Natural area system development for the Pacific region, a concept and symposium

Abstract

This report presents the concept and proceedings (in form of abstracts) of an international symposium of the Ecology Section of the Scientific Committee on Pacific Botany held at the Second Inter-Congress of the Pacific Science Association in Guam, May 20-25, 1973. The concept for a natural area system in the Pacific Region is developed through a brief problem analysis, a statement of objectives, an assessment of the criteria for natural areas to be included in the system and through proposing a hierarchical system for assembling the necessary information. The symposium theme is structured into six subthemes concerned with (1) Conceptual aspects, (2)Geographic and climatic analyses of natural areas in different Pacific countries, including a show of maps, (3)Analyses of community- and habitat-variation within major reserves, (4} Biogeographic similarity and difference-evaluation between ecological reserves, (5)Human influences and protection status of each area, and (6} The need for additional areas to be considered in the system. Twenty-two abstracts are enclosed from participants in South America, New Zealand, Australia, New Caledonia, Fiji, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan, Japan, California and Hawaii. An international orientation towards developing a natural area system and with this, a scientific basis for the extrapolation of results of ecosystems research in the Pacific Region falls into the broader objectives of the ISLAND ECOSYSTEMS IRP of the U.S. International Biological Program. A follow-up program is suggested for the 13th Pacific Science Congress in Vancouver, August 18-30, 1975.