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Human rights matter for marine conservation because people and nature are inextricably linked. A thriving planet cannot be one that contains widespread human suffering or stifles human potential and a thriving humanity cannot exist on a dying planet.

The climate, land, energy and water systems (CLEWs) approach guides the development of integrated assessments. The approach includes an analytical component that can be performed using a simple accounting methods, soft-linking tools, incorporating cross-systems considerations in sectoral models, or using one modelling tool to represent CLEW systems.

Effectively dealing with hazardous and recalcitrant pollutants such as heavy metals (HMs) has become global challenge with limited options available for reprieve.

The construction industry is affected by the constant growth in the populations of urban areas. The demand for cement production has an increasing environmental impact, and there are urgent demands for alternative sustainable solutions. Volcanic ash (VA) is an abundant lowcost material that, because of its chemical composition and amorphous atomic structure, has been considered as a suitable material to replace Portland cement clinker for use as a binder in cement production. In the last decade, there has been interest in using alkali-activated VA material as an alternative material to replace ordinary Portland cement. In this way, a valuable product may be derived from a currently under-utilized material. Additionally, alkali-activated VA-based materials may be suitable for building applications because of their good densification behaviour, mechanical properties and low porosity. This article describes the most relevant findings from researchers around the world on the role of the chemical composition and mineral contents of VA on reactivity during the alkali-activation reaction; the effect of synthesis factors, which include the concentration of the alkaline activator, the solution-to-binder ratio and the curing conditions, on the properties of alkali-activated VA-based materials; and the mechanical performance and durability properties of these materials.

Contamination of the environment by pollutants like heavy metals is a growing phenomenon mainly driven by anthropogenic activities.

Anthropogenic activities continue to be a major source of recalcitrant toxicants such as heavy metals (HMs) in the environment.

Currently, reduction of environmental e ects of the cement industry is an issue of global interest and one of the alternatives is to replace clinker with additions such as volcanic powder. The purpose of this work is to study the influence of up to 400 hardening days of volcanic powder, obtained from the last eruption of the Calbuco volcano (Chile), on the pore structure, mechanical performance, and durability-related properties of mortars which incorporate up to 20% volcanic powder as a substitution for clinker. In addition, an evaluation of greenhouse gases emissions was performed in order to quantify the possible environmental benefits of incorporating the volcanic powder in the mortars. The results obtained indicated that mortars with contents of 10% and 20% of volcanic powder had adequate service properties and improved all durability-related properties overall as compared with those noted for ordinary Portland cement. Additionally, the use of up to 20% volcanic powder makes it possible to reduce the CO2 emissions of mortars by almost 20%, demonstrating the advantages of incorporating this addition in mortars.

This paper focuses on aspects of governance and management of seabed minerals. Cook islands is presented as an example of a Pacific small island developing State (PSIDS) that has progressed a range of governance and protocols to a mature level particularly considering it's small population.

Fiji has demonstrated a strong commitment to cetacean conservation via national, regional and international plans and agreements. To provide baseline information in support of these efforts, this paper provides an updated listing of cetacean species found in Fijian waters and identifies locations where cetaceans have been noted on a consistent basis. Information for this review was sourced from peer-reviewed publications, field reports, historical whaling records, national consultations, anecdotal and opportunistic sources, as well as a national database held by the Fiji Government’s Department of Fisheries. Reliable and recent records were confirmed for 10 cetacean species in Fijian waters. In addition, less reliable records and regional species’ information provides support for the occurrence of at least 14 additional species or groups of similar-looking species that could not be identified more specifically. Thirteen hotspot areas within the Fiji Economic Exclusive Zone were preliminarily identified as being particularly important for cetaceans, including numerous sites within the Vatu-i-Ra and Lomaiviti passages and surrounding waters. Issues with the available data include uneven coverage, inherent biases within available sources, and difficulties with species identification and verification in some cases. Nevertheless, it is hoped that this review will provide a reference point from which to move forward with cetacean management and conservation efforts in Fiji.

The Pacific Islands region is currently experiencing an intensification of interest in culture of an enabler, rather than an inhibitor of development.