The report focuses on the various ways in which the inter-linkages approach to the negotiation, ratification and implementation of international and regional environmental agreements can be of particular benefit to Pacific Island states. UNU has been working on inter-linkages, an approach to environmental management that seeks to better utilize the synergies that exist naturally in the physical environment, since it hosted an international conference on the subject in Tokyo in mid-1999.

The Pacific Island report is based on case studies undertaken in 2001, which examined national and regional governance procedures and structures in three Pacific Island countries: Palau, Vanuatu, and the Cook Islands. The case studies examined all aspects of the environmental governance process, including negotiations, strategic planning, legal frameworks, finance mechanisms, information management, consultation and coordination, capacity building, awareness raising and education, NGO participation, and various other institutional and organizational issues.

The report focuses on identifying gaps and weaknesses in the current system of environmental management and opportunities for improved efficiency and effectiveness. One of the main problems uncovered was the widespread  failure to link local and domestic environmental issues with the objectives of various international environmental agreements. There is also no integrated capacity building and inadequate information flows can leave government agencies unaware of their country's recent international environmental commitments.

The report also highlights the need to strengthen coordination between the negotiation and implementation stages of environmental agreements to make national and regional policies and strategies more comprehensive and more responsive to a wider range of sustainable development priorities. A greater level of coordination, at all levels, could be achieved through increasing information flows, unifying reporting systems, and establishing joint or shared data management mechanisms for multiple agreements.

Most of the problems encountered in the Pacific Island states relate to their limited human and financial resources. Experience sharing and joint capacity development within the region would go a long way to reducing the impact of these limitations. Furthermore, the secretariats of each environmental convention, along with relevant regional organizations such as SPREP, could play an important role in facilitating regional cooperation in the implementation of environmental agreements.

The UNU has conducted similar studies in cooperation with ASEAN, and a report based on these cases will be released in December. A similar 10-country study in East and West Africa is currently under preparation.