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right|260px|Map of Vanuatu
Vanuatu, known as the New Hebrides from 1774 until 1980, is a nation and group of around 80 mountainous islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It is part of Oceania. There are several active volcanoes among the islands, the most well-known one being Mount Yasur on Tanna. It has a tropical rainforest climate, and tropical cyclones occur between December and April. the population is around 318,000. The economy is mainly reliant on subsistence agriculture and tourism.
Vanuatu is party to a number of international agreements relating to the environment.
Location and description
Vanuatu's geographic coordinates are . The archipelago is part of Oceania. Its immediate neighbours include the Solomon Islands and New Caledonia, and Australia is the closest continent.
It is composed of over 80 islands, of which around 65 are inhabited. It has of coastline and a total surface area of . Due to the spread-out islands, it has the 39th largest exclusive economic zone of (200 nautical miles After spending from April to September 1903 exploring the islands with W.T. Quaife, Mawson produced a report which included the first geological maps of the island of Efate and of the south-west part of Santo. Mawson's detailed report, "The Geology of the New Hebrides", was published in the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales in December 1905. Mawson made reference to previous geological and geographical observations made by Commodore Goodenough and local missionaries, as well as English, French, and German workers on the islands. He described the raised coral reefs on the island of Santo and included cross-section drawings of the reefs and Steep Gully in at Havannah Harbour on Efate. He also sailed past and made mention of all of the other islands, and described seeing volcanic activity and experiencing earthquakes. He was unable to land on Tanna and see Yasur first-hand, but derived notes from a local missionary about it. Rainfall is moderate from December to April. and had been described as a worst-case scenario for the country, with the estimated cost of damage being in the hundreds of millions.
In April 2020, Cyclone Harold caused severe damage to Vanuatu and other Pacific nations.
Forests
REDD+ reference level and monitoring
Under the UNFCCC REDD+ framework, Vanuatu has submitted a national forest reference level (FRL) package. On the UNFCCC REDD+ Web Platform, the country's 2023 submission is listed as having an assessed reference level, while a national strategy, safeguards information and a national forest monitoring system are all listed as "not reported".
The first assessed FRL, submitted in 2023 and technically assessed in 2024, covered three REDD+ activities at national scale: reducing emissions from deforestation, reducing emissions from forest degradation, and enhancement of forest carbon stocks. Using a 2008-2017 reference period, the original and modified submissions both reported an FRL of 732,441 t CO2 eq per year. The technical assessment states that it included above-ground biomass, below-ground biomass and dead organic matter, excluded soil organic carbon, reported CO2 only, and used a forest definition of at least 0.5 hectares, 10 percent canopy cover and trees at least 5 metres tall or capable of reaching that height in situ.