Bismarck-Solomon Seas Ecoregion Programme

WWF commissioned a planning study of the prevailing marine and coastal conservation issues in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands. The planning study aimed to guide and facilitate development of marine and coastal conservation work in the region. The main outputs from the study are outlines for proposed programmes that would be feasible and appropriate to tackle priority marine conservation needs effectively.

The report Marine Resource Management and Conservation Planning  by Peter Hunnam, Phil Shearman, Aaron Jenkins and Nelson Kile was completed in 2000. It was aimed to guide development of marine and coastal conservation work in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands till about 2010.

Follow-up workshop
A Solomon Islands marine resource management strategy planning workshop was held in Honiara in May 2000. It was attended by government offices and NGOs active in Solomon Islands in the fields of conservation, fisheries management, development planning and community development.

The objective was for participants to share information and views on the following:

• Priorities for Solomon Islands - the most critical situations in marine and coastal resource use, that need to be tackled in the next 5 years
• Effective strategies in Solomon Islands - how to achieve success in marine resource management in Solomon Islands
• Opportunities for collaboration and cooperation in Solomon Islands - current and planned initiatives.

Need to update data

The Solomon Islands is a biologically rich, but relatively data poor country as very little scientific work has been carried out, especially on coral reefs. Data access is difficult, with many studies unpublished and poorly documented. There is a real need to update information gathered in 2000 to reflect existing biological, economic, social stakeholder information, current initiatives and priorities by holding a orientation / experts meeting.

Next steps

The next steps, in a participatory process with partners:

• Provide quick analysis of the level of biogeographic knowledge of the ecoregion
• Identify the distinctive biodiversity features for the ecoregion that will be primary targets for conservation action
• Produce a set of preliminary analyses and products that will be used to assist the biological assessment phase (GIS map, SI synthesis working document)
• Determine the most appropriate type of biological assessment for the quality and quantity of biological data available for the ecoregion (national monitoring plan etc.)
• Educate Solomon Islands partners in the concepts and procedures of ecoregion work, and assemble a draft biodiversity vision to share with a larger group of stakeholders.