10 October 2014: At the twelfth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP 12), the Pacific Islands shared the ‘Guidelines for Invasive Species Management in the Pacific’ and highlighted a regional project on ‘Prevention, control and management of invasive species in the Pacific islands.’

According to the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), Niue, Tonga and Vanuatu have completed National Invasive Species Strategy and Action Plans, while Kiribati and Palau have plans that are under review and update.

The leaders of the Pacific also recognized the management of invasive alien species (IAS) as a priority during the 45th Pacific Island Forum Leaders meeting in Palau earlier this year. The Marshall Islands, Niue, Palau and Tonga have allocated more than US$1 million from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) 6th replenishment cycle towards IAS management, with most commitments contributing to a regional IAS management project led by SPREP. [SPREP News] [IISD RS coverage of CBD COP 12] [IISD RS articles on SPREP, Pacific IAS]