The Sustainable Development Goals are, in part, an encouragement for countries around the world to look after their environment and reduce the damage being done to ecosystems. This is particularly important in the Pacific, where many countries are resource-challenged. This panel at the 2018 Pacific Update, held in Suva on 5 and 6 July, made a valuable contribution to such discussions. It explored Pacific world heritage, how to implement environmental-economic accounting for sustainable resource use and development in the region, and compensation valuation approaches of ecosystem services and biodiversity of customary land resources and native fishing rights in Fiji.