18 June 2011: The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) has announced that it has signed a revised Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the BirdLife International Pacific Partnership for conservation in the Pacific region, which has more threatened bird species per unit of land area than any other region in the world, as well as the most extinctions.

According to SPREP, the MoU aims to strengthen the two organizations’ efforts to work together. They intend to: collaborate on delivering conservation action to improve the status of globally threatened species and the status of Important Bird Areas within the Pacific; collaborate in the implementation of the Invasive Species Management Guidelines for the Pacific; extend to each other standing invitations to be represented by observers at appropriate meetings; and keep their respective memberships informed of cooperative activities. [SPREP Press Release]