OCEANIA
REGIONAL OFFICE
ANNuAl REpORt 2020 INtERNAtIONAL UNION FOR CONsERvAtION
OF NAtURE
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FOREWORD
IUCN COUNCILLORS’ REMARKS
IUCN AT A GLANCE
IUCN IN OCEANIA
OUR MEMBERS
VALUING AND CONSERVING NATURE
DEPLOYING NATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS
EFFECTIVE AND EQUITABLE GOVERNANCE OF NATURAL RESOURCES
OUR COMMISSIONS
OUR PARTNERS AND DONORS
FINANCIAL SUMMARY
OUR STAFF ACRONYMS
CONTENTS
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The year 2020 will be remembered for many reasons, one of which was the profound and on-going impact the COVID-19 pandemic had on our work in the region. We were also introduced to working from home for extended periods and like all good organisations, we adjusted and made the best of the situation. Despite these on-going challenges, we can report some major achievements for 2020.
To assist with our intersessional planning, the Regional Programme Coordinator (RPC) attended the 2021–2024 Programme Workshop in Gland in January, and the Regional Director (RD) attended the 98th IUCN Council meeting in Gland Switzerland in February 2020. In addition, both the RD and RPC represented IUCN at the Pacific Islands Roundtable for Nature Conference (PIRT) planning meeting in Noumea in February followed by the AFD Kiwa Initiative Steering Committee meeting also held in Noumea. IUCN Oceania also hosted the Director Global Marine & Polar Programme (GMPP) in early 2020.
Our projects achieved a number of goals and milestones in 2020. The Plastic Waste Free Islands project in Fiji, Samoa and Vanuatu completed two waste audits/ quantification and two quantification and sectoral material flow analysis. In addition, three zero- plastic- waste toolkits designed for the hospitality, tour and cruise companies working in SIDS were launched. The Energy, Ecosystems and Sustainable Livelihoods Initiatives (EESLI) project finalised the Samoa energy map in 2020. Unfortunately, the Tonga Haapai solar systems rehabilitation project was inhibited by boarder closures, and work will continue in 2021. A Pacific Islands Energy and Gender Network Strategic Action Plan (PEGSAP) was also completed in 2020, along with a resource mobilisation strategy and the findings submitted to the Pacific Community (SPC).
The Marine Programme continued to work with donors in Fiji, Samoa, Solomon Islands Tonga and Vanuatu to sustainably manage their EEZs. In this regard, IUCN developed the 10-step MSP process that was used as a tool for these countries in their integrated oceans management work. In the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, a draft MSP map was produced and reviewed by experts, and the draft is now ready for public consultations. In addition, public consultations for the MPA network designs for Fiji, Solomon Islands and Tonga were conducted in 2020, and will continue into 2021.
In Samoa, a legal analysis on existing instruments to support MSP was completed, and stakeholders are deliberating a draft marine ecosystem services valuation (MESV) report. Samoa’s bioregions and special and unique marine habitats were also mapped in 2020. IUCN also assisted the Solomon Islands and Tonga to develop and optimise their capacity for maritime compliance systems so that they can operationalise their national marine spatial plans and Oceans Policies.
Mason Smith Regional Director
FOREWORD
The CEPF project in the East Melanesian biodiversity hotpots continued to work with communities and other stakeholders to build capacity to implement ecosystem and species related projects on the ground. Since the start of the programme in mid- 2013, 54 large grants and 54 small grants (with a value of US$ 8.2 million) have been awarded, all of which address the strategic directions from the East Melanesian Ecosystem Profiles.
IUCN Oceania also drafted Fiji’s sixth national report to Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Upper Navua Conservation Area management plan and assisted Conservation International to review the Lau seascape project. IUCN Oceania also worked closely with Australian Committee of IUCN and the Minderoo Foundation in exploring options for a suitable response to bushfires that devastated Australia in 2019.
To assist the region improve the effectiveness of protected and conserved areas, the BIOPAMA project supported a number of in-country training courses, technical support and knowledge products.
Furthermore, as at December 2020, BIOPAMA has dispersed a total of US$ 1.7 million to grantees to support on ground management activities within protected and conserved areas in Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, Tuvalu, Samoa, and Kiribati. IUCN worked with SPREP in the development of a protected area resources data hub for the region and as at December 2020 SPREP had updated data for approximately 70% of countries in the region with over eighty five thousand users.
