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CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
INTRODUCTION
The South Pacific subregion comprises a total
of twenty one countries and territories, which in this
chapter, are presented under the following four
groupings: Australia and New Zealand; Melanesian
Countries (Papau New Guinea, Solomon Islands,
New Caledonia, Vanuatu, and Fiji); Mid-sized open
islands of Polynesia and Micronesia (Tonga, Samoa,
American Samoa, French Polynesia, Palau, Guam,
and the Northern Mariana Islands); and the Small
island micro-states (Cook Islands, Kiribati, Tuvalu,
Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands,
Niue, and Nauru). The subregion is quite diverse,
politically, economically, geographically, and
ethnically. Australia and New Zealand tend to face
issues of marine pollution, deforestation, and
desertification, while the small island developing
states face common environmental challenges in the
threat of sea level fluctuation, isolation, exposure to
disaster, and shortage of resources.
The South Pacific has the lowest population
of all the Asian and Pacific subregions (just over
30 million) and while it has a high rate of population
growth, in a number of cases this has been absorbed
through migration to the regions larger peripheral
islands. The subregion has some of the lowest per
capita arable land resources, together with the highest
per capita marine resources. The South Pacific also
has some of the highest marine diversity in the world
– up to 3 000 species may be found on a single reef
(SPREP 1993). The many thousand islands are
surrounded by a rich complex of coastal ecosystems,
Table 18.1
including mangroves (around 10 per cent of the
world’s total habitat), seagrass beds, and estuarine
lagoons. Terrestrial diversity is shaped by the
endemic island ecology, coupled with the importation
and invasion of foreign species. For example, over
75 per cent of the biodiversity of New Caledonia is
endemic, including several plant species limited to
one small area of one mountain. This chapter
highlights the major environmental issues in the
subregion with particular emphasis on shared
concerns and challenges. Table 18.1 provides a
summary of the region’s key environmental issues
and their causes.
SHARED ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS
The island nations of the South Pacific
subregion control Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ)
of 200 nautical miles from their coasts. This
represents a significant portion of the high seas
fisheries and seabed mineral wealth of the global
ocean hemisphere. Shared environmental problems
are dominated by fluctuations in sea level, increasing
vulnerability to natural disasters, decline in marine
resources and erosion of the coastal zone. Other
common problems of the subregion include those
associated with the degradation and depletion of land
and water resources, loss of biodiversity and
deforestation. In prioritizing the region’s shared
environmental concerns, the most important are:
Sea level and temperature fluctuations
Temperature patterns of the marine
Key Environmental Issues and Causes in the South Pacific Region
Country
Key Issues
Key Causes
Australia and New Zealand
Soil erosion; soil salinity; degradation of in-land
and marine waters; depletion of wetlands;
desertification; depletion of fisheries; loss of
biodiversity.
Overgrazing; poor farming practices; land
clearance and deforestation; invasion of exotic
species; overfishing; over development of the
coastal zone; shipping pollution.
Melanesian Countries (Papau New
Guinea, Solomon Islands, New
Caledonia, Vanuatu, and Fiji)
Deforestation; land degradation/soil erosion; loss
of biodiversity; water degradation and limited
access to potable water; local depletion of coastal
fisheries.
Commercial logging; land clearance; mining;
climate change; population growth and
deficiencies in urban and rural infrastructure; over
fishing.
Mid-sized open islands of Polynesia
and Micronesia (Tonga, Samoa,
American Samoa, French Polynesia,
Palau, Guam, and the Northern Mariana
Islands)
Deforestation; soil erosion; loss of biodiversity;
local depletion of coastal fisheries; degradation
of in-land and marine waters.
Expansion of commercial agriculture and agro
pollution of run-off; population growth and
expansion into marginal lands; indiscriminate
collection of coral and shells; invasion of exotic
species; overfishing; hunting, particularly of
native sea turtles.
Small island micro-states (Cook Islands,
Kiribati, Tuvalu, Federated States of
Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Niue, and
Nauru
Vulnerability to natural disasters; water
degradation and limited access to potable water;
coastal erosion.
Climate change; groundwater salinization;
deficiencies in urban and rural infrastructure.
