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Three-quarters of the Earth's surface is covered by oceans and seas which are an engine for global economic growth and a key source of food security. The global ocean economic activity is estimated to be USD 3-5 trillion. Ninety percent of global trade moves by marine transport. Over 30 percent of global oil and gas produced is extracted offshore. Expanding knowledge of marine biodiversity has provided breakthroughs in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, food production and aquaculture. Over 3.1 billion of the world's population lives within 100 kilometers of the ocean or sea in about 150 coastal and island nations.

Port Vila is the capital of Vanuatu. The Port Vila Urban Area (PVUA), defined as the Port Vila Municipality (PVM) and adjoining peri-urban areas, has a population of about 70,000. About 49,300 of these people live in PVM. Per capita gross national income in Vanuatu was approximately 279,402 vatu (Vt) (around $3,073) in 2011.

At the international level, a number of global instruments provide mechanisms to facilitate addressing today's challenges. Two of which are the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (IT-PGRFA) and it's supporting component, the Global Plan of Action for the Conservation and Sustainable Utilization of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (Global Plan of Action), which was adopted by the Pacific Island Countries along with other members of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA) in 1996 through the Leipzig Declaration.

Social and biophysical dimensions of ecosystems are inextricably related such that a change in one dimension is highly likely to generate a change in the other. Although change is a natural consequence of complex interactions, it must be monitored and even managed if the rate and direction of change threatens to undermine system resilience.