Marine invasive species are a threat to biodiversity ecosystems and the livelihoods of small island development states like Fiji. They can disrupt fragile marine environments, put native species at risk and affect marine ecosystem services that many coastal communities depend on.
The Pacific Islands Marine Bioinvasions Alert Network (PacMAN) is a project that seeks to monitor and identify marine biological invasive alien species, establish an invasive species monitoring plan, and build a High-risk Desktop Decision Support Tool for managing marine alien invasive species.
The University of the South Pacific’s (USP), Institute of Applied Sciences (IAS) is a project partner and recently launched the decision support tool at its campus in Suva, Fiji.
The launch also marked the end of the three-year project UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), Ocean Biodiversity Information Systems (OBIS), an initiative based in Oostende, Belgium.
Fiji Government’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, Principal Environment Officer, Krishneel Nand, delivered the keynote address and said that the PacMAN Project objectives aligned with the National Biodiversity Strategic Action Plan for Fiji.
“Various important stakeholders were consulted for the PacMAN project, such as the Ministry of Fisheries, Ministry of Forestry and Ministry of Environment. A national target aligned to the Global Diversity Framework is to reduce the introduction of invasive species by 50% and to minimise their impact,” he said.
“The Fiji Government acknowledges the efforts of all project partners as the project achievements are aligned to both Fiji and the Global Biodiversity targets.”
USP Director of Research, Professor Sushil Kumar, said the project highlighted the successful collaboration at national and regional levels between regional agencies.
“It also showcased USP’s capacity to provide sound policy advice from grounded innovative development and research projects. We sincerely hope that the tools and the manuals delivered today will be of great use to Fijian authorities, as we hope it will be for regional countries of the Pacific,” he said.
UNESCO-IOC Executive Secretary Vidar Helgsen added that the project has already identified several high-risk marine invasive species through eDNA (Environmental DNA) analyses, highlighting how effective this method was in early detection and monitoring.
“As we hand over the reins of PacMAN to Fiji’s government and local institutions, I encourage everyone to continue building on what we have achieved together. The monitoring plan, trained personnel and decision support tool are strong foundations for Fiji’s marine biosecurity efforts moving forward,” Helgsen said.
IAS Acting Director, Dr Isoa Korovulavula acknowledged the project fund donors, partners and stakeholders for their efforts.
He also commended IAS Senior Scientist and Project PacMAN Project Manager Joape Ginigini and his team for their determination in completing the project.
“This project has enabled the successful upskilling of IAS staff technical and project management capabilities whilst contributing to the regional biodiversity action plan targets,” he said.
IAS is part of USP’s new Centre for Sustainable Futures (CSF), a central hub for climate change research and collaboration.
With initial funding support from the Aotearoa New Zealand International Climate Finance Strategy, the regional hub is designed to be sustainable to ensure its long-term impact on Pacific Island countries.
The Centre for Sustainable Futures will drive a multi-disciplinary, integrated, and strategic approach to climate change and resilience.
