1.8 Working with Oceania communities

Despite all the best intentions, no seabird survey or monitoring programme will succeed in Oceania without the support and engagement in-country of the relevant national and local government agencies, and communities, some of which are very remote and isolated. Critical first steps in project planning are identifying those various agencies and groups, together with identifying the local communities which hold ownership rights to areas where surveys are to take place and full understanding of the permitting requirements. Collaborating with a national or international NonGovernmental Organisation (NGO) group that is active in the areas you want to survey can facilitate the necessary introductions and meetings required to get projects underway.

If you are a local researcher (either working for an NGO or independently) and want to undertake a survey, the stages of planning and implementation set out in the previous section remain essentially the same. The only difference is whether you want to bring in expertise from outside your country or territory. Given the challenges conservation efforts face in Oceania (such as limited in-country capacity in seabird research and conservation management, limited resources including funding, and the equipment needed to run surveys) there are benefits from collaborating externally.

This is where networking can be particularly important. Attendance at seabird symposia, meetings and workshops where you meet experts and others like you working on similar projects will present you with the possibility of making useful contacts that can help you with your project (either as collaborators or advisors). These venues also provide you with the opportunity to see what others are doing, the methods they are employing and the results they are achieving. The proposed establishment of a Pacific Seabird Expert Advisory Group18 will also be a useful resource (see Section 5.2).