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The electronic newsletter of the Pacific Invasives Learning Network (PILN) reporting on invasives news from PILN teams and the Pacific region.

The electronic newsletter of the Pacific Invasives Learning Network (PILN) reporting on invasives news from PILN teams and the Pacific region.

The electronic newsletter of the Pacific Invasives Learning Network (PILN) reporting on invasives news from PILN teams and the Pacific region.

The electronic newsletter of the Pacific Invasives Learning Network (PILN) reporting on invasives news from PILN teams and the Pacific region.

The electronic newsletter of the Pacific Invasives Learning Network (PILN) reporting on invasives news from PILN teams and the Pacific region.

Invasive species pose an enormous threat in the Pacific: not only do they strongly affect biodiversity, but they also potentially affect the economic, social, and cultural wellbeing of Pacific peoples. Invasive species can potentially be managed and that their impacts can potentially be avoided, eliminated, or reduced. However, neither the costs nor the numerous benefits of management are well understood in the Pacific. Thus, the goals of this project were: A) to account for both the costs and benefits of managing invasive species; B) to prepare empirically grounded advocacy materials to help increase investment in the management of invasive species; C) to help governments prioritise investment in managing these species; and D) to build capability for undertaking economic assessments in the future. To accomplish these goals, we undertook cost-benefit analyses (CBAs) of managing five species that are well established on Viti Levu, Fiji: spathodea campanulata (African tulip tree), herpestus javanicus (small Asian mongoose), papuana uninodis (taro beetle), pycnonotus cafer (red-vented bulbul), and merremia peltata (merremia vine). Next, we conducted a comprehensive training programme on the CBA for invasive species management for professionals from the Pacific. Third, we collaborated with Pacific organisations to develop a uniform guide to conducting CBAs with numerous examples from the region. We also designed a flexible Microsoft Excel-based tool for conducting CBAs, enabling professionals who did not attend the training course to nevertheless undertake rigorous CBAs on invasive spsecies management. Finally, we developed advocacy material and publicised findings from this project to promote investment in invasive species management. This report details these activities in turn. It also includes numerous appendices that include the tools, guidance documents, and advocacy materials developed under this project.

The Work Programme and Budget (WP&B) is prepared in accordance with the requirements of the SPREP Financial Regulations and is expressed in USD. The Secretariat proposes a balanced budget of anticipated income and expenditure of USD$22,377,880. The format for the 2014 WP & B is aligned to the priorities of the new Strategic Plan 2011-2015. However, it maintains features of the SPREP budget summary format which lists the budget for each target and links the sources of funding to the core and programme budget components.

Since 2010, Pacific Island Countries (PICs) have taken steps to develop and implement an integrated action plan, or Joint National Action Plan (JNAP), for climate change (CC) and disaster risk management (DRM). Tonga was the first country to develop its JNAP and to get government approval in July 2010, with several other PICs following suit. The development of a JNAP has been encouraged and facilitated by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) through its Applied Geosciences Division (SOPAC) and multilateral and bilateral development partners such as the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), GIZ and the Government of Australia. Countries have also made efforts to systematically implement their JNAPs by accessing domestic resources and financial resources available through bilateral and multilateral Official Development Assistance (ODA) and climate change finances (CCF). The purpose of this report is to review the JNAP development and implementation process, and assess lessons learnt for future JNAPs in the region. The review focuses on the Cook Islands and Tonga, which have made progress in implementing their JNAP strategies. These countries obtained support from development partners for JNAP implementation. The review also included Tuvalu, which has completed development of its JNAP with Government endorsement, and countries currently in the process of developing their JNAP – Kiribati, Nauru, Niue and the Republic of Marshall Islands. Reference is also made to other countries such as Palau, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, which chose alternative paths to their integration of CC and DRM.

The electronic newsletter of the Pacific Invasives Learning Network (PILN) reporting on invasives news from PILN teams and the Pacific region.

The electronic newsletter of the Pacific Invasives Learning Network (PILN) reporting on invasives news from PILN teams and the Pacific region.