Memorandum of Agreement

For a Partnership Program in the PABITRA net, the Pacific-Asia Biodiversity Transect Network 

Partners:

The Botany Department of the University of Hawai’i at Manoa

and

The Geobotanical Institute of the University of Hannover

and

The University of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji 

Article 1: PABITRA

PABITRA is a collaborative program for investigating the function of biodiversity and the health of ecosystems in the tropical Pacific Islands. Particular emphasis is put on the comparative analysis of indigenous upland and inland forests of the volcanic high islands and their role as ecological reserves and watersheds. Their function under the natural biogeographic restraints of isolation and their watershed services in relation to the various lowland ecosystems will become the principal focus of collaborative research.

Article 2: Collaboration

Collaboration with indigenous islanders as co-workers in research is a primary goal of the PABITRA partnership institutions. The studies are designed to benefit the participating island countries in their resource management, especially biodiversity conservation.

The scientific expertise and facilities of the University of Hawai’i at Manoa and the Geobotanical Institute of the University of Hannover combined with the scientific expertise of the University of the South Pacific with its regional centres in the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, Samoa, the Cook Islands, and Tonga will allow for collaboration throughout the South Pacific.

Article 3: Focus

Initially, there will be four focal areas of research:

1. Assessment and monitoring of plant biodiversity in island forests, including animal interactions and the threats of invasive species.
2. Analysis of the human dimensions of biodiversity by studying the multi- or trans-ecosystem, sustainable use systems (such as the Hawaiian ahupua’a mountain to reef system), and alternative land management systems using ethnobotanical and bioecological approaches.
3. Investigations of the fresh-water flow, its ecosystem services, long-term dynamics and sustainability, utilization and biodiversity relations.
4. Studies of the historical dimensions of island biodiversity using paleoecological and evolutionary approaches.

Other areas such as investigations of near-shore marine biodiversity are planned for expansion of ecosystem interaction studies as expertise becomes available.

Article 4: Coordination

The Botany Department of the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa, the Geobotanical Institute of the University of Hannover, and the University of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji will each appoint two contact persons, who will prepare and coordinate collaborative work in the focal areas of PABITRA research. There already exists a group of about 50 experienced scientists and collaborators who are either working, have a strong interest, and are capable of doing research, including capacity building, in the Pacific Islands.

Article 5: Scope of work

The scope of collaborative work under this agreement allows for joint research, the development of joint conferences and workshops, and exchanges of faculty and students. Specific activities will include:

1. Providing hands-on field experience in data collection and processing for young scientists and land managers.
2. Supporting international cooperation of team work that aims toward integration of scientific and cultural approaches to biological resource management.
3. Focus on a participatory approach which will involve local island communities and leaders, and both modern scientific knowledge and traditional ethnobiological knowledge in creating an improved body of knowledge on Pacific Island biodiversity that can serve as a basis for improved biodiversity conservation in the Pacific Islands.
4. Arranging for information exchange by means of workshops, symposia, short courses, and publication of results.

Article 6: Financing

The scope of collaboration depends on the level of financing and the personnel available among the partner institutions. Financial arrangements will follow administrative rules and regulations that are established independently in each of the partnership institutions. Each partner institution will bear the costs of its participating members through extramural funding for the PABITRA network.

Article 7: Ethics and Liability

All three institutions have existing protocols within their institutions that will be followed with regard to the conduct of scientific research, collection of biological specimens, and working with and in local communities.

In so far as legally acceptable, a liability for damage will not be part of this agreement. This exclusion of liability extends also to the technical personnel of the partnership institutions.

Article 8: Termination

This partnership agreement can be terminated by any of the parties at any time with three months notice. However, a decision to terminate the partnership shall not influence the completion of tasks that began prior to the decision of terminating the agreement.

Article 9: Start of Agreement

This agreement shall take effect in January 2000.

(This agreement was signed in November, 1999)