This also covers 20 per cent of the global EEZs and 25 per cent of the world’s coral reefs (Burke et al. These figures contrast markedly with the small combined land mass of only half a million square kilometres. The nine Commonwealth Pacific small states (Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu)4 have the lion’s share of land resources (95%), coastline (72%), area accessible to inshore fisheries (70%) and coral reefs (60%) but only 40 per cent of the region’s EEZ.