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Wiawi is an important turtle-nesting site in Vanuatu known for hawksbill and green turtles. The significance of the area came to light after independence in the 1980s following forest conservation interests by the Forestry Department, which resulted in the setting up of the Wiawi Conservation Area. With the support of the Wan Smolbag (WSB) turtle monitoring programme in the 1990s, the community of Wiawi embarked on interventions towards strengthening sea turtle monitoring and conservation in Wiawi through the request from Chief Timothy and his brother Chief Konel Nihapi. These two community elders had worked very hard to establish the Wiawi Conservation Area and invested their time and energy to making Wiawi one of the leading community-based turtle conservation areas in the country.

Wiawi hemi wan impoten nesting saet blong totel long Vanuatu menly blong Hawksbill totel mo Green totel. Pipol oli kam save Impotens blong eria ia long saed blong totel afta long indipendens long ol yia 1990 tru long wok blong Dipatmen blong Forestry. Ol wok ia i lid i ko long setap blong Wiawi Konsevesen Eria. Afta long taem ia Wan Smol Bag (WSB) Totel Monitaring Prokram i stat mo trenem ol kominiti long fasin blong lukaotem totel. Kominiti blong Wiawi i statem wok wetem totel long taem ia blong setemap monitaring mo konsevesen blong totel tru long rikwes blong Jif Timothy mo brata blong hem Jif Konel Nihapi. Tufala olfala i wok had tumas blong sitemap Wiawi Konsevesen Eria mo investem taem mo eneji blong mekem se Wiawi hemi kam wan liding komiuniti-bes konsevesen eria blong totel long kaontri.

Humanity has altered the planet in many detrimental ways, from the warming of our climate to the ever-diminishing wildernesses on land and in the sea. But in such a complex system as the Earth, science must always keep searching – for both solutions to problems already identified and new threats coming our way. UNEP’s Frontiers Report does this by identifying and exploring areas of emerging or ongoing environmental concern. The 2022 edition delves into three issues: noise pollution in cities, the growing threat of wildfires and shifts in seasonal events – such as flowering, migration and hibernation, an area of study known as phenology.

Humanity is waging war on nature. This is senseless and suicidal. The consequences of our recklessness are already apparent in human suffering, towering economic losses and the accelerating erosion of life on Earth. This report represents a scientific blueprint for howclimate change, biodiversity loss and pollution can be tackled jointly within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals. The report is a synthesis based on evidence from global environmental assessments.

The Cook Islands comprises 15 islands with a total land area of 237 sq km and a maximum height above sea-level of 652 m. The islands are scattered over an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of 1.8 million sq km; one of the largest EEZ’s in the South Pacific.

This proposal has been prepared by the Ocean and Islands Programme (OIP) within the Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC) in collaboration with the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA). It has been prepared in response to an invitation1 from the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) to assist the Cook Islands in deriving coastal related information to underpin and inform climate change adaptation decisions for coastal areas of Mangaia Island.

Flooding imposes significant costs on households and businesses located in the lower Vaisigano catchment area. SOPAC, under the European Development Fund (EDF) project Reducing Vulnerability of Pacific ACP States, has worked with the Government of Samoa to develop the Samoa Flood Management and Action Plan, which identifies actions for government agencies, the private sector, NGOs and communities responsible for flood and floodplain management that can assist in reducing flood risks in Samoa, particularly in the lower Vaisigano catchment area located in Apia, which is subject to frequent flooding.