Healthy ecosystems are foundations for sustainable development and adaptation and resilience to climate change. The Pacific islands region has one of the richest complexes of marine and terrestrial ecosystems on Earth with habitats ranging from mountain forests to volcanic islands, low-lying coral atolls and the open ocean. Hundreds of plants and animals that inhabit our region are found nowhere else on the planet.
Pacific environments also support globally significant levels of biodiversity that form part of our critical ecosystems and support significant tourism economies.
Under its mandate, SPREP provides regional leadership and technical guidance helping our Pacific islands enhance
Under its vision and mandate, SPREP provides regional leadership and technical guidance and serves as a conduit for Member states in optimising the implementation of several global MEAs and regional environmental frameworks.
These include the Noumea (or SPREP) Convention, the Framework for a Pacific Oceanscape, and the Framework for Nature Conservation and Protected Areas in the Pacific Islands Region. The ocean is a key regulator of the global climate and a medium for major climate drivers.
The ocean has absorbed about 30% of the anthropogenic carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere since the beginning of the industrial era and currently absorbs over 90% of the heat generated by climate change. Changes in the ocean as a consequence of climate change are long-term and potentially devastating for vital ecosystems and the ecosystem services they provide, in particular, tropical Pacific coral reefs, which constitute more than 25% of the world’s reefs.
Islands and Oceans Ecosystems consists of four priorities;
1. Biodiversity
4. Threatened and Migratory Species