NEW scientific methodologies have been endorsed in support of the Pacific Ridge to Reef (Pacific R2R) program aimed at improving livelihoods of Pacific people through local actions to conserve and rehabilitate island environments.
Pacific R2R has 14 member countries, which are Cook Islands, Fiji, Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. The regional science and technical committee convened on Monday in Suva and endorsed two scientific methodologies known as the Rapid Coastal Assessment (RapCA) and the Island Diagnostic Analysis (IDA).
Pacific R2R project implementation adviser Dr Milika Sobey said the RapCA method would get a snapshot of the status of demonstration site in each of the 14 countries by using 22 different indicators.
“These indicators cover the current state of governance, socio-economic and environmental conditions in the project site and one other site deemed a priority site for ridge to reef interventions by the country,” Dr Sobey said.
The IDA will combine desk top reviews and stake holder meetings in each member country which would lead to the identification of priority sites.
Dr Sobey said the RapCA and IDA will be fed ino the State of the Coast (SoC) report that will be produced by each of the 14 countries.
“The intention is that the SoC will be used by governments as a monitoring tool for strategic action planning,” she said.
The committee meets biannually and consists of nine members that are experts in water quality, wetlands ecology, ecosystem connectivity, forestry, gender, database management and fisheries.
