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International Waters is one of four focal areas of the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The GEF was created in 1994 to fulfill a unique niche - that of providing financing for programmes and projects to achieve global environment benefits in four focal areas: biodiversity, climate change, international waters, and ozone layer depletion — and in land degradation as it relates to these focal areas.

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) provides an indicator of the growth of the economy of a nation. The GDP for Samoa in 1999 was estimated to be ST$718.4 million at current market prices, of which agriculture, fishing and indirectly tourism are the main sectors of the economy. These sectors are directly and indirectly dependent on the natural resources. Yet, the essential role played by these resources to the economy is not explicitly known since many of their services are not transacted through formal markets and in some cases markets do not exist to permit payments for their utilisation. The Samoan national government has identified the need to incorporate the economic values of these natural resources into the National Bio-diversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) with the aim of integrating biodiversity conservation with policy planning. With this in mind, research on the economic valuation of the marine and terrestrial resources, particularly forests, of Samoa was conducted from October 10 to November 24, 2000 and the findings are provided in this report.

In the Pacific Region marine areas and marine resources such as coral reefs, mangroves, seagrasses and fisheries resources are very valuable because they sustain lives and livelihoods. However these resources are under increasing threats from destructive fishing/harvesting methods, pollution, over exploitation, sand mining etc.

Fishing in Samoa is very important because one of the ways to achieve food security, particularly in communities and villages in rural areas. In many communities, they do not appreciate the vision of the economy and the marine environment. Bringing the use of such fishing a modern-day, there What meanava, nets and hurry microfilm, and substances that would easily and more fish, but are harmful to the marine environment and ecosystems. The implementation of projects in the marine damage to many places and millions of species of living and breeding. To save the situation, established by the Fisheries Department of the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries program for the Management of Environmental Hazard and Spy Good Fish and seafood, to help build a Jurisdiction fishing villages and communities to preserve, control and rationalizing the use of the economies of the coastal country.

In recent years, the European Commission has continuously developed the tool of cost-benefit analysis to better inform decision-makers in the process of settling on new directives and regulations concerning the environment. However, according to the Terms of Reference of this assignment "most studies in the field of waste have been restricted to an analysis of costs and, at best, a relatively superficial description of benefits".

This report presents a set of indicators, referred to as the 'core' set. for reporting on the state of the environment across Commonwealth and State and Territory jurisdictions. The core indicators have been developed by the Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council (ANZECC) through an extensive consultation process involving both government agencies and the general public.

The following is a transcript and a report of lectures/training delivered In Tarawa, Kiribati on Guidelines for Monitoring and Evaluating Beach Erosion and Shoreline Dynamics. The training/lectures are part of in-country training and capacity building on Coastal Processes. These lectures were delivered between 14-16 March 2000, at the Otintai Hotel, Tarawa, Kiribati. The lecture discussed the need for understanding beaches, beach dynamics and neashore processes within the framework of coastal hazards and risks. Erosion and erosion processes were discussed, as wells as the hydrodynamics aspects of nearshore environments. Engineering In the coastal zone was presented, within the framework of the coastal project cycle. Examples of coastal engineering projects were discussed, with reference to current port and harbour development. In south Tarawa and the Nippon Causeway. In addition, coastal protection structures were examined in the field and Issues related to the appropriateness of these were highlighted. Construction material used along the shorefront were discussed, In particular concrete and Its performance In coastal environments. Issues related to optimum coastal management and engineering were also discussed. A full list of up-to-date and state-of-the-art references on the subject is also given and is Included in this report.

When coastal buildings or roads are threatened, the typical response is to harden the coast with a seawall. Seawalls run parallel to the beach and can be built of concrete, wood, steel, or boulders. Seawalls are also called bulkheads or revetments; the distinction is mainly a matter of purpose. They are designed to halt shoreline erosion caused primarily by wave action. If seawalls are maintained, they may temporarily hold back the ocean from encroaching on shoreline development. In spite of their ability to hold back the ocean, when waves hit a seawall, the waves are reflected back out to sea, taking beach sand with them and eventually causing the beach to disappear. Moreover, seawalls can cause increased erosion at the ends of the seawall on an adjacent beach that is not walled. Alternatives to seawalls exist, such as beach nourishment and managed retreat. Making coastal land use decisions that ensure a seawall will not be needed in the future to protect structures, however, is the most prudent coastal management solution. This can be accomplished by establishing setback lines and conducting managed retreat of structures that are threatened by shoreline erosion before the situation worsens, or structures that have the potential for being threatened in the future. Regional case studies are presented to illustrate.

Helen Reef in the Southwest Islands of Palau is the one of the greatest marine assets of the Hatohobei (Tobi) People and of the Republic of Palau. Helen Reef is known as one of the most biologically diverse coral reef atolls in the Pacific and historically one of the most biologically abundant reefs in Palau,including acclaimed populations of plentiful marine resources including, trochus, turtles, sea cucumbers, seabirds, and many large reef fish. Reflected in its traditional Hatohobeian name Hotsarihie, which signifies “Reef of the Giant Clam”, Helen Reef is perhaps most famous in the region for its once ubiquitous giant clams, and unfortunately the unchecked foreign poaching that has occurred there over the past decades. The richness and abundance of the atoll’s resources are factors of its location, being remote from human populations and bordering the biodiverse marine eco-regions of Melanesia and SE Asia. The cumulative characteristics of the atoll have attracted many users over time including subsistence fishers from Hatohobei and neighboring islands, sea-faring traders, local businesses interests, and foreign commercial resource operations. The remoteness of Helen Reef which contributes to its historical levels of resource abundance is also a underlying cause for recent resource declines, as the atoll is usually uninhabited and has been notably vulnerable to poaching for the last half century by foreign fishermen from Asian countries

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is one of the global conventions on environmental conservation that came out of the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. By signing and ratifying the CBD, countries have agreed to support its goals and aims. The three main objectives of the CBD are the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilisation of genetic resources. To achieve these objectives, the CBD includes 42 articles, each dealing with specific aspects of biodiversity conservation, sustainable use and equitable benefit sharing.