International News

WELLINGTON, Oct 18, (APP/AFP) – Marine ecosystems in one of the Pacific’s most vulnerable regions face decline unless they are better managed, a WWF report warned Tuesday. The report described the ocean as the lifeblood of Melanesia — a vast Pacific swathe comprising Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Vanuatu and Fiji. But it said a range of factors including overfishing, population growth and climate change were damaging the oceans and could have a major impact on the region’s economic prospects. “The physical and chemical conditions in the ocean are changing faster than at any other point in history,” it said. “And there is a strong chance that the declining ocean assets of the Melanesian region will constrain options for future generations.”