Species conservation in the South Pacific

Hawksbill turtle populations in the Caribbean are on the decline.

Hawksbill turtle, Fiji. Hawksbill turtles live on coral reefs where their favourite food, sponges, are most plentiful.

Turtles and Whales

The WWF South Pacific Programme works with two flagship species, whales and turtles, which feature prominently in Pacific culture.

Our objectives are working with communities to ensure sustainable traditional harvesting of turtles, reduce commercial harvesting and incidental fatalities of turtles.

WWF also promotes the establishment of whale sanctuaries and research into the status of whale populations in the Pacific and the processes that threaten them.

WWF Gifts to the Earth: Whale Sanctuary in Fiji

Pukapuki local, Tony, cuts into the trunk of an agarwood tree in search of valuable resin.

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Eaglewood: Protecting the rare wood 917 KB pdf

Gaharu (Eaglewood)

Papua New Guinea's lowland forests could be the last frontier for the world's substantial wild stocks of Gaharu (Eaglewood).

In PNG, the high local prices for top-grade gaharu suggest that, if managed correctly, it could provide local communities with a viable eco-enterprise option to replace the promised benefits of industrial logging agreements.

WWF Papua New Guinea Programme conducts sustainable harvest training for communities that harvest the wood, surveys to determine the distribution of Gaharu in Hunstein, Kerama, Libano and Bosavi.

A government policy framework on Gaharu has been established, with minimum trade prices, and a cooperative action plan.

Read feature article: Deep in the perfumed forests of Papua New Guinea
More on the WWF Papua New Guinea Country Programme

Giant coconut crab.

Coconut Crabs

Coconut or Robber crab, is a world-wide protected species. A large terrestrial hermit crab that can climb trees and that feeds on carrion and vegetation. The crabs inhabit oceanic islets and atolls as well as on the coasts of islands in the tropical Indo-Pacific area. With intensified harvesting of coconuts and environmental change a rapid decline in the number of has been recorded in the past two decades.

Mitiaro Island is one of the 15 remote sparsely populated islands that make up the Cook Islands in the Central Pacific. Its inhabitants rely heavily on the marine life for subsistence and the survival of their economy. When the elders of Mitiaro Island realised that population of the coconut crab (u'nga) was depleting they sought WWF's assistance.

Through drafting a strategic management plan for the coconut crab, coconut conservation is being implemented by community representatives and resource owners. The community has now taken a more proactive role in implementing its own Management Plan for crab conservation.

» More on the Cook Islands

About WWF SPPO:
- Our Mission,
- Our People,
- Our Partners,
- Our offices.
What we do:
- Climate Change,
- Forests,
- Freshwater,
- Marine,
- Policy,
- Species.
Where:
- by Country,
- by Region.
Media:
- Publications,
- Newsroom,
- Video.
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