BIOPHYSICALLY SPECIAL, UNIQUE MARINE AREAS OF THE SOLOMON ISLANDS BIOPHYSICALLY SPECIAL, UNIQUE MARINE AREAS OF THE SOLOMON ISLANDS 2018 EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT Marine and coastal ecosystems of the Pacific Ocean provide benefits for all people in and beyond the region. To better understand and improve the effective management of these values on the ground, Pacific Island Countries are increasingly building institutional and personal capacities for Blue Planning. But there is no need to reinvent the wheel, when learning from experiences of centuries of traditional management in Pacific Island Countries. Coupled with scientific approaches these experiences can strengthen effective management of the region’s rich natural capital, if lessons learnt are shared. The MACBIO project collaborates with national and regional stakeholders towards documenting effective approaches to sustainable marine resource management and conservation. The project encourages and supports stakeholders to share tried and tested concepts and instruments more widely throughout partner countries and the Oceania region. The report outlines the process undertaken to define and describe the special, unique marine areas of Solomon Islands. These special, unique marine areas provide an important input to decisions about, for example, permits, licences, EIAs and where to place different types of marine protected areas, Locally Managed Marine Area and taboo sites in Solomon Islands. For a copy of all reports and communication material please visit www.macbio-pacific.info. MARINE ECOSYSTEM MARINE SPATIAL PLANNING EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT SERVICE VALUATION BIOPHYSICALLY SPECIAL, UNIQUE MARINE AREAS OF THE SOLOMON ISLANDS AUTHORS: Ceccarelli DM1, Wini-Simeon L2, Sullivan J3, Wendt H4, Vave-Karamui A5, Masu R6, Nicolay-Grosse Hokamp A7, Davey K4, Fernandes L4 2018 SUGGESTED CITATION: Ceccarelli DM, Wini-Simeon L, Sullivan J, Wendt H, Vave-Karamui A, Masu R, Nicolay-Grosse Hokamp A, Fernandes L (2018) Biophysically special, unique marine areas of the Solomon Islands. MACBIO (GIZ, IUCN, SPREP), Suva. AUTHOR AFFILIATIONS 1 ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook 4 International Union for the Conservation of Nature – Oceania University and Marine Ecology Consultant Regional Office (IUCN-ORO) 2 United Nations (previously Environment and Conservation 5 Department of Environment (MECDM), Solomon Islands Division, Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster 6 Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Solomon Islands Management and Meteorology (MECDM), Solomon Islands) 7 Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit 3 Geoscience Australia (previously IUCN-ORO) ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This work, and Solomon Islands’ work on Integrated Ocean Governance more generally, has been guided by the Ocean12 and the Ocean12 Technical Working Group of the Solomon Islands Government especially the Chairs: the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology and the Prime Minister’s Office. We would like, particularly, to thank the many scientific experts in Solomon Islands who provided their time at the national workshop and beyond, to identify and describe special, unique marine areas for the country. The MACBIO project is funded by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the German Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU). It is being implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the Government of the Solomon Islands in close collaboration with the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and with technical support from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Oceania Regional Office (ORO). © MACBIO 2018 All MACBIO Project partners including the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) are the inherent copyright owners of this publication. Reproduction of this publication for educational or other non-commercial uses is authorized without prior written permission from the copyright holder(s) provided the source is fully acknowledged. Reproduction of this publication for resale or other commercial purposes is prohibited without prior written permission of the copyright holder(s). The designation of geographical entities in this publication, and the presentation of the material do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of SPREP, IUCN, GIZ or the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) concerning the legal status of any country, territory, or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. This document has been produced with funds provided by the International Climate Initiative (IKI). BMU supports this initiative on the basis of a decision adopted by the German Bundestag. The views expressed herein should not be taken, in any way, to reflect the official opinion of the Federal Government of Germany. CONTENTS Acknowledgements iv Acronyms vi Executive Summary 1 1. Introduction 3 2. Methods 5 2.1 Data gathering 5 2.2 Workshop and additional consultations 5 2.3 Rating of Solomon Islands’ special and/or unique marine areas 6 2.4 Overall prioritisation 8 2.5 Layout of site information in report 8 3. Results 9 3.1 Offshore biophysically special and/or unique marine areas 9 3.1.1 Offshore – Central Region 10 3.1.2 Offshore – Eastern Region 25 3.1.3 Offshore – Western Region 29 3.2 Inshore biophysically special and/or unique marine areas 36 3.2.1 Inshore sites – Rennell and Bellona Province 36 3.2.2 Inshore Sites – Guadalcanal Province 40 3.2.3 Inshore sites – Western Province 50 3.2.4 Inshore Sites – Temotu Province 65 3.2.5 Inshore sites – Makira and Ulawa Province 70 3.2.6 Inshore Sites – Choiseul Province 73 3.2.7 Inshore Sites – Isabel Province 82 3.2.8 Inshore Sites – Central Islands Province 100 3.2.9 Inshore Sites – Malaita Province 104 4. Discussion 117 5. References 121 6. Appendices 131 ACRONYMS ACMCA Arnavon Community Marine Conservation Area CBD Convention on Biological Diversity CITES Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species CMS Convention on Migratory Species DSL Deep scattering layer EBSA Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas EEZ Exclusive Economic Zone FFA Fisheries Forum Agency GIZ Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit IOG Integrated Ocean Governance IUCN International Union for the Conservation of Nature LMMA Locally Managed Marine Area MACBIO Marine and Coastal Biodiversity Management in Pacific Island countries project MPA Marine Protected Area MSP Marine Spatial Planning SPC Secretariat of the Pacific Community SPREP Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme SUMA Special and / or unique marine area TWG Technical Working Group UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization WCPFC Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission vi BIOPHYSICALLY SPECIAL, UNIQUE MARINE AREAS • SOLOMON ISLANDS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In April 2016, the Cabinet of the Solomon Islands Government endorsed the establishment of the Ocean12 National Steering Committee (comprising the twelve Ministries relevant to ocean management and use) with the mandate to progress Integrated Ocean Governance for the Solomon Islands. The Ocean12 set up a technical working group tasked with implementing the priority aspects of Integrated Ocean Governance including marine spatial planning and the development of an ocean policy. One of their tasks was to identify Solomon Islands’ special and/or unique marine areas (SUMAs) as part of this process. This report brings together data, literature and the outputs of a special workshop synthesising information about the areas identified. The areas were described, justified and scored according to four criteria: geographic explicitness, justification, information sources and legal obligations associated with each site. Each site was described in as much detail as the available information sources allowed, and given a score out of 12. Sites were divided into large-scale mainly offshore sites and finer-scale mainly inshore sites; the former were divided into regions and the latter were divided into Provinces. There was a large range of scores for the 12 offshore sites, from 5.5 to 11.5; most sites received intermediate scores. The lowest-scoring sites (Ulawa Deep, Cape Johnson Trough pelagic waters) suffered from a lack of information and clear boundaries, and it was therefore also difficult to determine obligations to protect attributes or components of these sites. The highest-scoring sites (Ontong Java, Kavachi) can be considered truly unique, both in a national and global context. A clear site boundary and good background information are important for spatial planning. Among the 53 finer-scale, inshore sites, the two highest-scoring sites (11.5 and 12) were Marovo Lagoon and the Arnavon Community Marine Conservation Area. This was the result of a combination of factors: they were geographically clearly defined, there was high-quality information directly relevant to the site, and the attributes of the sites were clearly special. Low-scoring sites, such as Hiliharo Island, Waihau and West Malaita near Auki (4), were those that had been selected for a single specific organism or attribute, or those for which very