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Sound waste and pollution management is an urgent priority for our Pacific Island leaders – ours here at SPREP is just to “Make it Happen.”

Critical issues for all meetings will be the global effort in the remaining 18 months to achieve the 2020 Aichi Targets of the CBD. Target 11 is of particular importance to WCPA and indeed we would argue it is the fundamental goal to achieve biodiversity and underpins many other goals.

I have recently returned from the Steering Committee meeting in Lebanon (see summary). It was a very constructive meeting and inspiring to hear of advances being made in many parts of the world. The South Americans seem to be the current stars with major advances for marine and freshwater conservation in Brazil and large new declarations of protected areas in Colombia and a share of their new emissions tax in recognition of the importance of protected areas in holding carbon sinks like forests, peat we tlands, mangroves and seagrasses.