Source:
Complied from WRI 1999; UNEP 1999; Counterpart International 1997; ADB 1997 and United Nations 1999
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SOUTH PACIFIC
environment regulate the distribution of plants
and animals, and slight, short or long-term
variations can have dramatic impacts.
Problems have been witnessed with coral
bleaching (see Chapter 16, Box 16.2), and
species migration from traditional fishing areas.
Cities, villages, agriculture, and infrastructure
are all concentrated in the regions coastal zones,
which are especially vulnerable to sea level rise.
Determining the severity of this problem is
especially complicated by natural and intricate
sea level shifts associated with recurring ice
ages, however there are many potential impacts
which will require adaptive policy responses
(see Table 18.2).
Water scarcity and degradation Limited and
decreasing supplies of potable waters resources
are threatening many of the regions island
populations (see Figure 18.1). At the same time,
demand is increasing through tourism and
agricultural related developments, and drought
is a common problem. This is often
compounded by pollution of groundwater,
extensive leakage and clandestine connections
to the existing system. Changing weather
patterns are also a factor, with one of the
subregions worst droughts on record recorded
as a result of the reduced rainfall during the
1997/1998 El Niño event.
Land erosion and degradation Widespread
overgrazing in the larger countries, and water
and wind erosion in the smaller islands, are
common causes of land degradation. The
increasing pressures from globalization and the
use of chemicals in commercial agriculture are
also degrading land resources, in addition to
entering the terrestrial water and marine
environments. Pressures on land also stem
from the rise in urbanization and increasing
developments in the coastal regions.
Deforestation and biodiversity loss The
biological diversity of the South Pacific
subregion is some of the most critically
threatened in the world (Given 1992). As the
economies of many of the countries remain
subsistence based, this is more than an
environmental threat.
Biodiversity is
threatened by large scale deforestation and the
pressures on marginal lands imposed through
increasing population and shifting cultivation.
Land-based sources of marine pollution are also
thought to be one of the four biggest threats to
marine diversity, together with the introduction
of invasive species, and habitat destruction,
including dynamiting.
Table 18.2
Indicative List of Potential Impacts of
Climate Change and Sea-level Rise
Requiring Adaptive Responses in the
South Pacific Subregion
Coastal zone
Water
resources
Agriculture
Fisheries
Ecosystems
Human Health
Source:
Inundation and flooding of low-lying areas
Coastal erosion
Possible increase in cyclone-related effects
Changes in sediment production due to
changes in coral reef systems
Changes in freshwater lenses and other
groundwater resources
Salt intrusion of groundwater resources
Changes in surface-water resources
Changes in surface run-off, flooding and
erosion
Changes in commercial crop yields
Changes in subsistence crop yields
Changes in plant pest populations
Possible changes associated with changes in
ENSO, drought and cyclone patterns
Changes in soil quality
Changes in distribution and abundance of
offshore fish species
Changes in productivity of inshore fisheries
Changes in fish breeding sites
Coral bleaching and coral degradation (also
possible increased upward coral growth)
Changes in mangrove health and
distribution
Degradation of sea grass meadows
Changes in forest ecosystems
Changes in wetland systems
Increased incidence of vector-borne disease
such as malaria and dengue fever
Increased heat stress and heat-related
illnesses
Indirect effects on nutrition and well-being
secondary to effects in other sectors, such as
agriculture and water resources
Deaths, injuries and disease outbreaks
related to possible increases in extreme
events such as cyclones, floods and droughts
SPREP 1999c in UNEP 1999
Degradation of the marine environment
Increasing economic development activities
over the last ten years are placing imminent
threats on the region’s marine environment.
Negative impacts have been observed to
fisheries, mangrove forests, sea grasses, coral
reefs, and surface conditions, including red
(toxic) phytoplankton blooms; together with oil
pollution, and floating and suspended solid
wastes. Increasing levels of UVB penetration
are also impacting on fish eggs and plankton
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CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Fire’ (a region of severe seismic activity) for
example. The impact of these disasters can be
highly localized, but severe. In many other
countries of the subregion, severe tropical
storms and cyclones are accompanied by
massive rainfall and the low pressure may
cause the sea to rise as much as 2 metres, itself
stimulating wide spread flooding, coastal
inundation, land erosion, destruction of
housing and gardens, loss of vegetation, and
salinization of water supplies (see Figure 18.2).
Figure 18.1 Percentage of Population in Selected
Pacific Island Countries with Access to
Safe Water
Vanuatu
87%
Tuvalu
100%
Tonga
100%
Tokelau
100%
Solomon Islands
61%
Samoa
70%
Countries
PNG
23%
Palau
88%
Niue
100%
Nauru
90%
Marshall Islands
50%
Kiribati
CAUSES
65%
Fiji
Fed. States of
Micronesia
Cook Islands
92%
30%
99%
Percentage of population with access to safe water (%)
Source:
UNDP 1996 in UNEP 1999
species which occupy the surface waters of the
South Pacific.
Increasing vulnerability to natural disasters
Physical natural disasters including volcanic
eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis, cyclones and
droughts, threaten much of the South Pacific
region, and the resilience of the fragile island
ecosystems to disasters is increasingly
impaired. The region’s tropical and subtropical climate is punctuated by climatic
extremes which have far reaching impacts on
land use and serious environmental
consequences. Melanesia, Guam, and the
Mariana Islands are part of the ‘Pacific Rim of
Lifestyle changes dominated by the movement
away from subsistence and towards consumer
lifestyles have characterized much of the increasing
pressures on the South Pacific environment. Climate
change, population growth, and coastal urbanization
are presenting an increasing strain on the region’s
fragile resources and deficient infrastructure. The
average population growth across the subregion is
estimated at 1.2 per cent per annum (ESCAP 2000),
and indications are that GDP per capita has tended
to decline, together with the standard of living
(ESCAP 1999). However, while conventional
economic and social indicators demonstrate that a
significant percentage of the region’s population
experience a high poverty level, many still enjoy a
degree of subsistence affluence which does not form
part of the conventional calculation. Nevertheless,
poverty is a serious emerging issue, particularly in
relation to the growing levels of urban inward
migration. Major socio-economic indicators of the
subregion are provided in Table 18.3.
Figure 18.2 Estimated Levels of Vulnerability to Specific Natural Hazards in Selected South Pacific Islands
Cyclone
Coastal
flood
River flood
Fiji
xxx
xxx
Fed. States of Micronesia
xx
xxx
Country
Drought
Earthquake
Landslide
Tsunami
xxx
xx
x
xxx
x
x
xxx
x
x
xxx
Volcano
Kiribati
x
xxx
xxx
x
x
xxx
Marshall Islands
xx
xxx
xxx
x
x
xx
Palau
xx
xx
xx
x
x
xx
Solomon Islands
xxx
xxx
xxx
x
xxx
xxx
xxx
xxx
Tonga
xxx
xxx
xx
xxx
xxx
x
xxx
xxx
x
xxx
xxx
xxx
Tuvalu
Vanuatu
Source:
UNDHA 1996 in UNEP 1999
x Low
366
xx Medium
xxx High
xxx
xx
x
x
xxx
x
xxx
xxx
xxx
xxx
SOUTH PACIFIC
Table 18.3
Major Socio-Economic Indicators for South Pacific Countries
Population
(2000)
(thousands)
Countries
Annual growth
rate of
population (%)
Population
density (person
per km2)
Urban
population as
% of total
Annual growth
rate of urban
population (%)
Total GNP
(US$ millions)
1998
Per capita
GNP (US$)
1998
American Samoa
64
2.9
315
48
4.6
–
–
Australia
19
1.0
3
85
1.0
387 006
20 640
19
-0.5
–
59
0.6
–
–
825
1.6
43
49
2.9
1 748
2 210
–
Cook Islands
Fiji
French Polynesia
Guam
Kiribati
Marshall Islands
Micronesia
(Federated States of)
Nauru
2.33
62
53
1.3
–
1.0
270
39
2.5
–
–
91
2.5
118
37
2.2
101
1 170
62
2.7
342
66
1.7
96
1 540
118
1.9
162
27
0.4
204
1 800
12
1.8
–
100
1.8
–
–
218
2.5
11
77
3.4
–
–
3 869
0.5
14
86
1.1
55 356
14 600
New Caledonia
New Zealand
23
148
Niue
2
-3.1
–
35
1.2
–
–
Northern Mariana
Islands
77
5.5
143
90
5.6
–
–
Palau
19
2.2
40
71
2.9
–
–
Papua New Guinea
4 807
2.2
10
17
3.9
4 104
890
169
0.6
60
22
2.4
181
1 070
Samoa
Solomon Islands
448
3.4
15
20
5.8
315
760
Tonga
100
0.6
137
32
0.8
173
1 750
10
0.9
–
42
4.8
–
–
200
3.0
15
21
4.3
231
1 260
Tuvalu
Vanuatu
Source:
1. World Bank 1999 and 2000
2. ESCAP 2000
3. United Nations 1998
POLICY RESPONSE
A.
National Initiatives
Policies and initiatives in the region stem from
a mixture of historic social and cultural values
coupled with, in many cases, a recent colonial
administration. The South Pacific subregion therefore
has a wide range of systems of government.
Nonetheless, strong national identities exist, together
with a history of cooperation on issues of regional
concern, and a well-developed legal and institutional
framework through which to address them.
However, it is only relatively recently that policies
have taken account of strategic environmental
dimensions, and a major challenge will be for the
subregion to meet its emerging economic
development needs, while sustaining its subsistence
bases and its values of cultural and social cohesion.
A number of common themes are observed in relation
to present sustainable development limitations.
Policy While capacity for the implementation
of environmental policy is high in the
developed countries of New Zealand and
Australia, one of the most significant causes of
unsustainable behavior in the smaller countries
of the subregion is the lack of capacity for
adequate environmental planning. In the
independent South Pacific islands, government
environmental units and planning units lack
both human and financial resources. In many
countries, environmental units have no direct
input into the main decision making processes,
and in most other countries, environment
is marginalized as a department within a
multi-function ministry.
Legal While there is a strong legal framework
(much of which stems from traditional
community structures), there is a lack of
enforcement or implementation of many
policies or legislation, together with a growing
weakness in the protection of the subregion’s
indigenous property rights. A number of
regulatory mechanisms are also becoming
out-dated and have failed to respond to
changing paradigms of development.
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CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Industrial Although the subregion is perceived
as having a small industrial base, growing
industrialization is particularly acute in terms
of the micro- and small-scale industries.
Greater effort is required promote research and
development both within and across these
industries and academia, of environmentally
sound techniques and technologies. Focus is
also required on the exchange and use of data
and information relating to ocean and fishery
sciences. The major agricultural, fishery,
forestry, and tourist industries also need to be
sustainably managed and more closely
integrated into the planning framework.
NGO Grassroots environmental NGOs are a
recent development in many of the South
Pacific islands, although they have been active
in New Zealand and Australia since the 1920’s.
Recent NGO activity has however witnessed
some surprisingly effective success stories. A
hard-hitting NGO media campaign was
afforded the main responsibility in the rapid
and powerful action of governments in the
region to curtail the use of drift netting, for
example. The full potential of many
community-based and indigenous NGOs is
still not fully recognized, often due to a lacking
capacity in project management and
implementation, in addition to weak
accountability and monitoring.
Subregional Cooperation
Coordination of policy responses facilitates a
necessary strategic approach to sustainable
development and environmental problem solving in
the region. The South Pacific is one of the two
subregions (together with Southeast Asia) in Asia and
the Pacific to have ratified subregional conventions
on environmental protection (this is further discussed
in Part V). Opportunities for cooperation in the
subregion are promoted through a range of policies
and programmes, in addition to national and
international projects, which are outlined under the
following two headings:
complementary mandates, common goals, and
synergy of regional initiatives. Member organizations
include (UNEP 1999):
B.
the Council for Regional Organizations of the
Pacific (CROP); and
Other Cooperation Programmes in the
Subregion.
1.
The Council for Regional Organizations of the
Pacific (CROP)
CROP is the formal coordination mechanism
for subregional organizations in the South Pacific.
Formerly the South Pacific Organizations
Coordinating Committee, it aims to ensure
368
South Pacific Regional Environment
Programme (SPREP) SPREP was established
in 1982 by the government and administrations
of the South Pacific countries and four other
countries with a direct interest in the region.
