) or programmes with similar objectives, taking into account National Development
Plans. Nearly all of this work is either adopted and published or expected to be adopted and
available soon.4
1This decision was taken at the third Intergovernmental Meeting of the South Pacific Regional
Environment Programme (SPREP) held in Nouméa, New Caledonia, September 1990.
2The Perspective was developed with the financial assistance of the Asian Development Bank
(ADB) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
3See, e.g., State of the Environment Reporting for the Pacific, 1996.
4NEMS: Cook Islands (1993), Federated States of Micronesia (1993), Kiribati (1994), Marshall
Islands (1992), Nauru (draft under consideration), Niue (1994), Samoa (1994), Solomon Islands
10
(1993), Tonga (1993), Tuvalu (unpublished). Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu have completed
variants thereof.
11
At regional level, and over the same period since UNCED, the members of the South
Pacific Organisations Coordinating Committee (SPOCC) reached similar conclusions within
their respective mandates on priority concerns for sustainable development. Examination of
these concerns engaged national experts in an ongoing regional dialogue, and enabled the islands
to compare experiences and develop regional approaches.5
We found further confirmation of our assessment of our priority regional concerns in
independent studies by, e.g., the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank,6 and in
GEF's Operational Strategy for International Waters. Independent reviews of our region's
International Waters were commissioned to ensure that the SAP is based on the most current
information available.7 These reviews concur that the ample and consistent information on
sustainable development concerns and priorities for action in the region remain applicable.
For detailed and extensive descriptions of the full, current regional and national picture of
environment and development in our islands, separate consultation is recommended of this
comprehensive suite of documentation.8 Section III of the SAP briefly summarises the present
regional context from these sources, which were provided to the National Task Forces for further
ground-truthing during National Consultations for the preparation of the SAP.9
Since UNCED we have been actively involved in international programmes of action to
address those global transboundary concerns which also reflect our priority transboundary
concerns. These programmes have been taken into account in the SAP.10
5Examples of the range of topics addressed specifically to the needs of the region include:
an inventory of land-based pollutants, the role of sediments as pollutants in and their transport
to the ocean via rivers, an overview of destructive fishing practices, introduction of aquatic
organisms, coastal management training needs, coastal protection trends and prospects, issues and
activities associated with coral reefs and related ecosystems, natural resource accounting,
traditional resource management and oceanic and coastal fisheries management.
6See, e.g., A Pacific Framework for Integrated Coastal Management (1994), ADB; Pacific Island
Economies (1993), World Bank.
7The reviews especially commissioned for the SAP are: Review of Critical Marine Habitats and
Species in the Pacific Islands Region by Chris Bleakley (1997); Review of Fishery Management
Issues and Regimes in the Pacific Islands Region, by Garry L. Preston (1997); A Review of Non-
living Resources and Threats in the Pacific Region, by Russell Howorth (1997); Strategies for
Preventing and Mitigating Land-based Sources of Pollution to Transboundary Water Resources in the
Pacific Region (1997), by Nancy S. Convard and Andrew Tomlinson.
8This work includes, e.g., the reports of the National Consultations, the State of the
Environment Report or NEMS, the Action Plan for Managing the Environment of the South Pacific
Region 1997-2000, the Draft Regional Strategy for Development Priorities of the Forum Island
Countries, the Action Strategy for Nature Conservation in the South Pacific Region 1994-1998, the
Report to the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) on Activities to
Implement the Barbados Programme of Action in the Pacific Region (1996) and the 1992 report to
UNCED in The Pacific Way. This documentation is fully referenced in the Bibliography, Annex 1.
9The reports of the National Task Forces are appended to the SAP in Annex 7.
10 The international programmes addressing our region's priority transboundary concerns in
particular include:
- the Barbados Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing
States (SIDS). To coordinate and facilitate its implementation, the South Pacific Forum set up an
Advisory Committee in 1994. The Committee's achievements so far are described in its regionally
agreed 1996 Report to the UNCSD. The report also reviews priority concerns and needed actions.
- the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-Based
12
Our islands are widely scattered across but closely linked by the Pacific Ocean and they
are remarkably diverse. Yet the very existence of this SAP and its profoundly country-driven
nature demonstrate our determination to continue to seek a constructive unity in our diversity.
With this SAP we aim to enhance a strong history of regional cooperation in sustainably
improving the quality of life and protecting our fragile environment for our island peoples in a
way that will achieve national, regional and global benefits.
II. International
Waters
For purposes of this SAP, International Waters are defined in accordance with GEF's
Operational Strategy. International Waters include oceans, large marine ecosystems, enclosed or
semi-enclosed seas and estuaries as well as rivers, lakes, groundwater systems, and wetlands
with transboundary drainage basins or common borders.
The water-related ecosystems and critical habitats associated with these waters are
integral parts of International Waters, which extend inland and seaward. This is because the
global hydrological cycle links watersheds, airsheds, estuaries, and coastal and marine waters
through transboundary movement of water, pollutants and living resources. Oceans drive the
hydrology and the climate of the planet. International Waters encompass all our islands and their
health determines the quality of our life there.
GEF's definition of International Waters, with its emphasis on linkages between fresh and
marine waters, watersheds and coasts, habitats and resources, could have been designed with our
Pacific Islands in mind. Although separated by vast distances, our islands are linked and
controlled by our marine environment. The waters and ecosystems within and between our
Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) are vital to our existence. Our land-to-sea ratio is generally
so small that, with the possible exception of the largest land masses of Papua New Guinea, all
our islands are wholly coastal in character. This means that the whole island influences, or is
influenced by, marine coastal and nearshore activities and processes. It also means that a natural
or anthropogenic disaster such as a cyclone or an pollution accident often affects the entire
society and economy of an island.
The twenty-two countries and territories of the Pacific Islands region consist of only
550,000 km2 of land with 5.2 million inhabitants spread across 29 million km2 of ocean. If Papua
New Guinea is excluded, the figures drop to 87,587 km2 and 2.2 million people. In contrast, our
EEZs occupy about one-sixth of the earth's surface, or more than 30 million km2. This area is
three times larger than either the USA or China.
The importance of International Waters to our islands cannot be overstated; especially
important are those waters and associated habitats in the coastal and nearshore area. It is here
Activities (GPA/LBA), adopted in 1995; regional implementation has commenced in the context of
the South Pacific Regional Pollution Prevention, Waste Minimisation and Management Programme.
- the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI), adopted in 1995; implementation has begun of a
specific Pacific Region Strategy developed and endorsed by Forum Island Countries.
13
that most of our people already live and work in ways that are dependent on healthy International
Waters. Here also is focused most national planning for a variety of activities intended to
enhance our prosperity by expanding our economic base. The success of national development
planning for our SIDS is wholly dependent on the continued health of our International Waters.
14
III. The
Region
A. Physical
Setting
In addition to being widely separated from each other as nations, within our individual,
national borders we are also widely dispersed. Other than Nauru and Niue, which are single-
island countries, we are archipelagic. Many of our constituent islands are separated by vast
expanses of ocean, entailing a unique set of sustainable development challenges.
The islands are of two basic types: a) "high," which are large, mainly of volcanic rock,
forested, with fertile soil and usually with ample fresh water and b) "low," which are small, often
atolls, mainly of coralline limestone, with few trees, poor soil and, usually, little fresh water.11
The type of island is a major determinant of the types of ecosystems present and of the
sustainable development options available.12
Climate conditions vary in the high islands; smaller islands have mild and humid weather
with rainfall typically of 2m or more per year. All the islands lie in tropical latitudes, where sea
surface temperatures generally stay above 20oC. These tropical areas are subject to trade winds
and vulnerable to devastating cyclones both north and south of the equator.13
B. Biological
Environment
The island nations have distinctly different terrestrial ecosystems ranging from very
diverse and high endemism in large mountainous high islands to the west to quite low diversity
and endemism in small low islands and atolls to the east. For some islands, 80% or more of the
resident species are endemic. The high endemism is due to the isolated evolution of island
species, which also renders these ecosystems vulnerable to disturbance, with a limited ability to
recover once disturbed.14 Any habitat loss on a high island is likely to contribute to extinction of
flora and fauna. Susceptibility to such loss depends heavily on the state of the native forests,
which must be considered a habitat whose health is as critical to our islands' well-being as is the
health of our coastal habitats. Indeed, the health of the latter is intimately linked with the health
of the former.15
Our region is one of the global centers of marine biological diversity which provides the
basis for the wealth of living natural resources whose benefits are shared by our communities
and the rest of the world. The Western Pacific has the highest marine diversity and the most
extensive coral reef systems in the world.16
11Howorth (1997), op. cit. at note 7.
12Bleakley (1997), op. cit. at note 7.
13Howorth (1997), op. cit. at note 7.
14Bleakley (1997), op. cit. at note 7.
15The Perspective (1992), op. cit. at note 2, pp. 194-198.
16Bleakley (1997), op. cit. at note 7; Global Marine Biological Diversity (1993), edited by
15
Elliott A. Norse.
16
The
marine habitats and species most critical to our sustainable development are briefly
described below, although the importance of terrestrial habitats, especially forests, must not be
forgotten.17 They are interdependent parts of complex natural processes, including food chains,
biogeochemical cycles, sediment fluxes and currents. As such they are linked to the global
environment. They are also central to our social and economic well-being. It is not possible to
single out one habitat or species for separate management in our region.18
1.
Critical
Habitats
a. Coral
reefs
Coral reefs are associated with all our islands and are the most important and extensive of
the types of ecosystems in our region. Coral reefs provide a variety of vertebrate and invertebrate
fishery resources for both commercial and subsistence purposes. They also provide income from
tourism, coastal protection, sand for beaches, construction materials, reservoirs of biodiversity,
breeding, nursery, feeding and shelter habitats and environmental health indicators.
b. Mangroves
Mangroves are common in the western part of the region and decline towards the east; in
the region covered by this SAP only Cook Islands have none. The other Pacific Island nations
each have a unique mangrove community structure.19 They help maintain coastal water quality
by acting as a sink for sediments, nutrients, pollutants and contaminants; they provide coastal
protection, breeding, nursery, feeding and shelter habitats, a variety of vertebrate and
invertebrate fishery resources for both commercial and subsistence purposes, commercial and
traditional uses for construction and handicraft materials, fuel wood, medicines, fungicides and
dyes.
c. Seagrass
beds
Like mangroves, seagrass beds are common in the west and decline towards the east; in
the SAP region, only Cook Islands, Nauru and Niue20 have none. They stabilise coastal
sediments, provide breeding, nursery, feeding and shelter habitats, are critically important to the
endangered dugong and sea turtle species, help to maintain coastal water quality by trapping and
recycling nutrients and contribute significantly to coastal productivity.
d.
Lagoons and Beaches
17Unless otherwise indicated, the information which follows, up to the section addressing
fish, is principally drawn from Bleakley (1997), op. cit. at note 7.
18Pacific Regional Report on the Issues and Activities Associated with Coral Reefs and Related
Ecosystems (1996).
19ICRI Pacific Regional Workshop (1996).
20Ibid.
17
The region's lagoons vary widely, from those broadly open to the ocean to those that are
completely enclosed, resulting in unique combinations of conditions and species. Lagoon
fisheries are an important resource. Beaches are a dynamic and constantly changing coastal
feature found throughout the region, and include landward dunes and sand bars and sand
reservoirs offshore to seaward. They provide coastal protection, a tourist attraction, sand for
cement and nesting areas for marine turtles.
e. Estuaries
Estuaries are common on high islands with well-developed watersheds. They support
mangrove and seagrass areas, breeding, nursery, feeding and shelter habitats and a variety of
vertebrate and invertebrate fishery resources for both commercial and subsistence purposes.
Estuaries are among the richest and most productive of coastal habitats.
f.
The Western Pacific Warm Pool Large Marine Ecosystem
Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs) are regions where physical conditions and biological
communities are so intricately linked and interdependent that the area should be managed as a
whole.21 So far 49 potential LMEs have been identified; these are more coastal than oceanic.22
Recent research suggests that the Western Pacific Warm Pool might be an appropriate oceanic
LME, whose boundaries correspond almost precisely to those of the Western Pacific tuna
fishery, and which appear to encompass a functional physical and ecological unit which is of
global significance.23
2. Critical
species
These species tend to share a number of the following characteristics (in no particular
order): they are economically valuable, nutritionally important, relatively rare, sedentary, easy to
catch or collect, slow-growing, slow to reach maturity and reproduce, important to ecosystem
maintenance (keystone species), have few offspring and are found towards the upper end of the
food chain.
