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The increasing westernisation of the indigenous cultures of the Pacific Islands has resulted in a decreasing dependence of these cultures on the plants and vegetation in their environment.

Field work conducted by the senior author at Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands, in May 1986 yielded twenty-three species of birds; six of these were documented as nesting and an additional four species almost certainly nest as well. Six species were previously unrecorded for Bikini Atoll, and one of these, the Laughing Gull (Larus atricilla) was new to Micronesia. The recorded avifauna for Bikini Atoll now stands at twenty-six species. Major seabird colonies were located on Aomoen (and other northern islets), Nam, and Oroken/Jalete/Lukoj (and other southeastern islets). Scaevola and Tournefortia scrub and Pisonia grandis forests are the most frequently used habitats for nesting seabirds. Numerically, the most abundant breeding birds were the terns Anous minutus, A. stolidus and Gygis alba and the boobies Sula leucogaster and s. sula. Environmental rehabilitation options which minimize habitat alteration on the important nesting islets are recommended. Close monitoring and protection of seabird populations after Marshallese resettlement will guard against excessive disturbance and exploitation.

Pandanus in the Marshall Islands: Agricultural Bulletin No. 10. Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.

The Tokelaus are a chain of three atolls, soutii of the Phoenix Group and north of the Sarnoas. Distances (in statute miles) froin Apia, Western Samoa, are approxi~i~ately 300 to Fakaofo, 330 to Nukunono, and 400 to Atafu. Annual rainfall for each atoll is usually in excess of 100 inches but they have experienced long dry spells. llurricanes occasionally pass througii the group and several motus of I4ukunono atoll were swept by waves in the storni of January 29 and 30, 1966.

Although ornithological observations have not been the main object of any pliase of our work on the Northern Marshall Islands, numerous notes on birds have accumulated which are here placed on record, The birds were identified by use of Ernst Mayr's "Birds of the Southwest Pacific!' and the names used here are mostly those accepted by Mayr in that work. UnIortunately it was impractical to document these records with specin?ens. The sight observations presented should therefore be acceprcd with some reservations.

Film about Tokelau's message for the Barbados Conference. A SPREP funded project produced and directed by Rudy Bartley and production by the Electronic Media Unit, USP Alafua Campus. It serves as Tokelau's formal communication or address to the Barbados Conference which is presumably focused on environmental or climate-related issues.

This is an educational audio presentation by Dr. Patrick Nunn of the University of the South Pacific’s Geography Department. In it, he explains the fundamentals of the greenhouse effect—how greenhouse gases like CO₂ trap heat in Earth’s atmosphere—and outlines its critical role in moderating global temperatures. Dr. Nunn connects this science to the Pacific context, discussing the region’s vulnerability to rising temperatures, sea-level rise, and changing weather patterns. He emphasizes the importance of understanding the greenhouse effect for local climate adaptation strategies and policy planning across Pacific Island nations, drawing on research and climate modeling relevant to the South Pacific.

This nearly 70-page EIA, prepared for the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), investigates the Ok Tedi copper–gold mine’s impact on Papua New Guinea’s Fly–Ok Tedi River system. It reveals that approximately 80,000 tonnes of ore-processing residues—plus comparable volumes of waste rock and overburden—are discharged into the headwaters daily en.wikipedia.org+6library.sprep.org+6pacific-data.sprep.org+6 . Over decades, this dumping has elevated river beds, causing altered flow patterns, severe flooding, and erosion of nearby croplands and forests. The report traces the spread of trace metals throughout the floodplain, assessing sediment metal concentrations and ecological risk. It highlights widespread environmental degradation: deforestation, reduced aquatic biodiversity, and polluted agricultural soils. These impacts threaten both ecosystems and the livelihoods of downstream communities, while also raising broader concerns about sustainable mining and the need for environmental safeguards in the Pacific.

Country profiles on the state of coral reefs systems in the Pacific

Mongabay rainforest profiles: American Samoa, French Polynesia, Guam, Kiribati, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu