Biodiversity in the Pacific islands

The Earth’s biodiversity, or the variety and variability of genes, species, populations and ecosystem, provide the foundation for the earth’s essential goods and services. This diversity is found in the natural ecosystems of forests, savannahs, pastures and rangelands, deserts, tundras, rivers, lakes, islands and seas. Farmers’ fields and gardens are also of great importance as repositories, and gene banks, botanical gardens, zoos and other germplasm repositories make a small but significant contribution. The current decline in biodiversity is largely the result of human activity and represents a serious threat to human development.

The ecosystems of the Pacific islands support more rare, endangered and threatened species than anywhere else on earth. The Pacific marine environment comprises an enormous and largely unexplored resource, including the most extensive and diverse reefs in the world, the deepest oceanic trenches and relatively intact populations of many globally threatened species including whales, sea turtles, dugongs and saltwater crocodiles. The high islands support large tracts of intact rainforests that are hosts to unique communities of plants and animals, many species of which are found nowhere else in the world, many more waiting to be discovered and described scientifically. For the small islands, this diversity is the result of thousands of years of physical isolation from continental landmasses; this enabled many island faunal species to evolve independently of relatives in other land masses resulting in a high level of endemism, which according to some reports exceed 80% in many islands.

This treasure trove of nature however is critically threatened, with up to 50 percent of the region’s total biodiversity at risk. The threats come from over-exploitation of resources and the fragmentation of ecosystems and habitat destruction as a result of human activities and the impact of alien invasive species. Destructive natural events also play a role, at the same time, new and potential threats such as those posed by living modified organisms are anticipated. The root causes of these problems reflect a complex combination of socio-economic factors that includes smallness, geographic isolation and narrow resource bases to start with, compounded by high population growth, lack of technical capacity to deal with issues, and ineffective coordination amongst agencies with mandates to deal with resources and conservation.

Small islands ecosystems are by nature, highly fragile and vulnerable to external disturbances. Add to this the pressures of increasing human consumption on limited natural resources, the impacts of other human-induced activities and of alien invasive species and living modified organisms, the result are severely degraded island ecosystems teetering on the margins of ecological collapse.

Ecological context

The ecological stability of island ecosystems is directly related to ecological diversity. The more diverse, the more complex consequently the more stable. The loss of species and the destruction of habitats and ecosystems reduce this diversity, and in turn undermine the resilience of islands and their ability to withstand or to recover from severe disturbances.

All Pacific Island Countries and territories (PICTs’) suffer from the over-exploitation of coastal and marine resources and ecosystems, none more so than the low-lying atolls and smaller high islands where entire populations rely for their livelihoods on goods and services provided by coastal habitats and resources. Coastal resources of higher islands such as PNG and Solomon Islands share the same condition, but further compounded by the negative impacts of upstream activities such as poor agricultural and logging practices and indiscriminate land clearing for settlements, infrastructure and other economic activities.

Reversing unsustainable trends in resource use and ecosystem health is an urgent priority and a critical requirement for sustainable development. It demands greater political commitment to putting into practice the concept of sustainable use. It requires of national governments to drastically improve development policies and planning, to better coordinate and integrate the presently fragmented efforts of all agencies dealing with resource management, civil works, and others.

Economic context

The components of biodiversity that are of direct use to humans are part of the “natural capital” that national economies are build on. So when a species is lost or an ecosystem irreversibly degraded, the total natural capital is reduced.

In many geographically small and isolated Pacific islands and territories, unsustainable harvesting, the degradation of ecosystems and the destructive impact of alien invasive species threaten the natural capital. While this is the collective impact of a wide range of factors, ill-conceived government policies and fragmented and uncoordinated planning amongst government agencies have a lot to do with it.

Social context

The property rights arrangements governing the ownership, access to and use of biodiversity and natural resources as well as the associated traditional knowledge governing their management are an integral part of contemporary Pacific Island societies and cultures. Many traditional arrangements regarding the management of resources also give rise to issues of gender balance and equity. Subsistence farming remains a prominent feature of the relationship between Pacific Island peoples and the biodiversity contained in their natural environment.

Where significant resources are communally owned, supportive government policies are needed encourage direct local community involvement in sustainable resource management, and the building of their capacities to do this. Regional conservation organizations, agencies and donors can give effective support.