Because of their enormous economic and nutritional value, the region's fish are
considered critical as a group, which include four main tuna target species (albacore, big-eye,
skipjack and yellowfin), tuna by-catch species, and fish found in reefs and lagoons. At least
3,392 distinct species of reef and inshore fish are known to occur in the region, which is more
21Large Marine Ecosystems "are large regions, often over 200,000 km2, that have unique
bathymetry, hydrography and productivity, and within which populations of plants and animals are
assumed to have adapted reproductive, growth and feeding strategies, and where the close linking
of physical conditions, biological communities and fish stocks indicate that the area should be
managed as a single unit. They include upwellings, semi-enclosed seas, shallow shelf ecosystems
on western ocean boundaries, coral reefs, ocean shelf-deltaic-riverain interactive systems."
(Description by Sherman and Alexander, quoted in: A Global Representative System of Marine
Protected Areas, Volume 1, p. 12, 1995.)
22Preston (1997), op. cit. at note 7.
23Ibid.
18
than half of those known to occur worldwide. By-catch species include billfish and oceanic
sharks, as fish; also critical as a by-catch group are non-fish species, especially dolphins, turtles
and seabirds.
Other economically and nutritionally critical species24 in the region are: turtles, sharks,
trochus, green snail, bêche-de-mer, giant clams, spiny lobster, coconut and mangrove crabs,
helmet, trumpet and conch shells. The species critical for other reasons listed above are:
dugongs, marine mammals, saltwater crocodile, and certain seabirds. The latter groups of
species, and at least two species of seabirds in the region are already classified as vulnerable,
threatened or endangered.
C. Cultural
Characteristics
Ethnically, the islands are usually classified as either Melanesian (75% of the region's
population), Micronesian or Polynesian. Their linguistic diversity is remarkable. The peoples of
Melanesia, in particular, and those of Micronesia speak a large number of separate languages,
and all are different from the languages of Polynesia. For example, more than 700 languages are
spoken in Papua New Guinea, and over 100 in both Solomon Islands and Vanuatu; the four
states of the Federated States of Micronesia each speak at least one different language. In
Polynesia, each country usually has one language, but that language is very different as between
countries. One-fourth of the world's languages are found in Pacific Island countries. This myriad
of different languages is vital to social and cultural identity and to transfer traditional knowledge
between generations, but it also adds considerable complexity in developing and implementing
national management plans, especially at village level.25
Various traditional authority systems exist; these are mostly matrilineal in Micronesia,
patrilineal in Polynesia and vary in Melanesia, depending on the dominant members of a given
society there. Religious institutions have enormous influence. The status and position of women
differs considerably among Pacific Island states because of factors such as cultural traditions,
colonial history and level of socio-economic development.
Perhaps the most distinctive cultural characteristic relevant to our sustainable
development is the communal ownership and traditional systems of management of land, and
usually the adjacent marine area, and the resources of both. This is prevalent in almost all island
states, where up to 80% of land is under communal ownership. In many cases fishing rights are
maintained from the beach to the seaward edge of outer reefs, and in some cases further
offshore.26
Specific ownership and management forms vary widely throughout the region, but all are
essentially kin-based and subsistence-oriented.27 These are not strictly systems of property or
24These species are also identified as critical by Preston (1997), op. cit. at note 7.
25The Perspective (1992), op. cit. at Note 2.
26Bleakley, op. cit. at note 7, p. 18.
27Land Tenure in the Pacific (1987), edited by Ron Crocombe.
19
territory in the Western sense, but are complex and profound expressions of a given island's
social structure.28 These traditional land and marine management and tenure systems also carry
with them valuable knowledge about associated resources. In many local communities, chiefs
maintain control over communal land and resource use, usually with powers that parallel and
often supersede those of the national government.29
Our traditional systems must be associated with achieving current economic, political and
social goals of our islands. It will be difficult but it is essential to include appropriate and
significant principles of traditional systems in national development planning and
implementation if these plans are to be truly sustainable.
28Traditional Resource Management in the Melanesian South Pacific: A Development Dilemma
(1997), by G.B.K. Baines.
29The Perspective (1992), op. cit. at Note 2.
20
D. Economic
Structure
Our island states are at different levels of economic development, which can vary widely
even within one state. Nevertheless, our economies generally share the following elements, in no
particular order:30 a narrow resource base, small domestic markets, high costs for energy, access,
infrastructure, transportation, communication and servicing; substantial dependence on imported
petroleum and on external trade, long distances from export markets and import sources, low and
lumpy international traffic volumes, vulnerability and little resilience to natural disasters (at
present cyclones generally, earthquakes in certain countries, and possibly sea level rise in the
future), burgeoning populations, low economic growth, domination by the public sector, limited
opportunities for the private sector, and fragile natural environments.
For the region overall economic growth since the early 1980s has been very low.31
Meanwhile, our population has been growing at a natural rate of at least 2.3% per year, a rate
which was already considered unsustainable at the beginning of this decade.32 In many of our
countries per capita GDP has been declining, or, at best, remaining stagnant. Youth
unemployment is one particularly worrying concern. The mutually exacerbating combination of
high natural population growth and low economic growth is probably the most important long-
term sustainable development issue facing our islands.33
Population distribution varies widely. Migration to urban areas, usually the national or
provincial capital, is steadily increasing. These urban areas are invariably located on the coast.
The urban growth rate is at least 50-100% higher than the already large overall population
growth rates.34 National averages do not adequately reflect the actual densities found in some
parts of the countries, many of which have extraordinarily high concentrations of people in the
urban area and very low densities in rural parts of the "capital" island and on outer islands.
Already in the early nineties, seven of our countries were more than 50% urban, and the others
had at least a quarter of their population living in urban areas.
A distinctive economic characteristic of our region is the predominance of non-monetary
subsistence production to provide for basic needs. Both the monetary and subsistence economies
of our states are largely based on agriculture, fisheries and tourism. Agriculture, fisheries and
tourism are critically dependent on a healthy environment. National economies are augmented by
30The following is compiled from several sources, including: The Perspective (1992), op. cit.
at note 2; the Pacific Way (1992), op. cit. at note 8; Pacific Island Economies (1993), op. cit.
at note 6; Report to UNCSD on the Barbados Programme of Action (1996), op. cit. at note 8;
Bleakley (1997) and Preston (1997), op. cit. at note 7, and comments from the Forum Secretariat
(1997).
31The six World Bank Pacific Member Countries (Fiji, Kiribati, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga
and Vanuatu) averaged 2.2% growth from 1983-1993; the GDPs of most Pacific Island countries
fluctuated around 1-3% during 1994-1995.
32The Pacific Way (1992), op. cit. at note 8; Pacific Island Economies (1993), op. cit. at
note 6.
33Preston (1997), op. cit. at note 7; UNDP (1994), cited therein, p. 10.
34Bleakley, op. cit. at note 7, p. 18.
21
substantial development aid and, particularly in Polynesia, by cash remittances from relatives
overseas. The significance of cash remittances varies widely in the region; they are not reflected
in GDP figures.
22
Agriculture is the largest employer, producing subsistence food such as root crops and
garden vegetables and primary commodities such as copra and other coconut products, cocoa,
sugar (Fiji) and coffee for export income. Timber production and mining is significant in parts of
Melanesia. Non-traditional crops are being tried, such as vanilla and ornamental flowers.
Some smaller, atoll islands are physically unable to produce enough food for their populations
and must depend upon imported food. Other islands depend on imported food to the extent that
their land is being used for export crops.
Despite the importance of agriculture, the amount of arable land per capita in the region
is small; atolls have the poorest soil and a consequently even higher dependence on marine
resources than high islands. Compared with our tiny land area, the economic importance and
potential of our extensive marine area is considerable. Currently, this potential is primarily
manifested in the fisheries sector. A brief overview follows.35
Fisheries in the region operate on a variety of scales: at one end are large-scale, high-
technology, export-oriented industrial fisheries and at the other are small, labor-intensive, low-
technology, subsistence and artisanal fisheries for domestic consumption, with a mix of methods
and outlets falling between these two extremes. Although there is some degree of overlap, the
sector is usually analysed in two categories:
a) oceanic fisheries, which primarily include the international tuna fishery straddling the
Western Central Pacific Ocean
b) coastal fisheries, which include reefs, lagoons and estuaries.
The oceanic fishery produces about 1 million tonnes of tuna and an unknown quantity of
by-catch per year, most of which is harvested by about 1,300 fishing vessels from 21 countries.
About 7% of the catch is taken by Pacific Islanders, and around 400 industrial-scale tuna vessels
are based in Pacific Island countries. The annual expenditure of these locally based vessels is
estimated at about $100 million.
The international tuna fishery provides our region with an important source of export
revenue, largely through access license fees, although these are a small proportion (about 3.7%
or USD$68 million) of the total value of the regional tuna catch, which was USD$1.7 billion in
1995, up from about USD$375 million in 1982. The tuna catch now represents around 10% of
the combined GDP of all the nations of the region, and a third of the value of all exports from the
region. It provides 6-8% of all wage employment in the region. About 10,000 Pacific Islanders
are formally employed on tuna vessels and in tuna processing plants; direct and indirect tuna-
related employment is estimated at between 21,000-31,000 people. In terms of actual food,
however, less than 0.25% of the international tuna catch enters the domestic food supply of our
islands.
The Pacific Islands region is the most important tuna fishing area of the world. About a
35A comprehensive review of living marine resource management regimes and issues specially
commissioned for this SAP is found in Preston (1997), op. cit. at note 7. The discussion of tuna
fisheries is derived from this review and from written comments on this section by the Forum
Fisheries Agency.
23
third of all tuna in the world comes from this region, and its tuna fisheries dwarf those of the
other three main tuna fishing areas both in volume and value. From a regional perspective, tuna
produces over nine times the amount of fish as all of the other fisheries of the region combined.
In terms of value, the tuna fishery is worth over six times that of all other Pacific Island fisheries
combined.
24
The coastal fishery produces about 108,000 tonnes per year of a highly diverse range of
finfish (including tuna), invertebrates and algae by thousands of male and female subsistence,
artisanal and commercial fishers from the region itself. Tuna forms a substantial component of
the catch of both subsistence and artisanal fisheries, and in terms of volume tuna appears to be
the most important family of fish for small-scale fisheries.
The contribution of the fishery sector to public health and welfare is often insufficiently
appreciated. Fisheries and related activities have cultural, religious and recreational significance
that are vital to social and community cohesion.
In addition to employment, coastal fisheries provide a key source of subsistence protein:
only about 20% of the fish and invertebrate catch enters the cash economy. Tuna makes up a
substantial portion of all fish consumed, especially in the most economically vulnerable
countries of the region. Fish is nutritionally essential to households that are unable to obtain
equally sustaining alternative protein sources. The food security situation in several Pacific
Island countries, many of which are already categorized by the Food and Agriculture
Organisation (FAO) as Low Income Food Deficit Countries, would be even more precarious in
the absence of tuna and other fish. Future population pressures, together with the fully exploited
nature of inshore and coastal fisheries, mean that the future food security of the region will
become increasingly more reliant on its tuna resources.
The quantity of non-tuna exports from domestic capture fisheries is perhaps 5% of
coastal fishery production, derived from bottom fish, reef fish and crustaceans. The principal
exports by value are bêche-de-mer and shell products from trochus and green snail.
The economic contribution of the fishery sector as a whole to the region must not be
underestimated, especially because national assessments significantly undervalue its actual
importance to national GDP because of inadequate accounting for artisanal and subsistence
production.
Women play an important economic role in inshore marine resource use; they, rather than
men, are the principal regular suppliers of marine protein for the family meal. The men tend to
fish further offshore and for more commercial purposes.36 A large proportion of the subsistence
fishery for family consumption is comprised of invertebrates, which are gathered almost
exclusively by women.37 Their role as a source of information on the status of the coastal
environment is critical, and their involvement in managing the environment is essential to
successful management.38
Tourism is showing substantial growth in the region, with receipts of US$ 723 million,
representing about 5% of the region's GDP, in 1994. Receipts were nearing US$ 1 billion in
36Preston and Bleakley (1997), op. cit. at note 7, both strongly emphasise this point in their
reviews.
37Preston (1997), op. cit. at note 7, p. 18.
38Bleakley (1997), op. cit. at note 7, p. 16.
25
1996. This regional aggregate does not adequately define the importance of tourism to individual
economies, with two countries not participating in this SAP accounting for about 42% of those
receipts.39 The aggregate figure also does not reflect the different levels of development of
tourism in countries in the region. Tourism has considerable economic potential if managed
sustainably. The South Pacific region has ideal resources to satisfy the growing interest in
cultural and eco-tourism. If development is undertaken so as not to erode the environmental
conditions, it will enable the region's unique products to be offered in a highly competitive
international market. Tourism places an economic value on cultural and natural resources that
can ensure the resources are used in a sustainable manner. Tourism is critically dependent on the
management of a healthy environment.
E. Legal
Framework
1. International
Our Pacific Island States are linked in a complex group of binding regional and global
international agreements which govern sustainable development of International Waters in
general and the marine sector in particular. These agreements form an extensive and evolving
international legal framework within which our sustainable development activities take place and
with which our present and planned activities must comply, for those of us who are full parties,
or at least not undermine, for those of us who are as yet only signatories. The SAP is designed to
be consistent with and assist in the implementation of our international commitments.