IUCN’s Pacific Centre for Environmental Governance (PCEG) continued its work on environmental law, leadership for green growth, natural resource economics and environment and social policy. In addition, PCEG supported a number of IUCN Oceania projects in the region.
Given our growing GEF portfolio, IUCN Oceania established a GEF Unit and recruited a GEF Regional Officer to manage the implementation of the GEF
projects in the region. In addition, a new BIODEV 2030 project that aims to mainstream biodiversity into key economic sectors was secured and a project officer recruited. This pilot project with Fiji will be scaled up once additional funds are secured. Our work with the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems (RLE) was further strengthened with workshops in Fiji and Tonga with the completion of the Tongatapu Mangroves RLE assessment, providing a number of lessons learnt that can be used in other countries as we step up our RLE work in the region. In 2020, IUCN Oceania hosted the AFD Kiwa Initiative delegation and project planning staff met in Noumea in February for the first Steering Committee meeting to establish the Kiwa Initiative project. IUCN Oceania has since recruited a programme coordinator to lead and manage the project.
Despite the many challenges, work on strengthening our partnerships and resource mobilisation continued unabated in 2020. Two Global Environment Facility (GEF) projects have been re-submitted to the GEF Secretariat with CEO endorsement expected in 2021.
Likewise, after signing the Global Climate Fund (GCF) financing agreement in May 2020, consultants are now finalizing the design of the Melanesian Coastal and Marine Ecosystem Resilience Programme that is expected to be submitted in late 2021. IUCN Oceania was represented at the Kiribati GEF7 National Dialogue in February in South Tarawa, Kiribati and the GEF7 Kiribati project is now being designed by the portfolio development team.
The Oceania launch of the IUCN Global Standard for Nature-based Solutions
TMwas held in Suva Fiji on 31 July. The Minister for Waterways & Environment officiated at the event, along with Permanent
Secretaries of the Ministries of Fisheries, Forestry and Environment including members of the diplomatic corps, heads of conservation organisations, private sector representatives and participants from Switzerland and the region connecting virtually via Zoom.
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Caesar’s Rock, Fiji Credit: Helen Pippard
Post launch, the NbS regional capacity-building and knowledge sharing proposal was drafted and socialised around the region, including discussions with potential donors. During the year, IUCN Oceania also worked with SPREP and the University of Queensland to develop and deliver the NbS Standard sessions for Green Infrastructure Training for architects, town planners and engineers from government agencies and the private sector in Fiji and Solomon Islands.
As outgoing chair of the Pacific Islands Roundtable for Nature Conservation (PIRT), IUCN Oceania invested time and resources with our colleagues from SPREP and PIRT members to plan and host the PIRT 10th Pacific Islands Nature Conservation and Protected Areas Conference in November 2020. IUCN Oceania also hosted a local face-to-face hub for Fiji-based participants and youth groups. The conference was designed to influence the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, guide and innovate conservation action at national and regional level and secure sustainable funding for nature conservation in Oceania. Over 1500 attendees and 150 speakers participated in the Conference. A new framework for Nature Conservation and Protected Areas 2021–2025 was approved and Leaders released the High-level Conference Vemööre Declaration: Commitments to nature conservation action in the Pacific Islands region 2021–2025, highlighting regional priorities for nature conservation and a call to action. In addition, PIRT members approved a post- conference engagement strategy.
On the IUCN Membership front, Kiribati joined as an IUCN State Member and the Colong Foundation for Wilderness joined as a non-State Member in 2020.
IUCN Oceania now has 55 Members in the region and this should continue to grow in the years ahead.
In April 2020, IUCN and the Melanesian Spearhead Group signed an MOU to guide their partnership and collaborative work going forward. In addition, an MOU with Conservation International Timor-Leste, IUCN Oceania and IUCN Asia was signed in June 2020.
