23 November 2010: The 2010 Pacific Plan Annual Progress Report was released on 23 November 2010, by the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Secretariat, to provide an overview of work undertaken from May 2009 to mid 2010 by Forum Island member countries and the Council of Regional Organizations in the Pacific (CROP) agencies to implement the Pacific Plan priorities endorsed in 2009.

The report (available in English and French) includes sections on: fostering economic development and promoting opportunities for broad-based growth; improving livelihoods and the well-being of Pacific peoples; addressing the impacts of climate change; achieving stronger national development through better governance; and ensuring improved social, political and legal conditions for stability, safety and security.

The report notes progress has been made in fisheries, transport, development cooperation, energy and climate change. In terms of challenges, it points, inter alia, to the need to: expand the definition of disaster risk management beyond that posed by climate change to be people-focused, covering responses to health disasters and factoring in population growth and movement; comply with standards for deep-sea mining, while supporting environmental monitoring and biodiversity conservation; build on existing marine protected areas (MPAs); and expedite work on energy security across the Pacific.

On climate change-related challenges, the report highlights the need to: develop Pacific-tailored responses to support adaptation and mitigation measures; enhance the resilience of ecological systems and associated biodiversity; provide ecosystem services with a focus on the impacts of climate change in line with the Year of Biodiversity; strengthen data collection and analysis for improved climatic monitoring and preparedness through integrated whole-system approaches; and build scientific capacity across the region through strategic partnership with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). [PIF Secretariat Press Release][The Report]