To keep this section to a size somewhat proportionate with the remainder of this
overview, the discussion is necessarily brief and furthermore limited to agreements immediately
related to the highest priorities, which are primarily land-based, identified in the SAP. Hence it
was not possible to address the important, complex and extensive suite of treaties developed
under the auspices of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) dealing with the activities
of vessels. Nevertheless, we recognise that, under UNCLOS and the SPREP Convention, the
IMO treaties must be addressed as well, and in particular those treaties dealing with vessel-
source pollution. Waste management is identified as one of the priority issues under this SAP,
and integrated waste management planning requires the inclusion of vessel-based waste.
a.
The 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
From the plethora of treaties addressing or affecting International Waters, the most
important for this SAP is the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS,
entry into force: 1994), which is the fundamental global treaty addressing International Waters.
Of all relevant binding international instruments in force, it is by far the most comprehensive in
scope and the most powerful in terms of both rights accorded to and obligations assumed by its
parties. All but one of the countries participating in the SAP are either full parties (9) or
39French Polynesia and New Caledonia. Of those states participating in the SAP, Fiji, Papua
New Guinea, Vanuatu, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Tonga, in descending order of receipts, all had
tourism income in 1996 ranging from US$ 301 million in Fiji to US$ 12.6 million in Tonga,
according to the latest figures released by the Tourism Council of the South Pacific (TCSP).
26
signatories (3) to UNCLOS.40 UNCLOS is supplemented by an agreement on deep seabed
mining41 and the Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions of the United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea....Relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling
Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks.42
40As of 25 July 1997, full parties are: Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji,
Marshall Islands, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Tonga; signatories are:
Niue, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. Kiribati is not a signatory.
41Agreement Relating to the Implementation of Part XI of the United Nations Convention on the
Law of the Sea (adopted 1994).
42As of July 25, 1997, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Nauru, Papua New
Guinea, Solomon Islands, Samoa and Tonga have become parties; Vanuatu is a signatory.
27
UNCLOS has been described as "a constitution for the oceans."43 This Convention arose
from and is specifically founded on the proposition that "the problems of ocean space are
closely interrelated and need to be considered as a whole."44 This guiding precept is
illustrated clearly by, for example, Part XII on the marine environment, which addresses
pollution of the marine environment from any source, including those sources from land and air
as well as from the sea. In keeping with its constitutional nature, UNCLOS is designed to
facilitate development of agreements addressing or affecting specific marine issues in requisite
detail and at appropriate operational levels. In its holistic approach to management of
International Waters, GEF's Operational Strategy is consistent with UNCLOS.
Although much remains to be done in our region to implement UNCLOS,45 compatible
actions undertaken pursuant to other international and regional conventions addressing or
affecting marine issues may be viewed as a promising start to implementing UNCLOS as well,
as are compatible actions developed in the context of international and regional organisations
addressing and affecting marine issues. Such conventions, organisations and actions include
those described below and in the following two parts of this overview.
b.
The Convention on Biological Diversity
In the context of this SAP, which requires linkages to other GEF focal areas, the
Convention on Biological Diversity46 (CBD, 1992) and the Framework Convention on Climate
Change47 (FCCC, 1992) are important.
In implementing the CBD, the Jakarta Mandate on Marine and Coastal Biological
Diversity (1995) sets out a programme specifying that action should be taken by parties in five
areas; the first three are particularly relevant to this SAP and in the same order of priority action:
Integrated Marine and Coastal Area Management, Marine and Coastal Protected Areas and
Sustainable Use of Coastal and Living Marine Resources.48
43Remarks by H.E. Tommy T.B. Koh, President of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law
of the Sea, at the final session of the Conference in December 1982. The Law of the Sea, UN
Official Text (1983), p. xxxiii.
44UNCLOS, Preamble, third paragraph. The Law of the Sea. UN Official Text (1983), p. 1.
Attempts in the nineteen fifties and sixties to deal with ocean issues individually in separate
treaties had been unsuccessful.
45See, e.g., Environmental Law in the South Pacific (1996), edited by Ben Boer; Evaluation of
the Implications of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea for SPREP Activities
(1996), by Martin Tsamenyi.
46In 1996 10 Pacific Island states participating in this SAP are parties to the CBD: Cook
Islands, Fiji, Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Papua New
Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. Non-parties are Niue, Tonga and Tuvalu.
47Only Tonga is not a party to the FCCC, of the countries participating in this SAP.
48The other two are: Implementing Environmentally Sustainable Mariculture Practice and
Introduction of Alien Species. This list is taken from: Biodiversity in the Seas (1996), by de
Fontaubert et al. Note that these are also issues in the Pacific Islands region, but they have
not been identified for immediate priority action under this SAP.
28
In the Pacific Islands region, implementation of the CBD has commenced through the
South Pacific Biodiversity Conservation Programme (SPBCP). It is funded by GEF and executed
by SPREP, containing regional and national, terrestrial and marine components with local
community participation as a unifying theme. The SPBCP has supported the establishment of
sixteen community-based conservation area projects in the region. Two species-focused regional
programmes consistent with the CBD and UNCLOS are the Marine Turtle and the Marine
Mammal Conservation Strategies, executed by SPREP.
As required under UNCLOS and the CBD, the SAP also took into account other
international conventions specifically concerned with protection of species and habitats. These
include (in order of entry into force): the Whaling Convention,49 the World Heritage
Convention,50 CITES,51 the Wetlands or Ramsar Convention52 and the Migratory Species or
Bonn Convention (1979).53 A draft Regional Wetlands Action Plan for the Pacific Islands has
been developed under the auspices of SPREP that could assist in implementing relevant
provisions of, e.g., the CBD, the Wetlands Convention and UNCLOS.54 The actions proposed in
this SAP are compatible with the CBD and will contribute directly and indirectly to the
conservation of marine and terrestrial biological diversity in our region.
c. The Framework Convention on Climate Change
Comprehensive and coordinated support by GEF to the Pacific Island parties for
implementation of their national reporting obligations under the FCCC commenced in 1997
under the Pacific Islands Climate Change Assistance Project (PICCAP), executed by SPREP. A
second phase of CC:TRAIN, the GEF-funded global climate change training programme, is
expected to assist at least nine Pacific Island countries.
Pacific Islands are particularly vulnerable to the effects that climate change may have on
sea level rise. The actions proposed in this SAP with regard to, in particular, protection of critical
habitats, will have the additional benefit of mitigating effects of sea level rise.
49International Convention on the Regulation of Whaling, Washington, 1946 and Protocol,
International Whaling Commission, 1956.
50Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, Paris,
1972. None of the participants in this SAP are parties; only Solomon Islands and Fiji are
signatories.
51Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, Washington, 1973. Of the states
participating in this SAP, only Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu are parties.
52The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat,
Ramsar, 1971 (entry into force: 1975; 1982 Protocol). Of those participating in this SAP, only
Papua New Guinea is a party.
53Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, Bonn, 1979.
54Annex 6.2 of the Report of the ICRI Pacific Regional Workshop (1995).
29
2. Regional
The main regional conventions relevant to International Waters are, in order of entry into
force: the Forum Fisheries Convention,55 the Wellington or Driftnet Convention,56 the Apia
Convention,57 the Nouméa or SPREP Convention58 and the Niue Treaty.59 Not yet in force is the
Waigani Convention.60 The Forum Fisheries, Wellington and Niue Conventions address oceanic
fisheries.
The Nouméa Convention places the most extensive responsibilities on its parties with
regard to protecting the marine environment. The Nouméa Convention includes land-based
activities affecting the marine environment; thus parties also have terrestrial obligations under
this Convention, as they do under UNCLOS. It is implemented largely through the SPREP
Action Plan (currently 1997-2000), which is approved by the Heads of Government at the annual
SPREP meeting, who also review the progress of the Action Plan.
The Apia Convention addresses both terrestrial and marine habitats. It is implemented
through an Action Strategy adopted at a dedicated Conference held every four years. The
achievements of the current Action Strategy61 will be reviewed at the Sixth Conference, to be
held in Pohnpei in October 1997. The Action Strategy also aims to ensure consistency with the
CBD and its implementing programmes, in particular the SPBCP and other relevant regional
plans.
In this section attention has primarily been given to legally binding international and
regional treaties and conventions. A number of non-binding but widely endorsed international
instruments relevant to this SAP have been considered.62 Despite their non-binding nature, these
55The South Pacific Forum Fisheries Convention, Honiara, 1979.
56The Convention for the Prohibition of Fishing with Long Driftnets in the South Pacific,
Wellington, 1989.
57The Convention on the Conservation of Nature in the South Pacific, Apia, 1990.
58The Convention for the Protection of Natural Resources and Environment of the South Pacific
Region and its two Protocols on, respectively, prevention of pollution by dumping and cooperation
in combating pollution emergencies, Nouméa, 1990. Of the Pacific Island States participating in
this SAP, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Papua New
Guinea, Samoa and Solomon Islands are parties; Tuvalu is a signatory; Kiribati, Niue, Tonga and
Vanuatu are not signatories.
59The Treaty on Cooperation in Surveillance and Law Enforcement in the South Pacific, Niue,
1993.
60The Convention to Ban the Importation into Forum Island Countries of Hazardous and
Radioactive Wastes and to Control the Transboundary Movement and Management of Hazardous Wastes
within the South Pacific Region, Waigani, adopted in September 1995, not yet in force.
61 Action Strategy for Nature Conservation in the Pacific Region 1994-1998, adopted at the
Fifth South Pacific Conference on Nature Conservation and Protected Areas, Tonga, October 1993.
62Such instruments include (in order of adoption): Agenda 21 (1992), the Barbados Programme of
Action for SIDS (4/1994), the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI, 5/1994), the Code of
Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (10/1995), the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of
the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities (11/1995) and the ICRI Pacific Regional
Strategy (12/1995).
30
instruments are useful in developing state practice and in helping to establish a presumption in
favor of such practice becoming "generally recommended," a status which, under UNCLOS,
contributes to the eventual evolution of that practice into international law.63
63The Duty to Respect Generally Accepted International Standards (1991), by Bernard H. Oxman.
31
3. National
At national level, implementation of conventions has been fragmentary. This is due to
several factors, including a limited awareness of the implications of the conventions and the
extent of the obligations imposed. These obligations engage numerous divisions of national
administrations, which need enhanced capacity to develop cross-sectoral approaches. A related
issue is the general need for Pacific Island nations to develop integrated national legislation that
supports sustainable development policies, and that is also consistent, enforceable and in keeping
with appropriate customary principles. The requisite institutional and administrative capacity and
mechanisms are largely insufficient at present.64
F. Intergovernmental
Cooperation
Intergovernmental cooperation for Pacific Island development started again after World
War II, with the establishment in 1947 of the South Pacific Commission (SPC), the oldest
intergovernmental organisation in the South Pacific. As the issues to be addressed by the
governments of the region increased in scope and complexity, four other regional
intergovernmental organisations with different mandates were created between 1971 and 1979.65
Their activities are coordinated by the South Pacific Organisations Coordinating Committee
(SPOCC), formed for that purpose. The role and function of each organisation are regularly
reviewed.66 The regional system for dealing with marine issues spans an extensive range of
activities.
The South Pacific Commission (SPC), with 27 members, is one of the major general
development agencies in our region. Under its apolitical mandate, it provides advisory,
consultative and training services to governments on scientific, economic, social, environmental,
health, agricultural, rural development, community health, education, demographic and cultural
matters. Its broad marine experience ranges from village-level and coastal projects such as
64See, e.g., Environmental Law in the South Pacific (1996), op. cit. at note 45; the critical
reviews by, respectively, Bleakley, Convard, Howorth and Preston (1997), op. cit. at note 7;
Evaluation of Implications of UNCLOS for SPREP Activities (1996), op. cit. at note 45; Report on
the Sub-regional Meetings to Identify Coastal Management Training Needs, by SPREP (1995),
Overview of Destructive Fishing Practices in the Pacific Island Region, by Joeli Veitayaki et al.
(1995), Pacific Island Economies (1993), op. cit. at note 6; The Perspective (1992), op. cit. at
note 2; The Pacific Way (1992), op. cit. at note 8.
65These four are, chronologically: the South Pacific Forum (SPF), convened for the first time
in 1971 with its Secretariat established in Suva, Fiji in 1973; what is now known as the South
Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC), created in 1972, also based in Fiji; The South
Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), created in 1976 and now based in Apia, Samoa; the
South Pacific Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA), established in 1979 and based in Honiara, Solomon
Islands. The other members of SPOCC are (in alphabetical order): the Pacific Islands Development
Programme (PIDP) at the East-West Center in Honolulu, HI, the Tourism Council for the South
Pacific (TCSP) in Suva, Fiji, and the University of the South Pacific (USP), with several
branches in the region and headquartered in Suva, Fiji.