The MOU will provide a framework for identifying and carrying out collaborative projects and activities, including on the BIOPAMA and SOMACORE projects Our staff numbers continue to grow as we recruited project and support staff in 2020 and we ended the year with 34 staff. For the Marine Programme, we recruited Mr. Hans Wendt as the Marine Programme
Coordinator, and Ms. Chinnamma Reddy as the Senior Marine Project Officer. Ms. Sarah Tawaka was appointed the GEF Regional Manager and Ms. Luisa Tavenisa was recruited to take up the position of BIODEV 2030 Project Officer. I wish to congratulate all these staff and welcome them to their new appointments within the IUCN Oceania family. We also said farewell to Ms. Clea Farrow, the BIOPAMA Protected Areas Officer who had to return to Australia for family reasons – we thank Clea for her contributions whilst she was with IUCN Oceania and we wish her well in her future endeavours. We also celebrated one staff promotion and we again congratulate Ms. Varea Romanu – well done. IUCN Oceania also recorded one of the highest internal survey rates globally – 97% of staff indicated they understood how their performance was evaluated and I thank HR for conducting a number of refresher sessions on the topic. I am also pleased to report that after months of tough negotiations we now have a much-improved medical and life insurance scheme.
I wish to conclude by thanking you all for your untiring efforts in 2020 and the support and wise council you all provided. Looking ahead to 2021, one can only imagine that it will be another challenging year, but with your cooperation and support, we should be able to work with donors and development partners to deliver project outcomes to everyone’s satisfaction.
Let us continue to value and conserve nature.
Vinaka Vakalevu
We are pleased to announce that Pacific Islands IUCN Members have nominated Ms. Lolita Kyarii Gibbons-Decherong as a candidate for Oceania Regional Councillor. Lolita replaces Bola Majekobaje who unfortunately had to withdraw as a candidate, in part due to COVID restrictions. We thank Bola for her continuing commitment to conservation and send her warm wishes. Peter Cochrane and Catherine Iorns are the other two candidates from Oceania Region and all three candidate biographies are on the Congress website (iucncongress2020.org).
COVID-19 has presented challenges across the world. A number of Councillors including Ana and Andrew, having served two terms on Council, expected to be succeeded by new Councillors halfway through 2020. However the IUCN World Conservation Congress, when the Council elections take place, was delayed extensively by COVID, like so many other global meetings. We did not expect to still be on Council over a year after our tenure was supposed to finish. As the Congress was postponed not once, but three times, we have had to keep changing plans for this quadrennial event.
The Council considered holding the IUCN Congress virtually, in person, or a hybrid of the two. It was eventually decided for the latter, scheduled for 3-11 September 2021 in Marseille. The Council and its various committees have had numerous virtual meetings to take stock of the impact of the pandemic and prepare for the IUCN Congress. These meetings present many challenges as councillors from all over the world meeting remotely, but particularly for Oceania, and our time zones. Ana usually gets the raw end of the deal with meetings usually starting at 12 am or later.
COVID has given us a lot to think about. We must never underestimate the supremacy of nature. Kindness to one another goes a long way when our world is upended by a pandemic. We all need to take this as an opportunity and build a better for conservation.
We thank all our Members, our wonderful IUCN Oceania staff, and, our friends and colleagues for your commitment to conserving nature and working towards a more equitable and sustainable world. We also thank you for your patience, as we adjust to working differently, and we hope more effectively, for a better future for all life on earth.
Stay safe, stay strong and stay positive.
IUCN COUNCILLORS’ REMARKS
Peter Cochrane Ana Tiraa Andrew Bignell
IUCN Councillors, elected from Oceania for 2016–2020
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IUCN AT A GLANCE
Created in 1948, IUCN has evolved into the world’s largest and most diverse environmental network. It harnesses the experience, resources and reach of its more than 1,400 Member organisations and the input of some 18,000 experts. IUCN is the global authority on the status of the natural world and the measures needed to safeguard it. Our experts are organised into six Commissions dedicated to species survival, environmental law, protected areas, social and economic policy, ecosystem management, and education and communication.
The ability to convene diverse stakeholders and provide the latest science, objective recommendations and on- the-ground expertise drives IUCN’s mission of informing and empowering conservation efforts worldwide. We provide a neutral forum in which governments, NGOs, scientists, businesses, local communities, indigenous peoples groups, faith-based organisations and others can work together to forge and implement solutions to environmental challenges.
By facilitating these solutions, IUCN provides
governments and institutions at all levels with the impetus to achieve universal goals, including on biodiversity, climate change and sustainable development, which IUCN was instrumental in defining.
