Initiating activities that directly address the problems and challenges for dugong and turtle conservation in the Pacific Islands, and identifying regional priorities and pilot projects to further dugong and marine turtle conservation in dugong Pacific Island Range States (New Caledonia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu).

The Dugong MOU Secretariat provided funding to enable a partnership with the Marine Research Foundation and a team of global experts to develop and implement a Questionnaire which could be implemented at low cost across large geographical areas, and that generates standardised data sets. The Questionnaire was designed to collect data on dugongs, as well as marine turtles and cetaceans, and has resulted in a large data set of dugong numbers and distribution across a significant portion of the dugong’s geographic range.

2011 was declared the Pacific Year of the Dugong. With a regional theme “Respect and Protect”, the campaign aimed at increasing protection of dugongs and their habitats by raising awareness, improving knowledge and fostering partnerships for conservation of dugongs and their habitats. Led by the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (UN Environment Programme/CMS), the campaign aimed to initiate sustainable and long-term dugong protection by fostering community participation in environmental stewardship by improving their economic livelihoods.

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