Unless otherwise indicated, the information in this section is based on the final report
of the review of regional institutional arrangements in the marine sector, commissioned by SPOCC,
(1995), The Perspective (1992) op. cit. at note 2, and comments from SPOCC members (1997).
66A review focussing on institutional arrangements in the marine sector, was commissioned by
SPOCC and completed in 1995. The recommendations of the review of ForSec have now been
implemented. A review of SPC was undertaken earlier this year.
32
transfer of appropriate boat-building technology, subsistence and artisanal fisheries research and
development, coastal fishery stock assessment and protection, all through its Coastal Fisheries
Programme, to scientific research on oceanic fisheries, especially tuna and billfish, in its Oceanic
Fisheries Programme. The latter prepares an annual report on the status of tuna stocks, monitors
and compiles regional tuna fishery statistics, and is studying the dynamics of the Warm Pool of
the Western Pacific, an LME which encompasses much of the region. The SPC works closely
with the Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) in this area.
The Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) was established pursuant to the Forum Fisheries
Convention (FFC) in 1979, and serves as the FFC's secretariat. The FFA developed from the
consideration that a regional approach would be an effective way for Pacific Island countries to
capitalise on opportunities being created in the mid-1970s by the Third United Nations
Conference on the Law of the Sea, which were dramatically altering international thinking on
ownership, management and use of ocean resources.67 FFA's 16 members include 14 Pacific
Island nations, Australia and New Zealand, but, purposely, no distant water fishing nations
(DWFNs). For fisheries issues, this difference between FFA and SPC in eligibility for
membership is an important distinction between the two organisations.
FFA's objective is to assist members with sustainable development and management of
their fisheries and related activities. FFA advises members on, e.g., maritime boundary
delimitation, legal, technical and economic issues, monitoring and surveillance of foreign fishing
activity, human resource and institutional strengthening, applied fisheries research, policy
assessments and representation at international fisheries meetings. FFA is developing
opportunities to increase member country involvement in existing foreign-based operations.
FFA helped conclude and serves as the secretariat for the Wellington Treaty and Niue
Convention. It takes a key role in assisting member countries to develop effective and
comprehensive fisheries management arrangements for tuna across the full geographical range of
the stock, including the high seas. It collaborates with SPC in pelagic fisheries data.
The South Pacific Forum is comprised of all 16 independent and self-governing nations
of the Pacific Islands region, whose Heads of Government meet annually. Its secretariat (ForSec)
executes the requirements of the Heads of Government expressed at the annual meetings. The
Secretary-General of ForSec provides the permanent Chair of SPOCC and the Division of
Development and Economic Policy serves as SPOCC's secretariat; ForSec thus provides the lead
coordination role in the region.
ForSec's mission is to enhance the economic and social well-being of the people of the
Pacific Islands, in support of the efforts of national governments. Its responsibility is to facilitate,
develop and maintain cooperation and consultation between and among its members on issues
such as trade, economic development, transport, energy, telecommunications and other related
matters. It seeks to support its members in pursuing their objectives through multilateral fora.
67This Conference would culminate in the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS),
discussed further in section E of this part.
33
Currently, ForSec is concentrating on development and economic policy, trade and
investment policy, and political and international affairs. Focal areas include economic reforms
(especially public sector restructuring), development planning and cross-sectoral sustainable
development issues. ForSec also aims to assist private sector development, to provide financial
support to encourage exports and improve industrial skills, improve the regional investment
climate and increase awareness in its members of developments in the international trading
environment. The Pacific Forum Line is an example of a commercial marine enterprise resulting
from consultations within the framework of the Forum: it is a commercial shipping service set
up, owned and managed by 10 Forum members to meet specific regional needs. ForSec provides
advice and coordination services in international relations, security and law enforcement issues
and assists with legislative drafting.
34
ForSec is assessing developments in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
process and represents its members on the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC). It
maintains a direct practical role with key regional donors, including the European Union (EU).
The South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission's (SOPAC) overall mandate is to
assist its members in assessment, exploration and development of their nearshore and offshore
mineral and other marine non-living resource potential. Its work also includes baseline data for
coastal engineering and development, hazard evaluation, assistance and training for local
hydrography and "lands and survey"-type activities. SOPAC advises Pacific Island states on
environmental effects of physical modifications to the coast. SOPAC has regional responsibility
for the water and sanitation sector; it coordinates with SPC on health-related issues and SPREP
on pollution issues.68
The University of the South Pacific (USP) was created by royal charter. It is governed by
the University Council comprising representatives from its twelve member countries.69 USP
provides tertiary education and undertakes scholarly and applied research and is closely involved
on educational matters with the Pacific Island governments, in most of whose countries it has a
branch. In the marine sector, USP features a Marine Studies Institute and Programme and
cooperative projects with other regional intergovernmental agencies such as FFA and SOPAC.
Environmental and pollution monitoring and EIAs are significant activities of the Institute of
Applied Science. The International Ocean Institute undertakes training for regional personnel in
marine and coastal management issues.
The Tourism Council of the South Pacific (TCSP)70 is jointly owned by its 12 member
countries. Its role is to work with national tourist offices, international airlines and tour operators
to increase visitor arrivals in the region, to market and promote tourism and to help the private
sector enhance the quality of their products and services through a variety of programmes on
training, tourism awareness and preservation of the environment. TCSP's other services include
production and distribution to the travel industry worldwide of South Pacific Travel Manuals and
Guides in English, French and German, organising regional participation at international travel
exhibitions, maintaining an internet site (SPICE) and collection and dissemination to the region
of tourism statistics, sector reviews, environmental guidelines and visitor surveys.71
The Pacific Islands Development Programme (PIDP) has 22 members. It draws academic
resources from regional and international organisations to plan and conduct projects mainly
concerned with private sector development, senior-level private and public sector management
training, formulation of national development policies and strategies and publication of research
results on these topics.
68Of the countries participating in this SAP, Nauru and Niue are not members of SOPAC.
69Of the countries participating in this SAP, the Federated States of Micronesia and Papua New
Guinea are not members of USP.
70The following is drawn from the TCSP's own public information materials (1997) and TCSP's
comments on this section.
71Of the countries participating in this SAP, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru and
Marshall Islands are not members of TCSP.
35
The South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) is the regional technical
and coordinating body responsible for environmental matters in the Pacific region. Its
membership comprises 26 Pacific Island States, territories and metropolitan countries, all of
whom have agreed that their mission in this organisation, facilitated by its secretariat, is to
"promote cooperation in the South Pacific region and to provide assistance in order to protect
and improve its environment and to ensure sustainable development for present and future
generations. SPREP shall achieve these purposes through the Action Plan adopted from time to
time by the SPREP meeting, setting the strategies and objectives of SPREP."72 The Action Plan
for 1997-2000 was adopted at the Ninth SPREP meeting in November 1996. The principal goal
for the next four years is to "build national capacity in environmental and resource management
through support to government agencies, communities, NGOs and the private sector."73 SPREP
also serves as the secretariat for the Apia and Nouméa Conventions; it will serve as the
secretariat for the Waigani Convention when the latter enters into force.
The Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), through its
Pacific Operations Center (ESCAP/POC) in Port Vila, and backed-up by its Environment and
Natural Resource Division at its headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand, provides a variety of
advisory services to Pacific Island countries. In recent years these services have included
reviews of national marine fisheries economics and management and of other issues related to
sustainable development. ForSec has assigned to ESCAP and SPREP the joint responsibility for
monitoring and reporting on the implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action in the
region.74
G. Non-governmental
Organisations
Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are playing a steadily increasing role in our
region's sustainable development. They vary widely in their approach, the services they provide,
issues they address and their level of focus which may be local, national, regional and
international. International NGOs active in this region which address environmental aspects of
sustainable development include Greenpeace International, the Nature Conservancy, and the
World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). A unique form of non-governmental and
intergovernmental organisation is represented by the IUCN World Conservation Union, whose
programmes are described in section H below.
Regional NGOs include the Foundations for Peoples of the South Pacific International
(FSPI; now with branches in most Pacific Island countries), Maruia Society, Meltrust (the
umbrella organisation of national, local community-based development NGOs located in New
Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu) and the South Pacific Action
Committee on the Human Environment and Ecology (SPACHEE).
National Councils of Women are established in all Pacific Island States and serve as the
72Article 2 of the Agreement Establishing SPREP (1993).
73SPREP Action Plan 1997-2000, p. 5.
74Information provided by Dr. Charles Kick, ESCAP/POC, 1997.
36
umbrella women's organisation in most countries. Church and women's groups are also active;
the latter particularly assist women to improve their family's standard of living. Traditional
leadership councils often work as a form of NGO in determining land and coastal waters
management; they are gaining legal recognition for this role.
National NGOs play an important role in sustainable development in the region. Their
methods of operation, autonomy and sources of funding vary widely. Establishment of effective
partnerships between NGOs, the private sector and government will be essential to sustainable
development.
37
H. Global
Programmes
The Pacific Island region is involved in a variety of international programmes related to
International Waters. A brief, indicative selection follows.
- FAO's Fishery and Forestry programmes
- ICLARM and WCMC's Global Database on Coral Reefs and their Resources
(ReefBase)
- IMO's programmes for the prevention of vessel-based pollution
- IUCN - the World Conservation Union - has many programmes of relevance to the
SAP, particularly the Marine and Coastal Programme and the global network focussed
on developing a Global Representative System of Marine Protected Areas.
- UNDP's Capacity 21 Programme, with four main components related to sustainable
development: national frameworks, planning and financing, land and sea resources
management capacity and contribution of landholder organisations.
- UNEP's Regional Seas Programme in which the Noumea Convention and the SPREP
Action Plan represent the Pacific Islands.
- UNESCO/IOC programmes including: Environment and Development in Coastal
Regions and Small Islands; IOC/UNEP/WMO Global Ocean Observing System; Global
Coral Reef Monitoring Network.
- WHO's Healthy Islands Programme
IV.
Transboundary Environmental Concerns
The preparations for UNCED first enabled us to clearly identify and agree on principal
environmental concerns shared by all the Pacific Island States.75 These concerns were (no
priority implied):
a. Proliferation of waste in various forms on our land and into our waters
b. Degradation of land (includes deforestation (high islands),agrodeforestation (high &
low islands), soil erosion and coastal erosion
c. Depletion or loss of coastal/inshore living marine resource and other species
d. Degradation of freshwater quality
e. Degradation and loss of habitats.76
These concerns became - and have remained - for us the priority environmental issues in
the region on which we have focussed since UNCED through appropriate regional
organisations.77
75Certain concerns, such as salinisation, air pollution, sea-based pollution, and the effects
of mining are not considered significant regional issues at present, although they are nationally
significant for certain states in our region.
76See, e.g., The Pacific Way (1992), op. cit. at note 8.
77See, e.g., Report to UNCSD on Activities to Implement the Barbados Programme of Action
(1996), op. cit. at note 8.
38
After the focal area and definition of International Waters was set out in GEF's
Operational Strategy and work on this SAP began, we reviewed our priority regional
environmental concerns in this more inclusive, globally focused, transboundary context.78 Table
1 presents the environmental and socio-economic effects of each concern which have
transboundary implications.
Viewed
globally, our International Waters are of considerable importance. Our region is
a major centre in the world for marine biodiversity, with remarkably high levels of terrestrial
biodiversity and endemism (particularly on our high islands) as well. Our region is also home to
or provides migratory, nursery, breeding or feeding grounds for globally significant populations
of vulnerable, rare and endangered species, including marine turtles, dugong, seabirds and
certain cetaceans.79
We have the most extensive system in the world of marine habitats (especially coral
reefs) that are critical to maintaining this biodiversity. The global role of these extraordinarily
productive systems as carbon sinks, and thus as potential moderators of the effects of climate
change, cannot be underestimated, though it remains to be precisely quantified.80
These habitats are also globally significant as natural filters of land-based pollution and
as natural protection against storms and sea-level rise.81 The natural filters help maintain the
health of offshore waters, ecosystems and associated species including oceanic fisheries. The
natural coastal protection helps maintain the physical security of our own people, their homes
and their livelihoods, and of commercial enterprises that also depend on a protected coast, such
as international tourism and shipping.
Furthermore, through their function as breeding, nursery and feeding grounds, these
habitats help maintain internationally important fish stocks, some of which range over the full
width of the Pacific Ocean. One reviewer remarks that: "the tuna fishery of the Western Central
Pacific Ocean is one of only two remaining major fisheries in the world still considered to be in
healthy condition and amenable to increased exploitation. This fishery, and the large marine
ecosystem on which it is based, is a global asset which requires the concerted attention and
support of the international community if it is to be managed sustainably."82
In addition to providing an important source of food to the rest of the world, primarily
through our oceanic fisheries, the health of our International Waters is also important to maintain
our own domestic food security, source of income and employment, and social and cultural
78The Report of the Brainstorming Session on International Waters by the Scientific and
Technical Advisory Panel (STAP), 1996, was found helpful in setting our regional priorities in
the context of transboundary concerns.