Combined, our knowledge base and diverse membership make IUCN an incubator and trusted repository of best practices, conservation tools, and international guidelines and standards. As one of the only two environmental
organisations with official United Nations Observer Status, IUCN ensures that nature conservation has a voice at the highest level of international governance.
IUCN’s expertise and extensive network provide a solid foundation for a large and diverse portfolio of conservation projects around the world. Combining the latest science with the traditional knowledge of local communities, these projects work to reverse habitat loss, restore ecosystems and improve people’s well-being.
They also produce a wealth of data and information which feeds into IUCN’s analytical capacity.
Through their affiliation with IUCN, Member organisations are part of a democratic process, voting Resolutions which drive the global conservation agenda. They meet every four years at the IUCN World Conservation Congress to set priorities and agree on the Union’s Work Programme. IUCN congresses have produced several key international environmental agreements including the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the World Heritage Convention, and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. We continue to help these conventions strengthen and evolve so that they can respond to emerging challenges.
Our Member organisations are represented by the IUCN Council – the governing body. Headquartered in Switzerland, IUCN Secretariat comprises around 950 staff in more than 50 countries.
IUCN is a membership Union uniquely composed of both government and civil society organisations. It provides
public, private and non-governmental organisations with the knowledge and tools that enable human progress,
economic development and nature conservation to take place together.
The IUCN Oceania region is comprised of the 24 countries and territories of Polynesia, Micronesia, Melanesia, Australia and New Zealand. Oceania is geographically one of IUCN’s largest regional programmes, covering over 100 million km
2of land and ocean. Oceania also contains a diverse range of ecosystems, from coral reefs to kelp forests, mangroves to montane forests, and wetlands to deserts.
IUCN IN OCEANIA
IUCN Oceania
Throughout the Pacific, nature supports the daily
livelihoods of island communities. Nature is both culturally significant and the primary source of food, water and income. However, increasing pressures from growing populations, extractive industries, infrastructure and commercial developments and invasive species are increasing the rate of biodiversity loss in many countries.
Australia and New Zealand lead the region’s economic development, and have solid capacity in the environmental
management of development. The countries and
territories of the Pacific Islands have also been continually developing and improving their environmental governance and policies. IUCN often acts as a broker for the
environment, encouraging governments, like-minded organisations and communities to work together for the sustainable management of nature’s resources.
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Zoos Victoria (Australia)
Territory and Municipal Services Directorate, Australian Capital Territory Parks Victoria (Australia)
Landcare Research New Zealand Ltd.
Nature Conservation Council of New South Wales (Australia) New Zealand Conservation Authority
Department of Agriculture, Water and Environment (Australia) Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Queensland (Australia) Department of Environment and Heritage Protection, Queensland (Australia) Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Victoria (Australia) Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources, South Australia Office of Environment and Heritage, New South Wales (Australia) Direction de l’environment de la province Sud (New Caledonia)*
Australian Marine Conservation Society Centre for International and Environmental Law (Macquarie University) Institute of Foresters of Australia Tasmanian Land Conservancy Inc. (Australia) WWF - New Zealand WWF-Australia Environment and Conservation Organisations of New Zealand Project Jonah (Australia) The Wilderness Society (Australia) New South Wales Biodiversity Conservation Trust (Australia) Lincoln University, Faculty of Environment, Society and Design (New Zealand) National Trust of Fiji Islands (Fiji) Australian Conservation Foundation Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand University of the South Pacific (Fiji) Ministry of Natural Resources, Environment and Tourism, Palau Ministry of Climate Change, Meteorology, Natural Disaster, Environment Vanuatu Ministry of Meteorology, Energy, Information, Disaster Management, Environment, Climate Change
& Communications (MEIDECC), Tonga Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology Solomon Islands Department of Commerce Industry and Environment, CIC, Nauru Department of Environment, Fiji Department of Conservation, New Zealand Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Samoa Ministry of Environment, Lands and Agriculture, Kiribati Colong Foundation Wilderness, Australia Queensland Department of National Parks, Sport and Racing, Australia Blue Mountains World Heritage Institute, Australia
Niue Island United Association of Non-Government Organisations (Niue) Micronesian Shark Foundation (Palau)
Environment Tasmania (Australia) Palau Protected Areas Network Fund (Palau) Palau Conservation Society (Palau)
North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance (Australia) Tenkile Conservation Alliance (PNG)
Te Ipukarea Society (Cook Islands) Te Mana o te Moana (French Polynesia) Environmental Defenders Offices of Australia Earthwatch Institute (Australia)
Conservation Volunteers Australia
Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand
Department of Biodiversity, Conservation & Attractions, Western Australia National Environmental Law Association (Australia)
Australian Rainforest Conservation Society
OUR MEMBERS
IUCN’s Oceania Regional Office is the focal point for administering and serving Member organisations in the Oceania region. In 2020, there were 55 Members based in the Oceania region, representing about 4% of global IUCN membership.
