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Species Working Group

© Juney Ward

About

The Species Working Group (SWG) is a network of Pacific Island Species Specialists advocating for species conservation and leading work in the Pacific to accelerate species recovery. Created as a formal working group to support the Pacific Islands RoundTable for Nature Conservation, which was established in 1998, the current Pacific Species Working Group builds on momentum from the 2024 IUCN Oceania Regional Conference.

 

The SWG meets (virtually) monthly to catalyse coordinated action between regional governments, civil society organisations, international coalitions, and Pacific Island researchers.

 

The SWG is currently co-chaired by Karen Baird (Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme - SPREP), Nunia Thomas (NatureFiji-MareqetiViti - NFMV), and Dr. Mark O’Brien (BirdLife International - BLI), with support from a coordination and management team from Papua New Guinea Centre for Species Survival, NFMV, Reverse the Red, and IUCN Species Survival Commission.

Mandate

The primary mandate of the SWG is to develop a regional and national strategy and implementation plan for species recovery across the Pacific Islands. This supports Goal A and Target 4 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, calling for effective action to prevent human-induced extinctions

Core Functions

The SWG focuses on coordination, strategy development, and the mobilization of species recovery actions throughout the Pacific region through:

  1. Strategy Development: Lead the creation and implementation of the Pacific Islands Species Recovery Strategy.

  2.  Regional Contributions: Provide input to the Regional Nature Conservation Framework (Framework for Nature).

  3. Action Mobilization: Map existing species assessments, recovery plans, and contributors and secure commitments to action through the Species Pledge.

  4. Event Leadership: Plan and host the Regional Species Congress, designed to identify priorities and drive urgent species conservation action.

Task Forces

The SWG operates three dedicated Task Forces to advance its core functions:

  1. Regional Species Congress Planning Task Force

  2. Species Pledge Task Force

  3. Pacific Islands Framework for Nature Task Force

General Membership

Open to individuals working on species conservation in the Pacific, including early‑career ecologists, biodiversity practitioners, researchers, and species enthusiasts. Member contributions via a five-minute presentation on species action during the SWG monthly virtual meetings are welcome. New sign-ups are also welcome. Please register your interest in the SWG network page.

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Communication & Engagement

Monthly virtual meetings are held on the second Friday of each month at 10:00 am FJT for an hour. All other communications are via the SWG network page.

The Pacific Islands Roundtable for Nature Conservation (PIRT) is supported by the Pacific BioScapes Programme.

The Pacific BioScapes Programme is a European Union (EU) funded action, managed and implemented by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).
The Programme contributes to the sustainable development of Pacific Small Island Developing States through the implementation of 30 focused activities taking place across a diversity of ecosystems in 11 countries (Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu) that will address critical issues concerning coastal and marine biodiversity, and ecosystem-based responses to climate change adaptation.
For more information, please visit: www.sprep.org/bioscapes

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© 2023 by Pacific Islands Roundtable for Nature Conservation (PIRT)

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