It is the major inter-governmental organization
charged with promoting regional cooperation,
supporting protection and improvement of the
South Pacific environment and ensuring its
sustainable development. With the help of
ESCAP and others under the Barbados
Programme of Action, SPREP has assisted small
island developing states in capacity building
through
development
of
National
Environmental Management Strategies and
legislation on environment. In the last ten
years SPREP initiatives have focused on
biodiversity conservation (see Box 18.1), waste
management, climate change, impact
assessment, and environmental assessment and
awareness raising.
Forum Secretariat This was established in 1971
from the independent and self-governing
countries of the South Pacific. Its fifteen
member countries are Australia, Cook Islands,
Fiji, Kiribati, Marshal Islands, Federated Stated
of Micronesia (FSM), Nauru, New Zealand,
Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon
Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. The
Forum is responsible for facilitating
maintaining and developing cooperation and
consultation across it’s membership on issues
such as trade, economic development,
transport, and energy.
Forum Fisheries Agency FFA was established
in 1979 with a broad mission to enable the
region to obtain maximum sustained benefit
from the conservation and sustainable use of
its fisheries resources, with a particular
emphasis on tuna.
South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission
It was originated in 1972 and its member
countries are Australia, Cook Islands, Fiji,
Guam, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, FSM, New
Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon
Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. SOPAC
is involved in the provision of advice on the
environmental effects of coastal zone
developments, water and sanitation, pollution
and health issues.
Secretariat of the Pacific Community It was
first established in 1947, and is mandated to
SOUTH PACIFIC
Box 18.1 The Vatthe Conservation Area – Big Bay, Espirito Santo, Vanuatu
The Vatthe Conservation Area is located at the southern end of Big Bay on the island of Espirito Santo in Vanuatu. It is
2 276 hectares of lowland alluvial rainforest owned by the villages of Sara and Matantas. The Vatthe Conservation Area Project was
initiated in 1994. The basic idea for the project began in 1993 during a biodiversity survey of the area by the Vanuatu Environment
Unit in collaboration with the Royal Forest and Bird Conservation Society of New Zealand. During the study there was some
discussion with the community on the idea of setting up a national park.
The project was developed by the Environment Unit and ran into some constraints in its early stages. It has been argued that
involvement and therefore ownership was lacking with the local community, and a major, long-term land dispute between the two
villages was initially seen as a serious problem for the project. In 1995, as the community became more involved in the work plan
and budget, and SPREP arranged a trip to Fiji for the landowners where two conflicting groups were able to share new experiences
and view the progress of other conservation areas together. The project planning sessions and discussions acted as a stimulus for
peace between the two villagers and in 1995 a traditional ceremony united them to a common cause. By 1996, the communities had
formed a Community Management Committee that began to assume control over work plans, activities and budget. Two conservation
Support Officers were appointed by the Committee to work with the project manager on a part-time basis. By 1998, The community
had built a small hotel with six bungalows and restaurant, installed a water supply system with fibreglass tanks and a roof
catchment system, created three walking tours, a coconut crab hunt, a garden tour and custom dance. The project had trained local
guides, established a handicraft centre, created two sub-committees (eco-tourism and conservation), and appointed a full time
eco-tourism manager. The Vanuatu Energy Unit contributed solar powered lighting and the Department of Geology and Mines
provided a new water well. A radio-telephone link was established with the main urban area to facilitate reservations. A forest fruit
project and Alley cropping garden project has been established as a further source of income for the villages.
Sources:
Nari, R. 1997 and Reti, I. 1998
provide sustainable development assistance in
the subregion. The Pacific Island Forestry and
the Trees Support Programme awards provides
a good example of an innovative SPC scheme
aimed at promoting the adoption of sustainable
forestry techniques. Other activities include
management advice and applied research in
the coastal/national fisheries sector and
research on oceanic (mainly tuna) fisheries.
Tourism Council of the South Pacific The
role of TCSP is to market and promote tourism
to the region, and to help the tourist sector
enhance the quality of its product through a
variety of programmes on training, tourism
awareness, and preservation of the
environment.
University of the South Pacific The University
was established in Fiji in 1969, and includes
regionally focused research under its four
schools of agriculture, humanities, pure and
applied social and economic development.
Pacific Island Development Programme It has
22 members including Pacific island developing
countries and territories, and draws academic
resources both subregionally and from
international organizations to plan and conduct
projects across a range of development issues.
2.
