South Pacific Regional Environmental Programme : implications of Agenda 21 for the Pacific

Pacific Economic Bulletin Volume 8 Number 2 1993 © Asia Pacific Press The South Pacific is unique, not because its geographical, biological, sociological and economic characteristics are found nowhere else in the world, but because the combination of these characteristics in the region is special. The region is characterised by a high degree of ecosystem and species diversity, an extraordinary level of endemicity, a high degree of economic and cultural dependence on the natural environment, vulnerability to a wide range of natural disasters, a diversity of cultures and languages, and traditional practices and customs which are central to the close and special relationship of Pacific people with their environment.