The Pacific Island states are Small Island States with large ocean territories. Because of this, they are looking to the sea for their future prosperity. In developing strong ‘Blue Economies’ the Pacific Island States must also have strong stewardship of the oceans. Marine spatial planning is a key tool in balancing the opportunities for development with the need for sustainability and conservation.

The Pacific Marine Atlas project supports the MACBIO project in the Pacific region through the development of printed and web-based atlases of key marine information to support marine spatial planning in the Pacific. Atlases are being developed for Fiji, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu as well as a regional atlas. The first atlas, for Fiji, will be released in mid-2018, with the others to follow in the second half of the year.

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Tags: seagrass biodiversity Vanuatu transboundary governance Tonga technology and innovation Solomon Islands Small Island Developing States oceans Kiribati Fiji development coral reefs conservation coastal ecosystems Pacific