Other Cooperation Programmes in the Subregion
Fisheries departments in the Cook Islands,
Tonga Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, Papau New
Guinea, Fiji, and Samoa (see Box 18.2) are at various
stages of developing partnerships with local
communities to sustainably manage their coastal
resources, often with the support of external funding.
The United Nations is supporting climate change
programmes in Niue and Papau New Guinea, and
integrated coastal zone management programmes are
being implemented in Fiji, Marshall Islands, Samoa,
and Tuvalu with support from Japan. Much attention
has also be paid to the analysis of sea level
fluctuations and their impacts to the subregion by
the governments of USA, Australia, and Japan.
Numerous projects are also underway to address the
issues of potable water supply and sanitation,
primarily with support through ADB, USAID, the
European Union, and AusAID. Total financial
injection to the sector amounts to around US$36
million. National programmes in New Zealand,
Tonga, the Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu include
the establishment of species and habitat conservation
areas, and the promotion of eco-tourism activities.
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CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Box 18.2 The Samoa Fisheries Extension and Training Project
Coastal fisheries are an important source of protein for the people of the South Pacific islands. The advent of commercial
fishing has, in some areas, resulted in over harvesting of fish and damage to coral reef ecosystems. Subsistence fisheries continue to
operate, and expand, in parallel with efforts at commercializing coastal fishing efforts. Because of the diffuse, and multi-species
nature of the fisheries, the small size of the fisheries departments, and the distances between islands, practical management of the
subsistence fishery is beyond the capability of national fisheries officers. There is, therefore, little information available to document
the state of the fisheries other than community perceptions of a decreasing catch.
If the local communities willingly assume responsibility and control of their own fisheries resources, with guidance of experienced
fishery biologists, some form of management may be possible. AusAID funded the Samoa Fisheries Extension and Training Project
to work out how Government/Community partnerships might be developed. The project is one of the most innovative and
successful examples of community/government partnerships for coastal fisheries management in the South Pacific region.
The Samoa Fisheries Extension and Training Project began in 1995 by producing a series of information sheets (written in
Samoan and English) intended for the Village Councils. Project personnel met with Village Councils and explained the need for local
management and suggested the national government would be willing to assist the villages in producing local management plans.
By 1998, 54 villages had joined the plan. Many had created and approved fisheries management plans. The plans include bans on
use of explosives and chemicals, a reserve area, recognition of size limits and other restrictions. The plans also provide for strict
enforcement of the regulations.
The extension process takes about three months. The socio-biologist on the team believes this is the minimum time required for
the people to take ownership of the project. The key to a successful village fisheries management plan was having the villagers
develop it because they understood the issues and wished to protect their own fishery resources. If they had other motivations
(expecting foreign aid or free goods and services) the project would not succeed. In helping villages to make the process their own,
the extension officers do not provide answers or give instructions. They ask questions – What is the condition of your fisheries? If the
villagers report various problems the officer asks, What do you think is causing the problem? and later, after this is discussed, What do
you think might be done to solve the problem?
The project found that most village councils knew the answers to these questions, sometimes better than the fishery agents did.
By asking questions, everyone learned and the villagers gained a feeling of ownership of the programme.
Source:
Chesher 1998a.
SUBREGIONAL OUTLOOK
Like the countries of Southeast Asia, South
Pacific countries have a strong history of
environmental cooperation, and a major challenge
for the subregion is therefore the continuation and
development of cooperation and coordination
initiatives and to balance its economic development
perspective with its long-term environmental goals
and responsibilities. The sectoral and hierarchical
structure of most South Pacific Islands governments
(and the split between traditional governance verses
colonial governance) has left its mark in respect to
the existing vertical and horizontal communication
capacity. Communications will need to be
significantly strengthened in the process of
370
mainstreaming environment as an integral
component of the planning system. Among the major
accomplishments of national governments in the
subregion are steps in decentralization of
environmental management responsibilities, and the
development of partnerships with NGO communities.
Such developments will need to be built upon, and
links and partnerships will also need to be established
and strengthened between all levels of society,
industry, and the academic community. Finally, the
growing pressures of climate change, economic
reform, and access to genetic resources, are
stimulating the rapid development of adaptive
strategies, and these will require continued
subregional cooperation and the timely
implementation of concrete actions.