· Working with NEPA (National Environmental Planning Agency) and The Nature Conservancy on the Master Plan for Protected areas in Jamaica. Understanding which areas are under protection, which areas are particularly vulnerable and which new areas need to be included in the plan, and many other issues. A first draft is out and the final plan should be available in March 2007. This will also give us insight into the possibilities for establishing a MAB site in conjunction with these partners, since the designation for protected areas is under discussion.

· At its twenty ninth session in July 2005, the World Heritage Committee approved the World Heritage Programme for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and the World Heritage Marine Programme, with corresponding budgets financed through the World Heritage Fund.

· Establishment of new Pacific Biosphere Reserves and strengthening of Biosphere Reserve networking
Within this context, the first Pacific MAB Network Meeting took place in Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia, 12-14 December 2006. It was organized by UNESCO in co-operation with the Conservation Society of Pohnpei and the Federated States of Micronesia National Commission for UNESCO. The meeting consisted of presentations and discussions among the new and emerging Biosphere reserves in the pacific, a field trip to the proposed Biosphere reserve Ant Atoll, as well as a day of discussions on the establishment and organization of a possible Pacific MAB Network.

· Production and distribution of the Pacific “MAB education kit” . This is an illustrated ‘discovery kit’ guide to the island biosphere reserves of the Pacific (comprising an atlas, activity booklet and poster), published by UNESCO-Apia in late 2006.

· Organization of training/exchange visit on Biosphere Reserve management Micronesia/Vietnam (September 2006)

· The Small Islands Voice global internet forum provides an on line space for islanders to discuss issues related to environment and development in small islands. Among the topics related to the island biodiversity programme of work:
- Climate Change (Climate is changing what can we do?)
- Water resources (Is the water clean? ; Water cuts normal for Fiji)
- Alternative energy resources (Alternative to rising oil prices)
- Pollution (Solving island garbage problems)
- Whaling (commercial whaling: sustainable development or an insupportable practice?)
- Tsunami (Communities planning their future in a post-tsunami world)
- Genetically modified crops (Controlling the world’s food supply)

· Sandwatch is an inter-regional project, focusing on small islands. It seeks to involve school students, with the help of local communities, in the conservation, enhancement and wise management of their beach environments. Specific objectives are to:
- involve school students (primary and secondary) in the scientific observation and measurement of beaches utilising an inter-disciplinary approach
- train students to apply the scientific data collected to the conservation,  management and enhancement of their island beaches
- reduce the level of pollution in adjoining seas and oceans

· Sensitisation of young fishers in sustainable fishing practices and conservation: 
As one of the field projects within the framework of Small Islands Voice, Zanzibar Youth Education, Environment and Development Support Association (ZAYEDESA) and the Chumbe Island Coral Park recently completed a project with the aims to educate young fishers in Zanzibar to:
- Understand best practice fishing techniques for sustainable business
- Protect the marine environment while benefiting from its resources
- Understand the legal issues of fishing practice.

· Water resources management capacity building at new Pacific Biosphere Reserves

· In collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Human Resource Development, Sports and many other partners, UNESCO’s ‘Small Islands Voice’ project is helping to restore and maintain Dominica's freshwater and aquatic resources. These resources are already under threat from indiscriminate cutting of trees along river banks and from pollution in its many forms. The project seeks to engage young people to reverse these trends by positively contributing to the conservation of their natural resources through the River Care programme.

· Support to project SHED, in Jamaica, whereby watershed management in the interior mountainous areas is geared towards combating degradation of resources (deforestation, erosion, pollution, etc.) and equitable sharing of benefits, and decreased vulnerability to natural disasters.

· Control and Eradication of Invasive Species: A Necessary Condition for Conserving Endemic Biodiversity of the Galapagos World Heritage Site
The project was developed in response to the threats resulting from the introduction of alien species and is laying the foundations for the creation of a systematic approach to dealing with alien species in island ecosystems.

· Adaptation and Coastal Change in West Africa (the island in question is Cape Verde).  The web-site is: http://english.accc-afr.org/. The coral programs focus on Tanzania, Mexico, Australia, and the Philippines, and the sea level and ocean acidification programs are global.

· The Jeju Initiative: Asia-Pacific Inter-linkage of Island and Coastal Biosphere Reserves for Environmental Governance and Socio-economic development (2006-2011).

