The Pitcairn Islands Environment Management Plan 2008 Foreign & Commonwealth Office Complied by N. Smyth Edited by S. Waldren, P. Perrin, J. Martin & N. Kingston Figure 1. Location of the Pitcairn Islands Group Acknowledgements It is ith great pleasure that I finally rite the ackno ledgements to this the final draft of the Pitcairn Environmental Management Plan (PEMP). This pro)ect has taken longer than initially anticipated ith lots of personal life changes and )ob moves for me along the ay, so apologies for the long gestation period. I hope this long drafting period has contributed in additional kno ledge and a areness of environmental matters on Pitcairn. I ould like to thank the Pitcairn Islanders and other non-governmental and governmental stakeholder groups contacted ho responded to the initial survey. The document has hopefully included all the vie s received from stakeholders and the superb and patient editorial team have also corrected drafts many times any remaining errors or omissions are entirely my o n. I ish to thank most sincerely ,r. Mike -rooke of .ambridge /niversity ho made many suggestions and amendments to the initial draft, they have I feel improved the content, 0uality and layout of this the final draft. To the people of Pitcairn Island the custodians and guardians of a special place, and a very uni0ue group of Islands, e hope this document aids in guiding the future direction of development on the island, to the ultimate benefit of the islanders and islands. This environmental assessment ould not have been possible ithout the financial support of the 1verseas Territories Environment Programme (1TEP) and the ,epartment for International ,evelopment (,2I,). Abbreviations & efinitions AARHUS Aarhus .onvention on Access to Information, Public Participation in decision-making and access to Justice in Environmental Matters. ACAP .onvention on Migratory species (.MS). Albatrosses and Petrels4 through the agreement on the conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels BPoA -arbados Programme of Action 1997 CB .onvention on -iological ,iversity CITES International convention on International trade in Endangered Species of ild 2lora and 2auna CMS .onvention on the .onservation of Migratory Species of Animals hich is also kno n as the -onn .onvention. CS .ommission of Sustainable ,evelopment EFRA ,epartment of Environment, 2ood and 8ural Affairs FI ,epartment for International ,evelopment EE' E9clusive Economic :one EIA Environmental Impact Assessment FCO 2oreign and .ommon ealth 1ffice (P Guiding Principle of the Pitcairn Environment .harter HM( Her Ma)esty’s Government IOT MoU .onvention on Migratory species (.MS). Marine Turtles through the Indian 1cean Turtle Memorandum of /nderstanding. IUCN International /nion for the .onservation of Nature and Natural 8esources. MEA Multilateral Environment Agreements OT 1verseas Territories OTEP 1verseas Territories Environment Programme PE( Pitcairn Islands Environment Group PEMP Pitcairn Islands Environment Management Plan Pers comm. Personnel communication Pers. obs. Personnel observation PE( Pitcairn Islands Environment Group PIO Pitcairn Island 1ffice RAMSAR .onvention of Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfo l Habitat SCREP .onvention for the Protection of the Natural 8esources and Environment of the South Pacific 8egion SI S Small Island ,eveloping States SOW( Southern 1ceans Working Group a committee ith members from the /K1T.2, South Atlantic Working Group the -ritish Indian 1cean Territories and the Pitcairn Island Working Group. UNCE /nited Nations .onference on Environment and ,evelopment U,OT /nited Kingdom of Great -ritain and Northern Ireland 1verseas Territories U,OTCF /K 1verseas Territories .onservation 2orum WHC .onvention on World .ulture and Natural Heritage WSS World Summit on Sustainable ,evelopment 2002 Table of Contents E-ec.tive S.mmary/////////////////////.0 Section A (eneral Backgro.nd and Introd.ction1//////...........2 1. Introduction and -ackground to the Pitcairn Islands>>>>>>>>>>>>>.8 2. The Administrative 2rame ork Pitcairn Islands……….>>>>>>>>>...........10 3. -ackground to Environment .harters>>>>>>>>>>>>>........................16 7. -ackground and Aims>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>..19 Section B The Pitcairn Islands Environment Management Plan1 ........22 1. Environmental evelopment/////////////////////23 1.1 Land Resources............................................................................................. 26 1.2 Water Resources............................................................................................ 27 1.3 Infrastructure and Planning............................................................................ 27 1.4 Energy production......................................................................................... 29 1.5 Waste disposal............................................................................................... 30 2. Economic evelopment///////////////////////31 2.1 Tourism......................................................................................................... 33 2.2 Food Production............................................................................................ 34 2.3 Curio Trade................................................................................................... 35 3. Biodiversity////////////////////////////*30 3.1 Biosecurity.................................................................................................... 42 3.2 Habitat Conservation..................................................................................... 42 3.3 Species Conservation .................................................................................... 43 3.4 Invasive species............................................................................................. 44 3.5 Inventory and Monitoring.............................................................................. 46 4. S.pporting Meas.res////////////////////////*42 4.1 Environmental Education .............................................................................. 49 4.2 Legislation and Implementation..................................................................... 51 Section C Stakeholder cons.ltation //////////..///...73 Section S.mmary of actions and targets1///////////.00 1. Environmental Development ........................................................................... 61 2. Economic Development .................................................................................. 64 3. Biodiversity..................................................................................................... 65 4. Supporting Measures....................................................................................... 67 Annex One Stakeholder 9.estionnaire S.rvey Form////////////*.09 Annex Two Pitcairn Environment Charter////////////////*.22 References/////////////////////////////*..23 Pitcairn Islands Environment Management Plan BEC Consultants Limited Page 5 Executive Summary This plan sets out ten key objectives based on the Environment Charter guiding principles for managing the environment of the Pitcairn Islands. These targets aim to implement the guiding principles of the Environment Charter and address the issues contained within these principles which include ensuring that all stakeholders play a part in decisions affecting the environment; increasing environmental awareness; highlighting the need for documentation and protection of the existing biodiversity and aiding development of the island group while integrating environmental protection. These objectives also address areas in which current environmental legislation can be improved and international obligations complied with and extended where necessary to the island group. Objective 1 Organise a committee of members from the Island government departments, environment and heritage organisations, governor’s office, environmental researchers and community representatives whose aims are to further develop environmental projects and obtain funding to implement the guiding principles of the charter using the Pitcairn Islands Environment Management Plan (Section B4: Supporting Measures p47). Objective 2 Document existing local resource use on the Pitcairn Islands and ensure its use is sustainable and explore other opportunities to exploit local resources sustainably (Section B3: Biodiversity p36). Objective 3 Sustain and improve the current environment of the Pitcairn Islands and aid its development in the most economically and environmentally sustainable way ensuring risk assessments are included at all stages of development (Section B1: Environmental Development p23 and Section B2: Economic Development p31). Objective 4 Integrate environmental considerations within the social and economic planning processes of the Pitcairn Islands (Section B1: Environmental Development p23 and Section B2: Economic Development p31). Objective 5 Promote sustainable patterns of production and consumption and ensure Environmental Impacts Assessments are undertaken before approval of projects on Pitcairn Islands (Section B1: Environmental Development p23 and Section B2: Economic Development p31). Objective 6 Implement effectively obligations under the Multilateral Environment Agreements already existing for the Pitcairn Islands and extend all other relevant environmental agreements (Section B4: Supporting Measures p47). Objective 7 Protect, and where necessary, restoration of key habitats, species and landscape and seascape