79Bleakley (1997), op. cit. at note 7.
80Oceanography: A View of the Earth (1995), by M. Grant Gross.
81Reviews by Bleakley, Convard, Howorth, Preston (1997), op. cit. at note 7.
82Preston (1997), op. cit. at note 7. p. 2.
39
cohesion and welfare, in particular through our coastal fisheries and other resources.
Environmental refugees and the attendant social unrest are becoming an increasing international
problem. Maintaining the health of our International Waters will help us ensure that our people
do not risk becoming part of this issue.
40
Viewed in terms of activities that affect the health of International Waters, many if not all
of our priority concerns are already or will soon become transboundary by virtue of the fact that
these activities are prevalent in all thirteen of our island countries. This prevalence is likely to
have deleterious and cumulative effects on International Waters which will, if unchecked,
seriously impair the health of International Waters in and far beyond our region. This assessment
is supported by evidence of detrimental effects on the waters in and around our islands already.
Finally, we considered the importance of our regional water system in a global context.
We see ourselves as the custodians of one-sixth of the earth's surface, of which less than 2%
is land, and which harbors unique, diverse and fragile forms of life on that land and in its
waters.83 The Pacific Island region covered by this SAP is arguably the largest regional water
system on earth. This system is internationally shared not only by us, the participants in this
SAP, but also by fourteen other states and territories in the Pacific region. This water system is
also vital to the continued health of the planet as a whole. It is likely to be at risk from our
priority concerns; viewed in terms of their effect on International Waters as a system, these
concerns are interdependent and mutually exacerbating nationally, regionally, and so,
inexorably, globally.
We came to three conclusions from our globally-focused review. First, our priority
concerns remain essentially unchanged. Second, many, if not all of these concerns are
transboundary in their linkages throughout our region with disquieting consequences for the
International Waters we share and on which we all crucially depend. Finally, viewed from the
global perspective of the effects of our priority concerns on International Waters, three
overarching transboundary concerns could be identified within which our regional priorities
could be clustered. These are:
1.
Degradation of the quality of our International Waters (regional priority concerns a,b,d,e)
2.
Degradation of their associated critical habitats (regional priority concerns a,b,d,e)
3.
Unsustainable use of living and nonliving resources (regional priority concerns b,c,e)
V. Imminent
Threats
Our International Waters are subject to a number of threats giving rise to the
transboundary concerns. The preparation process for this SAP included the identification of
these threats from a regional perspective and an assessment of their imminence by the reviewers.
The National Task Forces were asked to review their conclusions. The reviewers each examined
the threats to International Waters from a different perspective: critical species and their habitats,
living marine resources and non-living resources. Their findings were clear, consistent and
bolstered even more by having been arrived at from these different points of departure, as
illustrated by a brief overview of the threats as perceived by each reviewer.
The three sets of threats to critical species and habitats84 consist first of several forms
of land-based sources of pollution. The most serious threat is nutrients derived from sewage, soil
83The Perspective (1992), op. cit. at note 2, p. 147.
84Bleakley (1997), op. cit. at note 7, pp. 16-18.
41
erosion and agricultural fertilisers. Nutrient overloads particularly affect coral reef ecosystems,
weakening the reef carbonate skeleton and smothering the reef with algae. The other two most
serious land-based pollution threats are solid waste disposal and sedimentation. Sedimentation is
derived from soil erosion, dredging, coastal development and upstream, inland activities.
42
The second set of threats derives from physical alterations of the seabed or coastline, in
particular through destruction of fringing reefs, beaches, wetlands and mangroves for coastal
development and by sand extraction. The final set of threats derives from overexploitation.
Coastal food fisheries, especially near urban areas, are under pressure from overfishing, as are
commercially valuable vertebrate and invertebrate export species.
Tropical marine systems can be remarkably robust in recovering from severe natural
disturbances such as cyclones. But this natural resilience may be weakened in the face of chronic
threats such as overfishing, pollution, elevated nutrient levels and sedimentation. Mitigating
these threats is vital not just for the species and habitats themselves, or even just as resources,
but also for the sake of maintaining the overall health of marine systems.
The threats to living marine resources85 are divided into two sets: overexploitation and
environmental degradation. Overexploitation, principally of inshore fisheries, is exacerbated by
destructive fishing methods, which include explosives and various types of toxic compounds
such as traditional vegetable poisons, household bleach, cyanide and herbicides,86 and by
inappropriate government incentives for coastal fisheries. Environmental degradation in the
islands is manifested in a number of ways, whose effects often exacerbate each other.87 In many
cases the degradation is chronic, with gradual rather than sudden changes in the resources,
making the relationship between cause and effect less obvious, and reducing the likelihood of
timely and appropriate action being taken. Fisheries management efforts alone, whether carried
out with regard to specific resources or to the ecosystem as a whole, may be insufficient to
protect coastal fisheries in the absence of actions to mitigate the deleterious effects of these
threats.
Finally,
the
non-living resource88 that all the Pacific Islands share and that is most
seriously threatened is the quality of both fresh and marine water. Groundwater is at particular
risk because its loss or degradation is often irreversible. The principal threat to water is from
land-based sources of pollution. These derive in particular from sewage (poor sanitation),
sediments (soil erosion, agriculture, forestry), urban runoff, agro-chemicals and solid waste.
85Preston (1997), op. cit. at note 7, pp. 23-25.
86A detailed, country-by-country description of this threat and its effects in the Pacific
Islands is provided by the Overview of Destructive Fishing Practices (1995), op. cit. at note 64.
87The threats to living marine resources from coastal degradation are:
- organic pollution from human settlements (sewage), agricultural practices (fertilisers) or food
processing activities (sugar mills, fish canneries and transshipment sites)
- increased freshwater runoff and siltation from logging, mining, land clearance, coastal
construction and other major disturbances to watersheds and the terrestrial ecosystem
- loss of fish nursery grounds and other critical habitats, especially mangroves and seagrass
beds, due to deforestation, reclamation or other coastal activities
- physical damage to habitat from coastal sand and gravel mining, dredging, coastal construction,
blasting of reef passages, use of destructive fishing methods (explosives) and shipwrecks
- chemical pollution from agriculture (pesticides), industrial sites, mining, petrochemical
extraction and handling, ships running aground and use of poisons for fishing.
88Howorth (1997), op. cit. at note 7, pp. 33-39.
43
44
Beaches, reef flat sand and coastal aggregates are another major non-living resource that
is threatened by overexploitation; extraction rates far exceed natural replenishment rates.
Beaches are also an important habitat.
We concluded that three overarching imminent threats to our International Waters could
be derived from the reviews:89
1.
their pollution from land-based activities
2.
physical, ecological and hydrological modification of their critical habitats
3.
unsustainable use of their living and nonliving resources
We consider prioritisation of the threats to be inappropriate, because each threat affects
each concern. Pollution from land-based activities threatens water quality, critical habitats and
sustainable use of resources. Habitat modification of the habitats threatens those habitats, water
quality and sustainable use of resources. Excessive exploitation of resources threatens their
sustainable use, the habitats and water quality. The linkages between the imminent threats to and
the transboundary concerns for International Waters require comprehensive measures to address
the concerns effectively.
VI.
Root Causes of the Transboundary Concerns
The root causes were examined in their legal, institutional, socio-economic and
environmental context. Differentiating between proximate and ultimate root causes was found to
be a useful analytical approach.90
It was evident from the analysis that each imminent threat was composed of a subset of
contributory physical problems which each had their own proximate root causes. These problems
differ both in type and severity and hence in the nature and extent of the effect of the overarching
threat on the transboundary concerns. Based on prior regional and national studies, the
commissioned reviews, and the work of the National Task Forces, priorities were also
established among the contributory physical problems in terms of the severity of their effects on
the transboundary concerns. The results are presented in Table 2.
The ultimate root causes of the threats were found in factors that influence the actions of
our island peoples in such a way as to result in the degradation of our International Waters.
Based on prior regional and national studies, the commissioned reviews, and the work of the
National Task Forces, priorities were also established among those factors. The results are
presented in Table 3.
89Our conclusions were also supported by regional work cited elsewhere (see, e.g., notes 2, 6
and 8) and the ground-truthing by the National Task Forces.
90Proximate causes are those producing the actual, demonstrable physical effects that threaten
International Waters and thus culminate in the transboundary concerns. Ultimate root causes are
those that influence human actions which then result in the proximate causes of the observable
physical effects. The innovative work of Dr. Laurence Mee on proximate and ultimate root causes
in the GEF focal area of International Waters must be recognised; the analysis in this SAP has
benefitted from his paper: International Waters and Environmental Security (1997).
45
We recognised that an ultimate root cause underlying the imminent threats is deficiencies
in management. The management issue permeates our society at all levels: from the individual
citizen right on up through the household and the village to private companies, national
government and regional organisations. Management deficiencies can be grouped into two
linked subsets: a) governance and b) understanding. The governance subset is characterised by
the need for mechanisms to integrate environmental concerns, development planning and
decision-making. The understanding subset is characterised by the need to achieve an island-
wide ecosystem awareness in our people. Table 4 presents the management issues arising under
the two subsets.
This provides a focus for intervention to protect International Waters.91 For example, the
governance mechanisms envisaged include those which enable timely identification of
development plans for activities which affect International Waters. They must ensure that these
plans explicitly consider other and alternative uses, including environmental uses and effects,
and all relevant stakeholders. Planning time scales must be expanded to comprise long-term
costs and benefits as well. The mechanisms must support the taking of clear, motivated decisions
and their enforcement.
Successful application of these governance mechanisms involves the understanding
subset. Understanding includes the ability to access and use information related to resources and
environment. Narrow, short-term individual sector-based perceptions of International Waters
resources by managers and users must also change to an inclusive and generally equitable
perspective. Increasing the understanding of these issues by the general public is central to
achieving effective management. Improved understanding of the consequences of behavior by
the people will assist with enforcement of management decisions. Sustainable development is a
national objective that requires active, correctly informed engagement by all citizens.
The independent reviews commissioned for this SAP and the other work referred to
above confirm both our own and the GEF's assessment of the priority transboundary concerns,
their root causes and, consequently, the fundamental need for improved integrated cross-sectoral
management of the resources of our International Waters to achieve sustainable development.
VII. Information
Gaps
Our analysis also revealed a set of information gaps relevant in particular to the work of
decision-makers (as opposed to researchers) in developing ways to address ultimate root causes
and to respond to imminent threats. These information gaps are presented in Table 5. The islands
already share national information through various regional mechanisms, which is also required
by the regional Conventions and UNCLOS. Improving information input and exchange at
regional and national levels is an objective of this SAP.
91We note that our identification of management deficiencies as an ultimate root cause of the
degradation of our International Waters is consistent with the assessment of this issue for SIDS
by GEF.
46
Attention is particularly drawn to the lack of strategic information presented in an
appropriate manner to decision-makers, resource users, managers and communities to evaluate
costs and benefits and decide between alternative activities. This information is vital to planning
for International Waters, because the uses of these waters are so versatile. That very versatility is
a significant asset in a development portfolio. Appropriately and adaptively managed with
correct information, International Waters can sustainably support a variety of uses which are
now more generally perceived as conflicting and mutually exclusive.
Information gaps do not prevent actions being taken. The gaps serve as a salutary
reminder of the need to apply the precautionary principle in developing activities and choosing
between alternatives, and of the corollary that preventing environmental problems almost always
costs far less than trying to remedy them after they occur.
47
VIII. Proposed
Solutions
We propose to address the root causes of degradation of International Waters through
regionally consistent, country-driven targeted actions that integrate development and
environment needs. These actions are designed to encourage comprehensive, cross-sectoral,
ecosystem-based approaches to mitigate and prevent imminent threats to International Waters.
The SAP provides the regional framework within which these actions are identified, developed
and implemented. Targeted actions will be carried out in two complementary, linked consultative
contexts: Integrated Coastal and Watershed Management (ICWM) and Oceanic Fisheries
Management (OFM).
A fundamental criterion for the success of targeted actions is the establishment of
appropriate ecosystem management units for national sustainable development planning. These
management units are the same for both developmental and environmental purposes. On our
islands these units should be comprised of upstream watersheds and their adjacent coastal and
offshore areas. Adding the inland watershed to the management unit for development planning is
essentially an upstream extension of the principles of Integrated Coastal Management (ICM).
The lack of effective mechanisms to include upstream activities has hampered the achievement
of ICM. Furthermore, such few models for this form of management as do exist are derived from
large, well-endowed countries, and are inappropriate for Pacific Islands. Hence the development
of the ICWM approach by our islands is established by the SAP.