· Local and Indigenous Knowledge Systems (LINKS) project  launched the first volume in its publication series Knowledges of Nature. This book, entitled “Reef and Rainforest: An Environmental Encyclopedia of Marovo Lagoon, Solomon Islands”, provides a meticulous documentation of Solomon Islander knowledge of reef and land topography, and of marine and terrestrial animals and plants. Containing more than 1200 Marovo terms with descriptions in both Marovo and English. It is hoped that the volume will support the transmission of indigenous knowledge and worldviews from elders to youth, and encourage similar efforts in the Pacific and elsewhere, to maintain the dynamism of indigenous environmental knowledge in local communities. Guidelines for its use inside the classroom are presently in development.

· LINKS has submitted a 3-year project proposal concerning indigenous knowledge and biodiversity conservation and monitoring in the Pacific small islands developing States of Palau, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. In addition to mobilising local knowledge, in particular women’s knowledge, to assess and monitor the biodiversity of nearshore marine habitats, activities are planned with respect to ‘bothways’ education that will enhance the transmission of indigenous knowledge, practices and worldviews, alongside Science, in national curricula and local schools. National Education Strategies in Palau, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu recognise the vital importance of building traditional knowledge into education curricula as a contribution to the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. 

· LINKS also is undertaking activities aimed at reinforcing conceptual clarity and rigor in the indigenous knowledge field. They include the elaboration of a Manual for IK documentation, safeguarding and wider application in biodiversity conservation and sustainable development processes, including the identification of guiding concepts and methodologies. As a contribution to the elaboration of the Manual, an International Experts Workshop is to be organized in Cairns/Townville, Australia in 2007, involving scientific and indigenous knowledge experts. This activity will consolidate much of the thinking, concepts and practices that have emerged over past decades on indigenous knowledge as the nexus between biological and cultural diversity, while serving as a springboard to take this development approach forward to field practitioners and policy makers.

· A LINKS project was recently concluded in the south-western Indian Ocean (Mauritius, Rodrigues and Réunion) on the creative blending of women’s medicinal knowledge, anchored in the local flora and shaped by the diverse cultural traditions of India, China, Madagascar, East Africa and Europe. A publication is foreseen for 2007, based on the information gathered.

· A research case study entitled “cultural practices improving sustainable local use of biodiversity: the Archipelago Boloma Bijagos biosphere reserve case » (Guinea Bissau) is currently being conducted. This research is done in partnership with Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), IBAP (institute for Biodiversity and Protected area, Bissau) and INEP (institute for research, Bissau). 

· Interregional meeting on cultural diversity entitled: ‘Islands as Crossroads: Cultural Diversities in Small Island Developing States’, foreseen for April 2007. One of the key features of SIDS which requires further interrogation is the extent to which they have served as “cultural crossroads” or plural and hybrid sites for identity formation, intangible heritage and global inter-connectivity from pre-colonial times to the contemporary phase of globalization. Issues such as ethnic plurality, mobile populations, global diasporas, global tourism, global media, cultural industries and so on that affect and impact on cultural diversities and sustainable development will be the focus of the conference, followed by a publication.

· UNESCO has a long-standing commitment to supporting SIDS (AIMS, Caribbean and Pacific) in strengthening the science and technology base of their economies and in building resilience in island societies. Many technical fields are involved, ranging from biotechnology, renewable energy and natural disaster mitigation to coastal area management and biodiversity conservation. Activities too are wide ranging – from individual study grants and group training to the strengthening of institutions and the testing and diffusion of educational and learning materials.

· Within the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), work on marine biota and marine biodiversity includes collaborative assessments of such communities and groups as coral reefs, benthic fauna and harmful marine algae. Among the products of the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network -- cosponsored by UNEP, the World Bank, IUCN and the IOC-- is the biennial ‘Status of Coral Reefs of the World’ (most recent version published in 2005) and an assessment of the status of coral reefs in individual countries affected by the 26 December 2004 earthquake and subsequent tsunamis, including the Maldives and Seychelles (see page 25).

· In the Pacific region, the Action Plan for the Implementation  of the World Heritage-Pacific 2 Programme (‘Pacific 2009’) provides the overall framework for development of field activities. Component activities in 2005-2006 have included support to World Heritage National Strategy Workshops held in Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia (November 2005), Koror, Palau (November 2005), Papua New Guinea (March 2006) and Marovo Lagoon, Solomon Islands (March 2006)

· In terms of capacity building, a workshop of cultural and natural heritage professionals from Niue, Samoa and Tonga (Apia, Samoa, April 2006) focused on the preparation of Tentative Lists and World Heritage nominations. And educational activities at the level of young people have included the diffusion and use of ‘Our Pacific Heritage: The Future in Young Hands’, an educational resource kit for teachers, prepared in cooperation with the New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO and designed to introduce World Heritage education into classroom teaching.

· Support to management strengthening and scientific research at new and emerging Biosphere Reserves.

· Provision of international research and management training grants.