Small Pacific countries need the help of donors if they are to comply with international agreements on the environment.
That is the call from an American academic, Dr Pamela Chasek, who has been studying the environmental pressures small Pacific nations face and their need for international assistance.
Much of this help could come from MEAs or the multi-lateral environmental agreements to which many of the Pacific nations have signed up, but a lack of capacity is holding up their implementation.
Dr Chasek says this includes the demands for assessments or dues.
"They also have to develop different strategies and action plans so you have to spend quite a bit of time coming up with 'What can we do nationally' without even doing it. And you also have to do reporting which is sometimes every year or every two years report back into the secretariat about what you have done, and the reporting process is also very time consuming, and takes human resources away from doing on the ground implementation."
Dr Pamela Chasek