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Tuvalu was among the first to sign the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) at the 1992 Rio de Janeiro United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). It ratified the CBD in 2002 and eight years later, the Tuvalu National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (TNBSAP) is now in place. Although it is among the last Pacific Island countries to formulate its TNBSAP, biodiversity was already part and parcel of Tuvalu s development framework, at least on an ad hoc basis. As discussed later in the main body of the report, conservation and the sustainable use and management of natural resources were integral elements of Tuvalu s culture and traditional lifestyles.

Below are the broad targets for Tuvalu as complemented in the Tuvalu National Biodiversity Action Plan and NSSD. Ø To prevent air, land , and marine pollution To control and minimise invasive species To rehabilitate and restore degraded ecosystems To promote and strengthen the conservation and sustainable use of Tuvalu’s biological diversity To recognize, protect and apply traditional knowledge innovations and best practices in relation to the management, protection and utilization of biological resources To protect wildlife Ø To protect seabed and control over harvesting in high seas and territorial waters

The twelve chemicals, also known as the “dirty dozen”, scheduled under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), pose significant and increasing threats to human health and the environment. Tuvalu is a small country, which does not, and has no history of, manufacturing POPs. However due to their chemical nature, including their long range environmental transport, POPs are a global concern. Tuvalu must address risks posed by unintentional and intentionally produced POPs, concurrently with the global community.

Tuvalu acceded to the United Nation Convention to Combat Desertification in Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa (UNCCD) in September 1998 because of its concern regarding degradation of its habitats and current predicted shortages of water connected with increasing population and the effects of climate change. As a Party to the UNCCD, Tuvalu is obliged to follow Section 9 and 10 of the Convention in preparing a National Action Plan.

Traditional, social and cultural institutions are still very strong in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). Micronesian society is based on the extended family, which is responsible for the family welfare, especially in relation to customary family land. Ownership of land and aquatic areas varies between States. In Kosrae and Pohnpei, land is both privately and State owned, while all aquatic areas and some land areas are managed by the State as public trusts. In Chuuk, most land and aquatic areas are privately owned and acquired through inheritance, gift or, recently, by purchase. In Yap, almost all land and aquatic areas are owned or managed by individual estates and usage is subject to traditional control. In all States, land cannot be sold to non-citizens of the FSM. The indigenous population is Micronesian with most of the people residing on the island/town centers of the four Island States.

Traditional, social and cultural institutions are still very strong in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). Micronesian society is based on the extended family, which is responsible for the family welfare, especially in relation to customary family land. Ownership of land and aquatic areas varies between States. In Kosrae and Pohnpei, land is both privately and State owned, while all aquatic areas and some land areas are managed by the State as public trusts. In Chuuk, most land and aquatic areas are privately owned and acquired through inheritance, gift or, recently, by purchase. In Yap, almost all land and aquatic areas are owned or managed by individual estates and usage is subject to traditional control. In all States, land cannot be sold to non-citizens of the FSM. The indigenous population is Micronesian with most of the people residing on the island/town centers of the four Island States.