The Pacific Mangroves Initiative has developed a mangroves declaration, which is expected to be signed by Environment Ministers from Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu at the Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
The declaration is expected to emphasize mangroves as key coastal ecosystems that need conservation and to formalize regional cooperation on their conservation and sustainable use.
1 July 2014: The Pacific Mangroves Initiative has developed a mangroves declaration, which is expected to be signed by Environment Ministers from Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu at the Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS). The declaration is expected to emphasize mangroves as key coastal ecosystems that need conservation and to formalize regional cooperation on their conservation and sustainable use.
Mangroves are one of the most critically threatened ecosystems in the world, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The Pacific Mangroves Initiative aims to address threats to mangroves and collaborate in their conservation through regulating sustainable use of mangroves and undertaking large-scale restoration, among other activities.
The expected Pacific declaration was inspired by the Mangrove Charter for the West African region, according to IUCN. The Mangrove Charter is an agreement between Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania, Senegal and Sierra Leone that has led to the development of national action plans on the conservation and sustainable management of mangroves.
The Pacific Mangroves Initiative is a partnership among the six Pacific countries, the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and IUCN, among others. [IUCN Press Release] [SIDS Conference Website on Initiative]