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For the purposes of this Convention, the following shall be considered as "cultural heritage": monuments: architectural works, works of monumental sculpture and painting, elements or structures of an archaeological nature, inscriptions, cave dwellings and combinations of features, which are of outstanding universal value from the point of view of history, art or science; groups of buildings: groups of separate or connected buildings which, because of their architecture, their homogeneity or their place in the landscape, are of outstanding universal value from the point of view of history, art or science; sites: works of man or the combined works of nature and of man, and areas including archeological sites which are of outstanding universal value from the historical, aesthetic ethnological or anthropological points of view.

The study of dispersal processes of small mammals, and especially of rodents, has a wide range of applications and until recent years there were few publications discussing the colonisation of 'oceanic' islands by small mammals (cf. Crowell, 1986; Diamond, 1987; Hanski, 1986;Heany, 1986; Lomolino, 1986). This essay will be concerned with the distribution of rat species in the Marshall Islands and its implications on the interpretation of the settlement and human use of the atolls. It will be argued that in all instances the introduction of rats was caused by people and that accidental transport, such as rafting on drift wood and the like, is as unlikely as introduction by means of ship wrecks. Human transport as well as the rats' own inability to cross great distances of water makes them bad zoogeographical markers, as already pointed out by Braestrup (1956), but it is precisely this trait that is of concern here. This paper will argue that the Polynesian rat (Rattus exulans) was an intentional introduction to the area and that its distribution throughout the Marshall Islands was a deliberate strategy.

The shorefishes of Ouvea, an isolated atoll in the Loyalty Islands group of New Caledonia, had not been surveyed prior to 1990. An extensive survey was conducted by ORSTOM between 1991 and 1992 to obtain baseline information on the shorefishes. A total of 653 taxa among 72 families are now documented from this area. The most diverse families are the Labridae (69 species), Pomacentridae (58 species), Gobiidae (54 spccies),Serranidae (39 species), Chaetodontidae (31 species) and Apogonidae (28 species). The absence or very low diversity of some families (Clupeidae, Nemipteridae, Siganidae) or genera (Abudefduf, Neopomacentrus) is similar to findings for other isolated islands of the Coral Sea. Of the 653 species recorded from Ouvea, 51 species have not been reported from New Caledonia, a large high island to the South. Only one endemic species, Luzonichthys williamsi, has been recognized among the shorefishes at Ouvea. A number of Pacific Plate endemic species were recorded at Ouvea. which is positioned on the Australasian Plate to the south of the edge of the Pacific Plate. Antennarius duescus, previously known from three specimens taken at the Hawaiian Islands, is recorded from a single specimen taken at Ouvea. Another antitropical distribution pattern is exhibited by Dinemalichthys riukiuensis, which is known to occur at Fiji, Ouvea and Queensland in the South and from Okinawa.

The oceanic dispersal of plants and animals has been the focus of studies ever since organized natural history started in the Pacific, and the dispersal of terrestrial by sea rafting has been given due consideration. The finding of drift materials such as glass floats, tree trunks and seeds, is a common occurrence on the shores of Pacific Islands, but in most cases the origin of such material is unknown or at least equivocal. Thus while the principle of sea rafted dispersal is known and reported at length, there is a need to document those occasions where positive proof of origin can be furnished.

This report presents the results of an ifilele (Intsia bijuga) timber inventory of the Uafato Conservation Area (CA) on Upolu island, Samoa. It provides data on which to base recommendations for the sustainable management of ifilele in the CA. The inventory included a three week field survey of ifilele and a shorter community survey of ifilele harvesting practices in the conservation area.

The Strategy and Work Programme states that there is little information available on the level of shipping activities operating through, into, and within the region, and on the types of cargoes involved. Accordingly, the document proposes that a study of shipping activities in the region be carried out. Recent information suggests that the study may be funded through SPKEP in the foreseeable future.

Many societies have rules rooted in legal tradition that require the sustainable and efficient use of natural resources. The obligation of stewardship is a feature of westernised legal systems. In nations following the common law tradition, the doctrine of waste requires owners of land to use it sustainably. Elsewhere, customary law systems demand strict rules governing the allocation and use of resources. There is, therefore, an existing legal culture into which our generation's obligations towards the world's resources can be set.

What are the decapod crustacea known from French Polynesia? The answer to this, apparently simple question, would be very helpful for determinating the species collected during ecological studies. Moreover, from a biogeographical point of view, a check list of the species reaching this area, at the eastern limit of the Indo-West Pacific province, would be very interesting. The aim of this work therefore, is to answer this question by drawing up, mainly from a compilation of systematic and ecological studies, a list of the French Polynesian crustacea, the scope of the subject being restricted to littoral and sublittoral, Palinura (Astacidea and Palinuridae), Anomura, and Bracbyura.

This report documents the results from a workshop that examined the issue of incidental capture of threatened and endangered sea turtles by pelagic longline fisheries. It is a compilation of formal presentations by, and facilitated discussions among, government and nongovernment scientists, resource managers, and fishing industry representatives. This report documents the preliminary results and has not undergone external scientific review. The interpretation of the information presented at the workshop represent the opinions and views of the participants and not necessarily those of the National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA.

In 1981, the Isabel provincial government first recognized the importance of the Arnavon Islands as a nesting ground for Hawksbill turtles, and designated the islands as a Wildlife Sanctuary. At that time, however, the government did not adequately recognize the local communities' rights and the project failed. In 1989, the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) collaborated with the Solomon Islands government and the Ministry of Natural Resources (now the Ministry of Forestry, Environment and Conservation or MFEC) to survey the Hawksbill turtle nesting beaches and populations in the northern Solomon Islands including the Amavons. The surveys documented the severe depletion of the Hawksbill turtle population due to the turtle shell (bekko) export trade which has flourished in recent years. As a result of the surveys interest was renewed for conservation in the area and local communities were approached for their support in establishing a conservation area. Through its close association with SPREP and MFEC, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) was invited by the government to take a leading role in developing and implementing a marine conservation area project to protect turtle nesting beaches and other important marine and island species on the Arnavon Islands.