GEBCO's aim is to provide the most authoritative publicly-available bathymetry of the world's oceans. It operates under the joint auspices of the International Hydrographic Organization(IHO) and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) (of UNESCO).
GEBCO produces and makes available a range of bathymetric data sets and products. This includes a global bathymetric grid; gazetteer of undersea feature names, a Web Map Service and printable maps of ocean bathymetry.
This dataset shows the global distribution of seamounts and knolls identified using global bathymetric data at 30 arc-sec resolution. A total of 33,452 seamounts and 138,412 knolls were identified, representing the largest global set of identified seamounts and knolls to date. Seamount habitat was found to constitute approximately 4.7% of the ocean floor, whilst knolls covered 16.3%.
The research leading to these results received funding from the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme, and from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The Global Mangrove Watch (GMW) is a collaboration between Aberystwyth University (U.K.), solo Earth Observation (soloEO; Japan), Wetlands International the World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
Reefs at Risk Revisited is a high-resolution update of the original global analysis, Reefs at Risk: A Map-Based Indicator of Threats to the World’s Coral Reefs. Reefs at Risk Revisited uses a global map of coral reefs at 500-m resolution, which is 64 times more detailed than the 4-km resolution map used in the 1998 analysis, and benefits from improvements in many global data sets used to evaluate threats to reefs (most threat data are at 1 km resolution, which is 16 times more detailed than those used in the 1998 analysis).
The InterRidge Vents Database is a global database of submarine hydrothermal vent fields. The InterRidge Vents Database is supported by the InterRidge program for international cooperation in ridge-crest studies (www.interridge.org).
This dataset hosts 31 individual environmental indicator assessments that are in the **State of Environment and Conservation in the Pacific Islands : 2020 Regional report.**
Regional indicators are used to understand the current status of conservation in the region and to establish a process for periodic reviews of the status of biodiversity and implementation of environmental management measures in the Pacific islands region.
Each Pacific regional indicator is assessed with regard to:
This first state of the environment report for the Pacific region uses regional environment indicators to assess the status, trends, and data quality and availability for the endorsed Pacific environmental priorities. This report also includes an update of the State of Conservation in Oceania report produced in 2013, which was endorsed and published in 2017.
This publication ‘Strategic Environmental Assessment – Guidelines for Pacific Island Countries and
Territories’ has been prepared to provide guidance on the application of SEA as a tool to support
environmental planning, policy and informed decision making. It provides background on the use and
benefits of SEA as well as providing tips and guiding steps on the process, including case studies, toolkits
and checklists for conducting an SEA in the Appendices.
This guide introduces environmental indicators and provides an overview of SPREP’S core indicators for Pacific island countries. In 2012, the SPREP members approved the development of a set of standardised indicators for use by member countries at the SPREP meeting. Through the Inform project, SPREP programmes then developed a set of 34 indicators that was endorsed by members at the 2018 SPREP meeting. This document explains the development and use of environmental indicators in Part 1 and provides a summary of each of the 34 ‘core’ indicators in Part 2.
The Strandings of Oceania database is a collaborative project between SPREP, WildMe and the South Pacific Whale Research Consortium to record stranding and beachcast data for whales, dolphins and dugongs throughout the Pacific. We use a platform called Flukebook. An account is needed to view or use data within Flukebook but the data is available for download here. You can submit data direct into Flukebook (preferably while logged in) or send a completed data form to SPREP for upload. Guidance on using the database is available :
"Comparison of the average hard coral cover between the three five-year periods comprising the last 15 years (2005-09, 2010-14, 2015-19, Tab. 9.3) indicated that there was a high degree of confidence (93%) in the long-term decline, despite the uncertainty in individual yearly estimates. Further, the vast majority (90%) of this decline occurred between 2010-14 and 2015-19, suggesting that the rate of decline in hard coral cover has accelerated during the last five years"
Circular 21/150
Inform Plus proposed 5 pillars
- Component 1: Environmental Governance
- Component 2: Monitoring and field data collection for environmental standards and standardised environmental indicators
- Component 3: Data management utilising the Pacific Island Network Portal (PEP). Production of information products for decision makers based on existing data sets.
- Component 4: Enhance and expand GIS use for data collection, analysis and presentation to inform decision makers
Coral reefs in every region of the world are threatened by climate change, no matter how remote or well protected. Identifying and protecting climate refugia is a popular recommendation for coral reef management. Climate refugia are locations that maintain suitable environmental conditions for a resident species even when surrounding areas become inhospitable.
The purpose of this research is to develop a robust water quality baseline data of relevant physical, chemical and biological parameters, over an 8-month period, 4 months in summer and 4 months in winter, at both low and high tides for three main estuaries along the Suva foreshore, where an increase in recreational water activity has been noted, as a result of urbanisation. Such a baseline is currently not available in the Fiji Islands. This investigation used affordable advanced and approved standard methods.
This report summarises the projected changes in ocean chemistry for the Pacific island region (from 130°E to 130°W and 25°N to 25°S) at regional and sub-regional scales, assessing the vulnerability of Pacific coastal and oceanic habitats and fisheries to ocean acidification using an established framework, and discussing the implications for the Pacific island communities dependent on fisheries and aquaculture for food security and livelihood
This volume is the third of a four-volume report entitled 'Cities, Seas and Storms: Managing Change in the Pacific Island Economies' produced by the World Bank. The key outcome of the report is intended to be an improved understanding of the need for management interventions. The report also argues for a greater collaboration between traditional, national and regional organizations in ocean management, able to maximize their comparative strengths while minimizing the inefficiencies in their interaction.
This paper stresses out that human resources development in the marine sector is a priority. The University of the South Pacific is a key player in tertiary training and education, and it is the purpose of this document to outline the role that USP, specifically its Marine Studies Programme (MSP) is playing in building capacity in the marine sector of the region.
This booklet is a vehicle for sharing knowledge between the islands of the Pacific Community about the basic fishery management measures that have been used in different places for regulating particularly important or potentially vulnerable species.
Outbreaks of the corallivorous crown-of-thorns seastar Acanthaster planci (COTS) represent one of the greatest disturbances to coral reef ecosystems in the Indo-Pacific, affecting not only coral reefs but also the coastal communities which rely on their resources. This research paper documents a test of a new alternative control method based upon acidic injections of cheap, 100% natural products that was carried out in Vanuatu where the presence of COTS has frequently been reported.
This Strategic Plan provides an integrated overview of a science based to living marine resource conservation and management in the Pacific Islands Region. The goals and objectives reflect here also generally reflect NOAA Fisheries national goals with appropriate acknowledgements of the unique cultural, historical, geographical and ecological features that characterize the people and living marine resources of the region