The islands of Pacific Oceania face unprecedented anthropogenic climate change within this century. Rising sea
levels, increasing ocean acidification, warming land and sea temperatures, increasing droughts, and changes in the
frequency and intensity of storms are likely to reorder or destroy ecosystems such as coral reefs, mangrove and
montane forests, and coastal wetlands. For the developed nations, an array of measures could ameliorate these effects.
Developing nations, whose economies may be significantly damaged by climate change, face major impacts on their
citizens, identifying conservation of biodiversity as a lesser priority. Conservation in these countries may not succeed
unless the rich nations are willing to pay for preservation of biodiversity hotspots or where preservation of biodiversity
satisfies the needs of local communities, often through traditional management and land tenure systems in rural areas.
These communities will need useable information, as well as technical advice on how to reduce stressors on changing
ecosystems such as wetlands, mangrove forests and coral reefs, if they are going to achieve conservation. The resulting
process if it involves local people may appear inefficient, relative to international expectations, but will be more effective
over a wide area in conserving biodiversity.