While local communities are of critical importance in
Pacific conservation management, they (in conjunction
with Provincial or National government environment
agencies) are not always aware of important conservation
issues. Recovery planning, which collates quantitative data
for species with expert opinion to identify threats, management
priorities and recovery actions, is a key component
of many threatened species conservation initiatives
and can be a powerful awareness raising tool for all
stakeholders during the initial plan proposal and final
public consultation phases (Gruber 2010; Schwartz 2008).
Awareness raising through the recovery plan process in a
Pacific context is more common in the initial stages
involving community consultation to generate support for
the plan and its associated conservation initiatives.