Written by the leading authorities on the plant diversity and ecology of the Pacific islands, this book is a magisterial synthesis of the vegetation and landscapes of the islands of the Pacific Ocean. It is organized by island group, and includes information on geography, geology, phytogeographic relationships, and human influences on vegetation. Vegetation of the Tropical Pacific Islands features over 400 color photographs, plus dozens of maps and climate diagrams. The authors’ efforts in assembling the existing information into an integrated, comprehensive book will be welcomed by biogeographers, plant ecologists, conservation biologists, and all scientists with an interest in island biology.

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The Pacific is the last major world region to be discovered by humans. Although small in total land area, its numerous islands and archipelagoes with their startlingly diverse habitats and biotas, extend across a third of the globe. This revised edition of a popular text explores the diverse landforms, climates, and ecosystems of the Pacific island region. Multiple chapters, written by leading specialists, cover the environment, history, culture, population, and economy. The work includes new or completely revised chapters on gender, music, logging, development, education, urbanization, health, ocean resources, and tourism. Throughout two key issues are addressed: the exceptional environmental challenges and the demographic/economic/political challenges facing the region. Although modern technology and media and waves of continental tourists are fast eroding island cultures, the continuing resilience of Pacific island populations is apparent. This is the only contemporary text on the Pacific Islands that covers both environment and sociocultural issues and will thus be indispensable for any serious student of the region. Unlike other reviews, it treats the entirety of Oceania (with the exception of Australia) and is well illustrated with numerous photos and maps, including a regional atlas. Contributors: David Abbott, Dennis A. Ahlburg, Glenn Banks, John Barker, Geoffrey Bertram, David A. Chappell, William C. Clarke, John Connell, Ron Crocombe, Julie Cupples, Derrick Depledge, Colin Filer, Gerard J. Fryer, Patricia Fryer, Brenden S. Holland, E. Alison Kay, David M. Kennedy, Lamont Lindstrom, Rick Lumpkin, Harley I. Manner, Selina Tusitala Marsh, Nancy McDowell, Hamish A. McGowan, Frank McShane, Simon Milne, R. John Morrison, Dieter Mueller-Dombois, Stephen G. Nelson, Patrick D. Nunn, Michael R. Ogden, Andrew Pawley, Jean-Louis Rallu, Vina Ram-Bidesi, Moshe Rapaport, Annette Sachs Robertson, Richard Scaglion, Donovan Storey, Andrew P. Sturman, Lynne D. Talley, James P. Terry, Randolph R. Thaman, Frank R. Thomas, Caroline Vercoe, Terence Wesley-Smith, Paul Wolffram.

"The Pacific Islands are feeling the effects of globalisation. Free trade in sugar and garments is threatening two of Fiji's key industries. At the same time other opportunities are emerging. Labour migration is growing in importance, and Pacific governments are calling for more access to Australia's labour market. Fiji has joined Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu and Kiribati as a remittance economy, with thousands of its citizens working overseas. Meantime, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands grapple with an older kind of globalisation in which overseas companies exploit mineral and forest resources. The Pacific Islands confront unique problems of governance in this era of globalisation. The modern, democratic state often fits awkwardly with traditional ways of doing politics in that part of the world. Just as often, politicians in the Pacific exploit tradition or invent it to serve modern political purposes. The contributors to this volume examine Pacific globalisation and governance from a wide range of perspectives. They come from Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Hawai'i, the Federated States of Micronesia, Samoa, Fiji, New Zealand and Jamaica as well as Australia."--Publisher's description.

As the many nations of the Pacific deal with the threat of climate change, including rising sea levels and lessening access to fresh water, they are also suffering from some of the slowest rates of development of any region on earth. Now more than ever, the Pacific needs a champion, and that champion needs to be Australia. The Pacific is where our foreign policy starts, yet for too long we have failed to take the lead. Our country has a long and significant history in the Pacific, but our attention has wandered over the last decade, both through lacklustre foreign policy and cuts to foreign aid, and this has left our role in the region poorly defined. We need to have a greater sense of purpose and a greater sense of intent when it comes to supporting our Pacific neighbours. This is the part of the world in which we have the clearest voice, and we simply cannot allow it to languish. In Tides that Bind: Australia in the Pacific, ALP Deputy Leader Richard Marles implores us to step up our support for and commit to building better relationships with our friends in the Pacific, assisting their development and securing peace in the region.

The story of the people from the New Hebrides (Vanuatu) and the Solomon Islands who left their homes to work in the French colony of New Caledonia has long remained a missing piece of Pacific Islands history. Now Dorothy Shineberg has brought these laboreres to life by painstakingly assembling fragments from a wide variety of scattered records and documents. She tells the story of their recruitment, then sketches the workers’ lives in New Caledonia, describing the contractual arrangements, the kinds of work they did, their living conditions, how they spent their free time, the large numbers who sickened and died, and the choice at the end of the contract to remain in the colony as free workers or to return home. Throughout the book she throws light on the controversy about the recruiting of the Islanders: were they kidnapped? Or did they choose to leave home? If so, what motivated them? Evidently the Islanders’ cheap labor contributed to the development of the French colony, but how did the episode affect them and their homeland? The People Trade offers readers a revealing new picture of a long neglected side of the Pacific Islands labor trade.