This includes 10 State Members, 33 NGO Members, 10 Government Agencies, one Indigenous Peoples Organisation
and one Affiliate.
Credit: Ken Kassem
Oceania and its ecologically rich ocean and islands host an enormous share of the planet’s biodiversity. Its biodiversity is characterised by exceptionally high levels of endemism and species diversity. This underpins Oceania’s ecosystems and these in turn provide an immense number of services, directly supporting the daily livelihoods of millions of people.
Natural resources across the Pacific Islands are used, customarily owned, governed and managed by local communities, and nature is a central element of island culture and society, underpinning the social and economic livelihoods of people.
IUCN Oceania supports governments, Members and communities to improve the sustainable management and conservation of species and ecosystems, and to address the major drivers of biodiversity loss.
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VALUING AND CONSERVING NATURE
VALUING AND CONSERVING NATURE
MARINE PROGRAMME
The IUCN Oceania Marine Programme continued to provide support and advice in 2020 to Fiji, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu, and worked closely with in-country partners to support these countries in their efforts to sustainably manage their Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ), which make up on average a vast 98% of their territory.
IUCN applies Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) as a key tool for integrated ocean management, as it uses cross-sector and participatory public processes to identify and achieve economic, social and ecological objectives in a transparent and organised way. Drawn from its many years of experience, the Marine Programme has developed an MSP toolkit for the Pacific, a 10 steps process to a healthier and stronger ocean that can provide sustainable environmental, social and economic benefits. In 2020 a number of the 10 steps were undertaken in each country.
IUCN’s marine work in Oceania is made possible with the continued and generous support, collaboration and partnership of the Oceans 5 international philanthropic group, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the European Union through the Pacific European Union Marine Partnership Programme (PEUMP) and the Global Climate Change Alliance (GCCA+) initiative for climate adaptation and resilience.
Samoa Ocean Strategy
The Samoa Government, led by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, in October 2020 launched the Samoa Ocean Strategy (SOS). IUCN was pleased to provide technical support to the development of Samoa’s MSP and SOS, a plan that will manage Samoa’s entire ocean, and protect important ecological habitats, marine wildlife, and cultural heritage, enhance safety and security at sea while safeguarding important sources of food, income and economic growth derived from the ocean.
Countries first draft MSP maps
In October and November 2020 the first draft MSP maps for the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu were reviewed and refined by local experts at national workshops in each country.
The offshore draft maps included a network of candidate no-take MPAs that achieve 30% biodiversity protection and the inshore draft maps identified a frequency of priority marine areas for sustainable fisheries management.
Developed by IUCN in close partnership and consultation with government agencies and NGO partners in the respective countries, the draft maps were informed by a series of technical Geographical Information System (GIS) and Marine Protected Area (MPA) prioritisation analyses.
These analyses were in turn informed by the best available science, data collected from national consultations, and marine uses data gathered over five years.
The refined draft MSP maps will now be used as a key element of further public consultations on integrated ocean management in each country in 2021.
Protecting Fiji’s most important marine areas
The Government of Fiji is committed to a national network of 30% Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), and with the support of IUCN, other government agencies and NGO partners, Fiji’s offshore zero draft map was officially presented to the Ministry of Fisheries in June 2020.
The map highlights important biodiversity areas and also takes into account all the uses of Fiji’s offshore ocean space including our fishing industry, to then identify the best candidate sites for an ecologically representative network of MPAs.
Fiji’s marine resources and their services to Fiji’s people are worth more than FJ$ 2.5 billion per year. These values are derived from tourism and commercial fishing – values we see in the marketplace. But these values also come from subsistence fishing, coastal protection, and carbon storage – values not reflected in the marketplace but none- the-less extremely important to Fiji.
