Apia Convention

The Convention on Conservation of Nature in the South Pacific (Apia Convention) is a multilateral environmental agreement signed in Apia on 12 July 1976. The Convention entered into force on 26 June 1990.

Text of Convention

The main objective of the Convention is to commit the Parties to take action for the conservation, utilisation and development of the natural resources of the South Pacific region through careful planning and management for the benefit of present and future generations.

Parties’ commitments:

In order to pursue the objective of the Convention the Parties:

• undertake to create protected areas to safeguard representative samples of natural ecosystems, superlative scenery, striking geological formations and regions and objects of aesthetic, historic, cultural or scientific value (art.2);
• commit to not alter national parks so as to reduce their area except after the fullest investigation; their resources are not to be subject to commercial exploitation; hunting and collection of species are to be prohibited and provision is to be made for visitors (art. 3);
• agree to maintain lists of indigenous fauna and flora in danger of extinction and to give such species as complete protection as possible (art. 5); and
• provision may be made as appropriate for customary use of areas and species in accordance with traditional cultural practices (art. 6).

Many of these commitments have been superseded by Parties' commitments under the Convention on Biological Diversity, 1992.

Amendments were proposed in order to keep the Apia Convention operational, however the amendments were not adopted.

Parties

Dates of signature and ratification

Meetings

Conference of the Parties: 

• Rules of Procedure
• Financial Regulations
• Proceedings of Meeting

National reporting: 

Format for National Reports

Other Documents

Revision of the Convention

• Papers on the Revision of the Apia Convention.
• Amendments to the Convention, 2000 (not in force)