PIMRIS NEWSLETTER Published by the PIMRIS Coordination Unit, Pacific Islands c/- Marine Studies Programme, University of the South Pacific, Marine Resources P.O. Box 1168, Suva, Fiji Information System Tel: (679) 323 2934 Fax: (679) 323 1526 Email:
[email protected] Vol. 17, no. 1 Mar 2005 ISSN 1015-3217 Editorial Disasters come in various forms. Recent events in the Indian Ocean have focused attention on earthquakes and tsunamis, and the peoples of the Pacific are no strangers to these and other natural phenomena, like cyclones and volcanic eruptions. Man-made disasters have also occurred in the region, such as the spread of influenza to the islands in 1918 or nuclear testing after the Second World War. The most serious disasters for the island states might yet prove to be the slow but steady consequences of human activity on the planet, such as global warming or the too rapid exploitation of natural resources (pp.7-9). Regardless of cause, humans have the capacity to prevent or diminish the effects of many disasters by planning for them in advance. Disaster planning is occurring on a global scale (pp.3-4), but we can all do so locally, too, and experience shows that this is important (pp.5-6). Local management of resources is proving to be another important step (pp.10-11). Sharing information about these and other issues is a key goal of PIMRIS, so we are pleased to include an article on the SOPAC Library (pp.12-13) as well as news from other participants (pp.14-15).