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This  report  on  progress  in  the  Pacific  was  prepared  by  the  United  Nations  Economic  and  Social  Commission  for  Asia  and  the  Pacific  (ESCAP),  in  accordance  with  United  Nations  General  Assembly  Resolution 63/213 (February 2009). A draft version was tabled for discussion at the Pacific High Level  Dialogue held in Port Vila, Vanuatu on 8?9 February 2010. Comments received during the meeting and  the consultation period that followed have been incorporated into this final version.  

As part of the RIF review process, a team of three independent consultants were commissioned to analyse, assess and validate the most appropriate regional institutional arrangements based on a range of options provided by the CEOs of SOPAC, SPC and SPREP. The key rationale underpinning the work was to optimise service delivery, in particular ensuring the SOPAC work programme continued without diminution and was potentially enhanced. This document presents the Final Report of Part Two of the consultancy.

Nature provides human society with a vast diversity of benefits such as food, fibres, clean water, healthy soil and carbon capture and many more. Though our well-being is totally dependent upon the continued flow of these “ecosystem services”, they are predominantly public goods with no markets and no prices, so are rarely detected by our current economic compass. As a result, biodiversity is declining, our ecosystems are being continuously degraded and we, in turn, are suffering the consequences.

Emphasising a "blue-green" theme the renewed “EU relations with the Pacific Islands: A Strategy for Strengthening Partnership” focuses on strengthening cooperation with Pacific ACP countries to address the sustainable management of natural resources and environmental challenges. 10th EDF programming requires that the environment is integrated into all Country Strategy Papers ensuring that future actions are appropriately targeted. An important step in this process is the preparation of an environment profile for each Pacific ACP country.

As populations grow in Pacific Island Countries, urbanisation and development expand and pressure on the coastal zone increases. Demands are made for land reclamation and coastal stabilisation. The coast is expected to provide more and more resources ranging from construction materials to food, to ab- sorb growing amounts of domestic and industrial refuse, as well as to continue to retain its cultural importance.