A complementary consultative context established by this SAP is Oceanic Fisheries
Management (OFM), which concentrates initially on the tuna fishery. The international
complexities and specialised requirements of the oceanic fisheries sector involves DWFNs,
regional organisations and national governments in ongoing consultations at the highest level.92
The Western Pacific Warm Pool Large Marine Ecosystem is proposed for investigation as a
suitable management unit. Enhancement of regional fishery management in light of
developments with regard to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the UN
Implementing Agreement, innovative ecosystem-based management approaches in the context of
an LME, research on the status of tuna stocks, examination of by-catch and other components of
the ecosystem and the integration of those aspects of oceanic fisheries relevant to overall
national and regional International Waters resource management are the principal elements of
the OFM approach.
Crucial to the organizing principle and implementation of the SAP is the recognition that
ICWM and OFM are interdependent elements along the continuum that is the essence of
International Waters. As with the great oceanic gyres, ICWM and OFM are flywheels with cogs
that drive each other, but the mechanisms governing their relationship are not well understood.
The SAP aims to improve that understanding. Through the ICWM and OFM approaches, the
SAP sets out a path for the transition by our islands from sectoral to integrated management of
International Waters as a whole, which we consider to be essential for their protection over the
92The most recent of these was the Second Multilateral High-Level Conference on the Management
and Conservation of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific, Majuro,
Republic of the Marshall Islands, June 1997.
48
long term.
The SAP meets the objectives of GEF's operational programme entitled "Integrated Land
and Water Multiple Focal Area," to which International Waters projects addressing the needs
and special conditions of small islands are assigned by GEF. Interventions under the SAP will
necessarily include three other pressing concerns in our sustainable development planning,
namely: biodiversity, vulnerability to climate change and land degradation. The first two are
GEF focal areas and the latter is a GEF cross-cutting area.93 Consequently, the SAP is expected
to involve and build upon the complementary skills and experience available from organisations
and groups active in the region.
Our region is the beneficiary of much development assistance from a variety of donors
for a wide range of projects. Donors and the islands will be able to use the SAP to plan and
coordinate regional and national development assistance for International Waters to address
imminent threats and their root causes more effectively. The SAP will facilitate the choice and
design of high priority interventions, remove duplication, and ensure that projects do not work at
cross-purposes. Funding from GEF per se can only support a small proportion of such
interventions, hence the importance of the SAP to organise and leverage additional assistance in
order to receive maximum benefit from the available funds. The SAP is designed to comply with
the requirements of GEF, but also, and perhaps more importantly, to be a framework for overall
national and regional planning and assistance for the management of International Waters.
The SAP complies with the legal framework for regional cooperation and related
obligations established by the regional Conventions, UNCLOS, CBD, FCCC and other
international conventions within which the Pacific Island countries identify common issues and
coordinate national approaches to address those issues. Application of ICWM and OFM
approaches will facilitate further joint action between sectors nationally and between
governments regionally. As experience with ICWM and OFM grows, this SAP will also evolve,
reflecting the increased knowledge of and changing conditions in the environment of our islands.
To ensure that the SAP remains a living, evolving and useful instrument for sustainable
development, and to assess and apply lessons learned from its implementation, the SAP will be
reviewed every five years.
IX.
Priorities for Action
Achieving the goals of the SAP is a long-term effort. It is necessary to maintain regional
and national momentum, build in feedback and learning loops, and be able to measure success in
incremental but encouraging steps. We are also mindful that we cannot address all sustainable
development issues related to International Waters in this SAP at once. Therefore we have
initially identified the following high priority activity areas for immediate intervention. These
are:
- improved waste management
- better water quality
93These are also the remaining three of the seven major issues identified in the Barbados
Programme of Action as common to most islands. The other three major small island issues from the
Barbados Programme have already been addressed above, and the seventh, tourism, can only be
effectively dealt with in this type of framework for national sustainable development.
49
- sustainable fisheries
- effective marine protected areas.
Targeted actions within these activity areas are proposed in the following five categories:
management, capacity-building, awareness/education, research/information for decision-making,
and investment. Institutional strengthening is included under management & capacity-building.
50
The targeted actions are designed to:
- assist decision-makers in changing sectoral development policies to make them consistent with
sustainable development,
- facilitate and catalyse GEF funding and "regular" assistance94 from the IAs and other donors,
- benefit from and be coordinated with other relevant national, bilateral, regional and
international sustainable environment/development initiatives in the Pacific Islands,
- assist with the implementation of international treaty obligations and commitments,
- promote collective action to address regional issues and minimise duplication of effort.
The analytical framework within which proposals for assistance should be evaluated
under the SAP is set out below.
Goal of SAP: Integrated sustainable development and management of International Waters
Priority Concerns:
Degradation of water quality
Degradation of associated critical habitats
Unsustainable
use
of
resources
Imminent Threats:
Pollution from land-based activities
Modification of critical habitats
Unsustainable exploitation of resources
Ultimate Root Causes:
Management deficiencies
a)
governance
b)
understanding
Solutions:
Integrated Coastal and Watershed Management
Oceanic
Fisheries
Management
ICWM Activity Areas:
- improved waste management
- better water quality
- sustainable coastal fisheries
- effective marine protected areas
OFM Activity Areas:
- sustainable ocean fisheries
- improved national and regional management capability
- stock and by-catch monitoring and research
- enhanced national and regional management links
Targeted actions: - management/institutional strengthening
94In assessing the proposals, it is important to note that the baseline and agreed incremental
cost section of the project proposals are indicative estimates only, given that the incremental
costs must be agreed between the GEF and the recipient country. Determining incremental costs is
a process to be initiated within the framework of the SAP. These project proposals are the
initiation of that process, for further elaboration between the relevant national authorities,
the GEF and the Implementing Agencies. Detailed technical negotiations between the country and
GEF are expected. The Operational Strategy envisages that the IAs will assist substantively, each
according to its specialisation, with the development of project proposals from concept papers to
full project proposals.
51
- capacity-building
- awareness/education
- research/information for decision-making
- investment
From a regional perspective, the SAP is designed to encourage proposals with diverse
applications that achieve global benefits while maintaining the fundamental unity of approach
and discipline established by the SAP. The SAP intends to enable development of projects
reflecting the different national styles and circumstances of each participating country, and it is
designed to be sufficiently flexible to accommodate these differences. This variety will enable
rapid regional learning, provide examples of approaches tailored to disparate situations and assist
national adaptations as countries analyse and share the results of their work.
As the first SAP for International Waters of SIDS to be developed under the auspices of
the GEF, we are also concerned that our work be available and useful to other groups of SIDS.
Insofar as they may share our transboundary concerns and the root causes, we hope that our
proposed solutions will serve as examples for consideration beyond our own region.
52
Table 1: Environmental and Socio-economic Effects
I.
Transboundary concern: Degradation of water quality
A.
Threat:
Land-based sources of pollution
1.
Sewage-related liquid and solid microbial pollution
Environmental
effects
a. Marine and aquatic organism infections and diseases*
b. Depletion of fish stocks and biodiversity*
c. Changes in biological diversity and food webs*
Socio-economic
effects
a. Human health effects*
b. Increased costs of human health protection
c. Loss of tourism/recreation value*
d. Loss of aesthetic values
e. Increased intake treatment costs
f. Increased potential for upstream/downstream conflicts*
g. Increased costs of alternative water supplies
h. Increased costs of medical treatment and prevention
i. Increased costs of fisheries product processing*
2.
Solid waste (domestic, industrial, litter, dredge spoil)
Environmental
effects
a. Habitat
loss*
b. Hydrological modification
c. Entanglement/suffocation of marine organisms*
d. Beach and sediment compositional changes
e. Endangerment of species
Socio-economic
effects
(a)-(d) in (1) above
e. Endangerment of commercial species*
f. Loss of property value
g. Increased costs of wildlife protection
h. Increased costs of clean-up
i. Increased costs of navigational surveys and dredging*
3.
Nutrients (includes sewage and fertilisers)
Environmental
effects
a. Redox changes (extreme anoxia)
b. Eutrophication
1
c. Increased algal blooms
d. Changes in algal community
e. Changes in macrophyte community
f. Changes in fish community with loss in case of anoxia
g. Loss of habitat (e.g., coral reefs)*
h. Changes in biological diversity and food webs*
2
Table 1: Environmental and Socio-economic Effects (continued)
3.
Nutrients (includes sewage and fertilisers)
Socio-economic
effects
(a)-(d) in (1) above
(e)-(f) in (2) above
g. Loss of water supplies*
h. Costs of water treatment
i. Change in fisheries value*
j. Compromise of options for aquaculture development
k. Loss of property values
l. Costs of weed control
m. Loss of wildlife (including migratory bird) sanctuaries*
n. Increased costs of navigational clearance*
o. Increased costs of fish surveillance & processing for toxin prevention*
p. Costs of reduced fish marketability*
4. Sediments
Environmental
effects
a. Habitat
modification*
b. Changes in biological community composition*
c. Changes in species growth/survival/reproduction*
d. Increased erosion
e. Increased
sedimentation/siltation
f. Destruction by smothering of benthic communities*
g. Changes in sediment redox conditions (organics)
h. Loss of water quality
Socio-economic
effects
a. Increased costs of navigational surveys and dredging*
b. Loss of reservoir storage capacity
c. Damage to equipment from particle scouring
d. Loss of tourism/recreational values*
e. Increased water treatment costs
f. Increased costs of coastal protection from waves/storms/erosion
g. Increased costs of cleaning intakes
h. Increased vulnerability to sea level rise*
5.
Toxic wastes (domestic, agricultural, industrial, hazardous)
Environmental
effects
a. Reproductive dysfunction in organisms*
b. Behavioral dysfunction in organisms*
c. Modified community structure*
3
d. Increased mortality of organisms*
e. Changes in biological diversity and food webs*
4
Table 1: Environmental and Socio-economic Effects (continued)
5.
Toxic wastes (domestic, agricultural, industrial, hazardous)
Socio-economic
effects
a. Loss in fisheries*
b. Loss of protected areas*
c. Increased costs of human health protection
d. Increased costs of fish processing*
e. Reduced options for other uses
f. Increased costs of water treatment
g. Loss of tourism/recreation value*
h. Potential for upstream/downstream conflict*
6.
Spills
Environmental
effects
a. Increased mortality in bird & other marine/aquatic life*
b. Habitat damage*
c. Long-term contamination of beaches & sediments with associated ecological
changes*
Socio-economic
effects
a. Costs of clean-up
b. Costs of preventive measures
c. Costs of contingency measures
d. Real or perceived damage to fisheries
e. Loss of tourism/recreation values (temporary/permanent)*
f. Costs of litigation
g. Costs of insurance
h. Loss of protected areas and associated wildlife*
i. Costs of disruption to shipping, fishing, science & other activities during clean-up*
5
Table 1: Environmental and Socio-economic Effects (continued)
II.
Transboundary concern: Degradation of critical habitats
A.
Threat:
Physical, ecological and hydrological modifications of critical habitats
Environmental Effects (common to all seven ecosystems)
a. Loss of natural productivity
b. Loss of biodiversity*
c. Loss of natural storm barriers*
d. Loss of natural protection from erosion
e. Loss of carbon sinks & release of carbon to atmosphere*
f. Loss of migratory species using the habitat*
g. Altered migratory patterns*
h. Effects on adjacent marine ecosystems*
i. Damage to endangered, threatened or endemic species*
j. Changes in community structures
k. Loss of natural filtration/cleansing systems*
l. Spread of disease*
m. Spread of exotic species*
n. Physical downstream changes of coastal dynamics*
o. Changes in ecosystem stability
p. Loss of environmental assimilative capacity*
q. Possible outbreaks of ciguatera
Socio-economic effects (common to all seven ecosystems)
a. Reduced capacity to meet basic human needs (food, fuel, shelter) for local
populations
b. Changes in employment opportunities for local populations & associated changes in
social structures
c. Loss of aesthetic/recreational values for local populations
d. Loss of existing & future income from fisheries, tourism*
e. Loss of possible new commercial opportunities for the ecosystem (e.g.,
pharmaceuticals)
f. Human
migration*
g. Human conflicts*
h. Loss of educational and scientific value*
i. Loss of land due to loss of physical protection
j. Health damage/loss of life due to loss of physical protection
k. Increased costs of responding to risks
l. Disregard of intergenerational equity*
m. Loss of cultural heritage*
n. Costs of replacing natural protections with substitute services
6
o. Increased vulnerability to sea level rise*
p. Loss of opportunity for sustainable economic development*
q. Costs of restoration
7
Table 1: Environmental and Socio-economic Effects (continued)
2.
Freshwater shortage (ground and surface)
Environmental
Effects
a. Water quality change
b. Saltwater intrusion
c. Land
subsidence
d. Reduced aquifer capacity and recharge
e. Reduced vegetation cover
f. Increased soil erosion
g. Increased penetration of pollutants/contaminants
h. Desertification/land degradation*
i. Reduction in stream flow
j. Modification of riparian habitats*
k. Changes in sediment budgets
l. Depletion of fishstocks and species diversity*
m. Decreased wetland areas*
n. Reduced groundwater recharge
o. Reduced capacity to transport sediments
p. Increased siltation
q. Changes in biological diversity and food webs*
r. Alteration of coastal ecosystems*
Socio-economic
Effects
a. Damage to infrastructure
b. Increased costs for pumping and deepening wells
c. Loss of drinking water supply
d. Increased potential for upstream/downstream conflicts*
e. Loss of future use options
f. Increased cost of alternative water supplies
g. Increased vulnerability to sea level rise*
h. Loss of agricultural uses
i. Loss of tourism/recreational value*
j. Loss of aesthetic values
k. Loss of coastal harbors and inland transport*
l. Loss of hydro-electric power production
m. Loss of industrial uses
n. Reduced availability of fish for food
o. Loss of waste assimilative capacity*
p. Population migration*
q. Potential for conflict*
8
Table 1: Environmental and Socio-economic Effects (continued)
3.
Species depletion or loss
Environmental
effects
a. Loss of biodiversity*
b. Loss of natural productivity
c. Effects on adjacent ecosystems*
d. Changes in community structures
e. Damage to endangered, threatened or endemic species*
f. Changes in ecosystem stability
g. Loss of migratory species using the habitat*
h. Altered migratory patterns*
i. changes in population genome & gene frequencies*
j. Reduction of gene pool of wild stocks
Socio-economic
effects
a. Loss of existing & future income from fisheries, tourism*
b. Loss of protein for human consumption
4.
Introduction of non-indigenous species
Environmental
effects
a. Long-term changes in population genome & gene frequencies*
b. Reduction of gene pool of wild stocks
c. Loss of biodiversity in breeding areas/ecosystems
d. Replacement of/competition with indigenous species
e. Pest/disease
introduction
Socio-economic
effects
a. Increased risks for commercially valuable species*
b. Increased risk of disease
9
Table 1: Environmental and Socio-economic Effects (continued)
III.
Transboundary concern: Unsustainable resource use
A.
Threat:
Excessive exploitation
1.
Overfishing (primarily inshore)
Environmental
effects
a. Changes in biological community structure*
b. Depletion of key commercial species*
Socio-economic
effects
a. Reduced economic returns to country
b. Loss of employment
c. Conflict between user groups*
d. Loss of protein for human consumption/health effects
e. Loss of import substitution function
f. Loss of cash income
2.
Destructive fishing (primarily inshore)
Environmental
effects
a. Changes in biological community structure
b. Habitat modification*
c. Loss of protected species*
d. Decreased productivity
e. Possible increase in crown-of-thorns starfish
f. Retarded recovery after natural destructive events
Socio-economic
effects
a. Loss of tourism/recreational values*
b. Loss of earnings/employment
c. Possible ciguatera outbreaks
d. Loss of food protein
e. Loss of coastal protection (reef destruction)
f. Physical harm to fishers employing the methods
g. Possible human health effects of tainted/poisoned food
h. Loss of commercial species
3.
Excessive by-catch and discards (inshore and oceanic)
Environmental
effects
a. Changes in food webs favoring scavengers
b. Changes in biological community structure*
c. Loss of protected species*
10
d. Loss of sports species*
Socio-economic
effects
a. Loss of income from tourist sport-fishing
b. Loss of food protein sources
c. Loss of income from target species (more work for less target catch)
Table 2: Proximate Root Causes
I.
Transboundary concern: Degradation of water quality
A.
Threat:
Land-based sources of pollution
1.
Sewage-related liquid and solid microbial pollution
a. direct discharge of untreated or poorly treated sewage, animal and hospital wastes
into water or onto land
2.
Solid waste (domestic, industrial, litter, dredge spoil)
a. deliberate
dumping
b. casual discards
c. thoughtlessness
d. limited waste disposal options
3.
Nutrients (includes sewage and fertilisers)
a. sewage
b. fertilisers/animal wastes in agriculture
c. soil/sediment erosion, leaching, remobilisation
d. draining of wetlands
e. dredging,
damming
f. intensification of cash cropping
g. water impoundment
4. Sediments
a. soil erosion by runoff/aeolian transport
b. land/road development (excavation, earthmoving, construction, logging)
c. sewage/sewage sludge discharges
d. urban waste discharges
e. intensification of cash cropping
f. dredging
g. mining
5.
Toxic wastes (domestic, agricultural, industrial, hazardous)
a. urban/industrial waste discharge
b. leachates from solid waste landfill
11
c. weed/pest control, including antifoulants
d. disease vector control
e. road
runoff
6. Spills
a. Inadequate accident minimisation measures
b. Inadequate contingency response measures
c. Human
error
d. Force majeure
Note: increased growth and density of population and urbanization is a major proximate
root cause common to the issues in Table 2.
2
Table 2: Proximate Root Causes (continued)
II.
Transboundary concern: Degradation of critical habitats
A.
Threat:
Physical, ecological and hydrological modifications of critical habitats
1.
Destruction or modification of ecosystems*
a. conversion/use for food, fuel, industry, waste dumping, agriculture, aquaculture,
construction, infrastructure (housing, hotels, harbors, ports, marinas, airports,
causeways)
b. subsistence/survival needs
c. poverty
d. lack of employment
e. upstream activities (agriculture, logging, damming)
2.
Species depletion or loss**
a. all of the above under (1)
b. destructive fishing practices
3.
Freshwater shortage (ground and surface)
a. increased demand from population growth, food production, cash cropping,
urbanisation, tourism, industrialisation, life style changes
b. urban drainage and impermeability
c. rural land use patterns
d. agro-deforestation
e. impoundments, damming, canalisation
4.
Introduction of non-indigenous species
a. Discharge of untreated ballast water
b. Deliberate introduction of stock
(aquaculture/recreation/pest control)
*In approximate order of vulnerability: coral reefs, mangroves,
lagoons,
seagrass
beds,
wetlands, estuaries, beaches.
**In approximate order of vulnerability: turtles, crocodiles, dugong, certain cetaceans, sharks,
spiny lobster, coconut crab, seahorses, seabirds; no order: bêche-de-mer, certain fish, giant
clams, green snail, grouper (live), pearl oysters, trochus.
3
Table 2: Proximate Root Causes (continued)
III.
Transboundary concern: Unsustainable resource use
A.
Threat:
Excessive exploitation
1.
Overfishing (primarily inshore)
a. too many boats and too many fishers
b. subsistence/survival needs
2.
Destructive fishing (primarily inshore)
a. inappropriate
technology
b. poor harvest procedures
c. need for cash
d. traditional fish "drives"
3.
Excessive by-catch and discards (primarily oceanic)
a. poor fishing gear selectivity (especially purse seine/longline)
b. fishing tactics (e.g., around debris, associated non-target species such as porpoises)
c. overfishing of target species
d. perishability
e. lack of storage facilities
f. low economic value
4
Table 3: Ultimate Root Causes
I.
Transboundary concern: Degradation of water quality
A.
Threat:
Land-based sources of pollution
1.
Sewage-related liquid and solid microbial pollution
a. inadequate regulation of waste disposal
b. lack of enforcement
c. institutional
deficiencies
d. inadequate management expertise
e. uncoordinated sectoral management
f. failure to charge costs of environmental degradation
g. lack of capacity to repair/maintain existing systems
h. sectoral/fragmented water quality monitoring/assessment
i. no reuse of organic waste, sewage, sludge, effluent
2.
Solid waste (domestic, industrial, litter, dredge spoil)
a. (a)-(g) above under (1)
b. increased use of unnecessary packaging
c. customary land tenure conflicts over dump siting
d. deficiencies in land-use planning
e. no EIA used for dump sites
f. no business planning for waste disposal
g. deficiencies in or no recycling programmes
3.
Nutrients (includes sewage and fertilisers)
a. (a)-(h) above under (1)
b. deficiencies in land-use planning
c. no EIA for land development
4. Sediments
a. (c)-(h) above under (1)
b. (b)-(c) above under (3)
5.
Toxic wastes (domestic, agricultural, industrial, hazardous)
a. (a)-(h) above under (1)
b. lack of infrastructure to transfer technology
6. Spills
a. Lack of development & implementation of preventive & remedial measures
b. Lack of governmental capacity, will or budget
1
2
Table 3: Ultimate Root Causes (continued)
II.
Transboundary concern: Degradation of critical habitats
A.
Threat:
Physical, ecological and hydrological modifications of critical habitats
1.
Destruction or modification of ecosystems
a. lack of integrated coastal area/watershed management
b. lack of EIA in development planning
c. deficiencies in land-use planning
d. uncoordinated sectoral management
e. lack of enforcement
f. national development pressures
g. customary land tenure
h. loss of traditional management practices
i. national trade and investment policies
j. lack of waste management
k. undervaluation of ecosystem
l. lack of involvement of local communities
2.
Freshwater shortage (ground and surface)
a. (a)-(f) above under (1)
b. inappropriate water pricing
c. subsidies and other inappropriate incentives
d. inappropriate reservoir operation
e. lack of protection of recharge areas
3.
Species depletion or loss
a. (a)-(l) above under (1)
b. high prices
c. open
access
4.
Introduction of non-indigenous species
a. Failure of regulations re ballast water
b. Failure of quarantine regulations
c. Inadequate
planning
d. Uncoordinated sectoral management
3
Table 3: Ultimate Root Causes (continued)
III.
Transboundary concern: Unsustainable resource use
A.
Threat:
Excessive exploitation
1.
Overfishing (primarily inshore)
a. subsidies and other inappropriate incentives
b. high prices
c. open
access
d. lack of integrated coastal/watershed management
e. uncoordinated sectoral management
f. lack of enforcement
g. loss of traditional management practices
h. lack of implementation at local/village level
i. high extra-regional demand
2.
Destructive fishing (primarily inshore)
a. (d)-(i) above under (1)
b. lack of appropriate harvest gear/technology
c. lack of ecological education
d. lack of other local income sources
e. easy availability of explosives and poisons
3.
Excessive by-catch and discards (primarily oceanic)
a. lack of research on product marketability
b. reluctance to keep/provide data by captains
c. inadequate on-board observer coverage
4
Table 4: Management Issues
A. Governance
1. no clearly defined responsibilities & poor coordination among government agencies
responsible for different sectors
2. inadequate coordination & delegation of responsibility between local, state,
provincial, national & sectoral levels of government
3. inadequate laws & regulations
4. inadequate harmonisation of laws
5. issues of traditional & customary property & user rights & practices
6. deficiencies in stakeholder participation
7. inadequate implementation, monitoring & enforcement
8. inappropriate domestic and international pricing
9. subsidies and perverse incentives
10. national investment policies
11. inadequate operating budgets
B.
Understanding
a) poor public education & awareness of issues & options
b) insufficient capacity to implement and enforce laws
c) inadequate understanding of valuation of environmental goods & services in
sustainable development planning
d) inadequate knowledge of technical response options
e) failure to use current information in decision-making
f) selecting inappropriate technology
g) ineffective data interpretation for management
h) inadequate/insufficient socio-economic analyses & data
i) inadequate or unreliable data collected through national
data
&
statistical
programmes
j) inadequate pre-operational prediction and planning (e.g., prior comparative analysis
of options, risk assessments, environmental/social/economic impact assessments,
complete costing
k) inadequate ongoing and post-operational analysis
l) inadequate access to information at the regional and international level by
governments
m) inadequate scientific understanding
n) inadequate or inappropriate advice
Table 5: Information Gaps
I.
Transboundary concern: Degradation of water quality
A.
Threat:
Land-based sources of pollution
1.
Sewage-related liquid and solid microbial pollution
a. Data on current & projected waste volumes
b. Data on sources, pathways & impacts of waste
c. Data on levels & effects of contaminants in water
2.
Solid waste (domestic, industrial, litter, dredge spoil)
(a)-(c) in (1) above
d. Population response to pollution charges
e. Likely recycling markets & stability
f. Actual, specific training needs
3.
Nutrients (includes sewage and fertilisers)
a. Relative importance of sources in a given situation
b. Limitations of information on incidence & bioavailability of nutrient forms (N & P)
c. Lack of precision of comparison among options
d. Insufficiently predictable outcomes of management intervention
4. Sediments
a. No data on suspended sediments budget in region
b. No quantified links between upstream causes & downstream effects
5.
Toxic wastes (domestic, agricultural, industrial, hazardous)
(a)-(c) in (1) above
d. No data on production rates, use & location of chemicals
e. Difficulty in quantifying relative magnitudes of sources
6. Spills
a. scale and timing of causes and effects
Table 5: Information Gaps (continued)
II.
Transboundary concern: Degradation of critical habitats
A.
Threat:
Physical, ecological and hydrological modifications of critical habitats
1.
Destruction or modification of ecosystems
a. Recovery times after use
b. Extent of ecological damage after use
c. Carrying
capacity
d. Valuation methods
e. Lack of current information on ecosystems & their resources for decision-makers
f. Lack of data on which to design and evaluate ICM
g. Amount & rate of sea level rise
h. Lack of detailed bioinventory
i. Effects on women as major inshore gleaners
j. Actual physical areas of ecosystems, e.g., of reefs
2.
Freshwater shortage (ground and surface)
a. Effects of demographic & land-use changes on hydrology
b. Regional effects of climate change
c. Lack of water resource data
3.
Species depletion or loss
1. Insufficient knowledge on seagrass beds, including links to coastal fisheries & areas
threatened by coastal developments
2. Insufficient valuation of mangroves
3. Little knowledge about & local expertise in marine mammals in the region: especially
effects from subsistence, traditional & commercial harvests, bycatch & collisions
with vessels
4. Little data on dugong abundance, distribution & threats
5. Little data on reef fish biodiversity
6. Little data on species from deeper reef & shore systems
7. Very little background biological data on invertebrates
8. Need quantification of effect on mangrove cutting for smoking bêche-de-mer
4.
Introduction of non-indigenous species
a. scale and timing of causes and effects
Table 5: Information Gaps (continued)
III.
Transboundary concern: Unsustainable resource use
A.
Threat:
Excessive exploitation
1.
Overfishing (primarily inshore)
a. Inadequate information on fish resources
b. Little information on socio-economic aspects, especially in local communities & on
women (I)
c. Little information on population biology & fishery dynamics of target reef-
associated finfish (I)
d. Little documentation on traditional & small-scale shark fisheries (I)
e. Very little background biological information on invertebrates to allow for stock
assessment & determination of sustainable harvests; catch & trade data are absent,
incomplete & inconsistent; actual valuation for local fishers expected to be high but
needs quantification (I)
f. Lack of information on species interaction and response to exploitation
g. Lack of suitable, standardised rapid assessment and monitoring techniques & regional
information based on these techniques
h. Lack of data on economic value of artisanal & subsistence fishery (I)
i. No basis on which to determine maximum productivity & sustainability level of
inshore fisheries (I)
j. Lack of knowledge of physical areas of ecosystems like reefs make extrapolation
from scaling factors based on individual surveys impossible (I)
k. Need for management rule-of-thumb techniques
l. Poor understanding of interaction issues & economic consequences
m. Poor understanding of non-tuna biotic components and system dynamics of the
Western Pacific Warm Pool LME
n. Long-term sustainable financing of international fishery management & research
2.
Destructive fishing (primarily inshore)
a. Little quantified data on environmental effects linked to destructive causes
b. Little data on nature & extent of destructive practices
c. Little data on relationship between ownership, access & destructive fishing
d. Little data on role of women in destructive practices
3.
Excessive by-catch and discards (primarily oceanic)
a. Prioritising between reducing and using bycatch
b. Abundance, biology & exploitation status of tuna by-catch species unknown
c. Little data on by-catch & discard levels
Annex 1
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3
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5
Annex 2
Acronyms and Abbreviations
ADB
Asian Development Bank
APEC
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
CBD
Convention on Biological Diversity
CITES
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
DWFN
Distant Water Fishing Nation
EEZ
Exclusive Economic Zone
ESCAP
Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
EU
European
Union
EIA
Environmental Impact Assessment
FAO
Food and Agriculture Association
FCCC
Framework Convention on Climate Change
FFA
Forum Fisheries Agency
ForSec
Forum Secretariat
FSPI
Foundation for Peoples of the South Pacific International
GDP
Gross Domestic Product
GEF
Global Environment Facility
GPA/LBA
Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine
Environment from Land-Based Activities
ICLARM
International Centre for Living Aquatic Resources Management
ICM
Integrated Coastal Management
ICWM
Integrated Coast and Watershed Management
ICRI
International Coral Reef Initiative
IMO
International Maritime Organisation
IOC
Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission
IUCN
International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources -
World
Conservation
Union
LME
Large Marine Ecosystem
NEMS
National Environment Management Strategies
NGO
Non-governmental
Organisation
OFM
Oceanic Fisheries Management
PECC
Pacific Economic Cooperation Council
PICCAP
Pacific Islands Climate Change Assistance Programme
PIDP
Pacific Islands Development Programme
SAP
Strategic Action Programme
SIDS
Small Island Developing States
SOPAC
South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission
SPACHEE
South Pacific Action Committee on the Human Environment and Ecology
SPBCP
South Pacific Biodiversity Conservation Programme
SPC
South Pacific Commission
SPF
South Pacific Forum
SPOCC
South Pacific Organizations Coordinating Committee
SPREP
South Pacific Regional Environment Programme
STAP
Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel
TCSP
Tourism Council for the South Pacific
TNC
The Nature Conservancy
UN
United
Nations
UNCED
UN Conference on Environment and Development
UNCLOS
UN Convention on the Law of the Sea
UNCSD
UN Commission on Sustainable Development
UNDP
UN Development Programme
UNEP
UN Environment Programme
UNESCO
UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation
USP
University of the South Pacific
WCMC
World Conservation Monitoring Centre
WPAC
World Protected Areas Commission
WWF
World Wide Fund for Nature
Annex 3
Coordinators of the National Task Forces
Cook Islands: Teresa Manarangi-Trott, Director, Island Wide Services, Rarotonga -
Fax: (682) 27007, email:trott@gatepoly.co.ck
Federated States of Micronesia: O'Kean Ehmes, Capacity 21 Programme Officer (Micronesia),
Palikir, Pohnpei - Fax: (691) 320-2933, email: oehmes@mail.fm
Fiji: Bale Tamata, Manager, Environment, Institute of Applied Sciences, University of the South
Pacific, Suva - Fax: (679) 300-373, email: tamata_b@usp.ac.fj
Kiribati: Alolae Cati, Consultant, Tarawa - Fax: (686) 21 348
Marshall Islands: Abraham Hicking, Environmental Protection Authority, Majuro - Fax: (692)
625-5202, email:missa1@ntamar.com
Nauru: Joseph Cain, Senior Project Officer, Dept. of Island Development & Industry, Yaren
District - Fax: (674) 444-3791
Niue: Terry Chapman, Consultant, Alofi - Fax: (683) 4094
Papua New Guinea: Navu Kwapena, Director, Nature Conservation Division, Department of
Environment, Boroko - Fax: (675) 301-1694
Samoa: Tu'u'u Ieti Taule'alo, Public Works Department, Apia - Fax: (685) 21927,
email: opcv@talofa.net
Solomon Islands: Michelle Lam, Principal Fisheries Officer, Fisheries Department, Honiara
Fax: (677) 30256, email: sbfish@ffa.int
Tonga: Netatua Prescott, Senior Ecologist, Ministry of Lands, Survey & Natural Resources,
Nuku'alofa - Fax: (676) 23216
Tuvalu: Roger Moresi, Consultant, Funafuti - Fax: 688) 20666
Vanuatu: Sarah Mecartney, Capacity 21 Programme Officer (Melanesia), Port Vila
Fax: (678) 27421, email: environment@vanuatu.pactok.net
Annex 4
Regional Task Force
Country Representatives
Fiji: Maciu Lagibalavu, Director, Fisheries, Suva - Fax: (679) 361 184
Marshall Islands: Jorelik Tibon, Director, Environmental Protection Authority, Majuro -
Fax: (692) 625-5202, email: missa1@ntamar.com
Samoa: Frances Brebner, Treasury Department, Apia - Fax: (685) 21312,
email: plan_pol@talofa.net
Tonga: Saimone Helu, Director, Water Board, Nuku'alofa - Fax: (676) 23360,
email: twbhelu@cwand.to
Vanuatu: Dorosday Kenneth, Director, Fisheries, Port Vila - Fax: (678) 23 641, represented by
Moses Amos
South Pacific Organisations Coordinating Committee (SPOCC)
Anthony D. Lewis, Director, Oceanic Fisheries, South Pacific Commission, Nouméa, New
Caledonia - Fax: (687) 263-818, email: tonyl@spc.org.nc
Iosefa Maiava, Director, Development and Economic Policy Division, Forum Secretariat, Suva,
Fiji - Fax: (679) 300-192, email: iosefam@forumsec.org.fj
Andrew Munro, Waste Management Officer, SPREP, Apia, Samoa - Fax: (685) 20231,
email: munro@talofa.net
Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs)
Paul Holthus, Marine and Coastal Programmes, IUCN/World Conservation Union, Gland,
Switzerland - Fax: 41-22-999-0024, email: pfh@hq.iucn.org
Andrew Smith, The Nature Conservancy, Koror, Palau - Fax: (680) 488-4550,
email: 103732.3465@compuserve.com
Private Sector
Curly Carswell, President, Fiji Dive Operators Association, Savusavu, Fiji - Fax: (679) 850-344
email: seafijidive@is.com.fj
Implementing Agencies
Elizabeth Brouwer, Pacific Country Officer, The World Bank, Washington, D.C. - Fax: 1-202-
522-3393, email:ebrouwer@worldbank.org
Andrew Hudson, GEF IW Focal Point, UNDP, New York
email: andrew.hudson@undp.org
John Pernetta, GEF IW Focal Point, UNEP, Nairobi, Kenya - email: john.pernetta@unep.org
Sealii Sesega, Environment Officer, UNDP, Apia, Samoa - Fax: (685) 23 555,
email: fo.wsm@undp.org
Stuart Whitehead, The World Bank, Washington, D.C. - Fax: 1-202-522-3393
email:swhitehead@worldbank.org
Participants
E. Gordon Fox, Asian Development Bank, Manila, Philippines -
email: gfox@mail.asiandevbank.org
Charles Kick III, ESCAP/POC, Port Vila, Vanuatu - email: escappoc@vanuatu.pactok.net
Chief Technical Adviser
Philomène A. Verlaan, c/o SPREP, Apia, for the GEF project - email: paverlaan@gn.apc.org
Annex 5
The SAP Process
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), SPREP and the Government of
Australia co-financed a Global Environment Facility (GEF) Pacific regional training and scoping
workshop in Nadi, Fiji, 1-4 August 1995. It was agreed at this workshop that a regional proposal
for preparation of a Strategic Action Programme (SAP) to the GEF from Pacific Islands would
combine the following activity areas:
- integrated conservation and sustainable management of coastal resources, including
fresh water resources;
- integrated conservation and sustainable management of oceanic resources;
- prevention of pollution through the integrated management of land- or marine-based
wastes, and
- monitoring and analysis of shore and near-shore environments to determine
vulnerability to environmental degradation.
An early draft of the proposal was endorsed by the 8th SPREP meeting in October 1995.
Block B funds were requested from GEF in November 1995. Following further regional and
national consultation the proposal was submitted to and endorsed by Heads of Government of
participating island countries at the 1996 27th South Pacific Forum. SPREP was requested by the
South Pacific Forum to coordinate implementation of the proposal.
The proposal was approved by UNDP on 19 April 1997. The Chief Technical Adviser
commenced work on April 22, 1997. The initiation of the project was announced to participating
countries, SPREP National Focal Points, the SPREP collaborating institutions, Pacific Island
Countries' (PIC) Missions to the United Nations (UN) and members of the South Pacific
Organisations Coordinating Committee (SPOCC) in SPREP Circular No. 523. Participating
countries were asked to establish the National Task Force (NTF) and nominate Task Force
Coordinators (TFCs) in SPREP Circular No. 524.
A Regional Task Force (RTF) to oversee preparation of the SAP was established, with
one representative from each of five of the participating countries (Fiji, Marshall Islands, Samoa,
Tonga, Vanuatu), 3 members of and chosen by SPOCC (SPC, SPF, SPREP), 3 GEF
Implementing Agencies (UNDP, UNEP, WB), 2 NGOs (IUCN, TNC) and 1 private sector
representative (Fiji Dive Operators Association, recommended by TCSP). The ADB and ESCAP
also participated.
The RTF met on 5 and 6 June 1997 in Apia. It considered draft regional reviews, draft
guidelines for national consultations, and draft terms of reference for the TFCs. The report of the
RTF meeting was circulated.
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The TFCs met in Apia on 8 and 9 July 1997 to receive a briefing on GEF, the SAP
preparation process and objectives and suggested methodology for national consultations. They
also received the draft reviews and other materials for the consultations. The report of the TFC
meeting was circulated.
The SAP was prepared in accordance with the results of the national consultations. The
results, in the form of national reports and targeted project proposals, were endorsed by the
SPREP national focal point and were submitted to SPREP.
A preliminary draft executive summary of the SAP was circulated to participating
countries, SPREP National Focal Points, PIC Missions to the UN, SPOCC members, RTF and
TFCs in SPREP Circular No. 541.
The draft SAP was reviewed and approved by the RTF and the TFCs on 2 and 3
September 1997 at a joint meeting held in Apia. The report of the meeting was circulated.
The SAP was reviewed by the Heads of Government of the South Pacific Forum at their
twenty-eighth meeting in Rarotonga on 15-19 September, 1997.
2