Samoa’s special and unique marine habitats
Samoa’s ocean forms an intrinsic part of the country’s history, traditions, culture and values, and Samoan people have a deep connection with their ocean. Apart from providing a source of food and livelihoods for its people, the ocean around Samoa is also host to a wide variety of biodiversity including some unique and special marine plants and animals.
To better understand their ocean and its resources, in March 2020 the Government of Samoa, with the support of IUCN, brought together thirty marine experts from across all sectors in Samoa, to map their Special and Unique Marine Areas (SUMA).
Launch of the Samoa Ocean Strategy in Apia, Samoa Credit: Conservation International, Samoa
Launch of the Samoa Ocean Strategy in Apia, Samoa Credit: Conservation International, Samoa
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Building from the workshop, today Samoa now has 6 offshore SUMAs and 26 inshore confirmed SUMA areas covering nearly 20% of its EEZ. These areas are home to many species, and include habitats such as coral reefs, mangroves and seagrasses together with underwater mountains and valleys in the offshore areas.
The Samoa Ocean Strategy (SOS) highlights Samoa’s commitment to protecting 30% of its marine areas by 2030, and these SUMAs will be an important base layer for the identification of their network of MPAs to contribute to that target.
Marine bioregions identified in Samoa
Another key base layer for the identification of MPAs to contribute to Samoa’s 30% targets are marine bioregions.
Bioregions are one of the important data layers used in identifying an ecologically representative system of highly protected areas. To be truly ecologically representative and comprehensive, it is also important to consider any additional information about habitats, species and ecological processes. Networks of highly protected areas within Samoa’s EEZ will be an important outcome of the marine spatial planning process as will the designation of other ocean zones that meet social, economic and cultural objectives
The Government of Samoa and IUCN hosted a workshop in Apia in October 2020 to review the draft bioregions developed by IUCN and partners through a regional technical bio-regionalisation project.
The workshop confirmed five deep-water bioregions based largely on the geomorphology and climate variables, and these new bioregions given local names. Reef-associated bioregions were grouped into five new bioregions, distinguishing between steep coastal reefs and those slightly further offshore that formed a barrier and coastal lagoon.
The bioregions report is expected to be synthesized, translated and used during public consultations in 2021.
Valuing marine ecosystem services in Oceania
The Pacific marine environment provides a wide range of benefits to the inhabitants of the Pacific Islands, from food to materials to cultural well-being. It also contributes to the well-being of hundreds of millions of people around the world though the global climate functions it provides. These benefits, called ecosystem services, are often not visible in business transactions or national economic accounts, and their value is often only understood when we lose them.
Limited land resources and the dispersed and isolated nature of communities make inhabitants of Pacific Island countries uniquely dependent upon the many benefits and services provided by marine ecosystems.
Assigning monetary values to the human benefits of marine ecosystems in the Pacific helps highlight the importance of those ecosystems, providing the ability for comparisons
to other goods and services, and adding weight to the need for decision makers to improve their wise use and management.
IUCN has helped several countries in the Pacific Islands to identify and economically value the ecosystem services their marine and coastal resources provide. In 2020 IUCN has been working closely with the Government of Samoa on a detailed report quantifying the value of at least seven marine and coastal ecosystem services at a national scale in Samoa including, but not limited to:
• Subsistence food provision
• Commercial food harvesting
• Mineral and aggregate mining
• Tourism
• Carbon sequestration
• Research and education
• Coastal protection.
Maritime compliance optimisation
The Solomon Islands and Tongan Governments are already beginning to operationalise their national MSPs and Ocean Policies, including their maritime compliance systems.
IUCN is supporting them through a maritime compliance assessment and capacity-building project. The Kingdom of Tonga developing a capacity-building strategy and action plan to support the implementation of their MSP, and the Solomon Islands have initiated a thorough review of existing human resources, material assets, intelligence gathering systems and legal and procedural frameworks relevant to all aspects of maritime compliance.
As with all steps of the MSP process, IUCN works to ensure that critical components such as gender, human rights and social inclusion approaches are integrated as best as possible given the countries different cultural and social contexts. This includes ensuring that key principles such as gender and human rights-based approaches, and Free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) are properly captured and considered, and for all meetings, workshops and community consultation IUCN promotes gender balance and social inclusion of people from across a range of backgrounds and disadvantaged and marginalised groups as well.
Reviewing Solomon Islands zero-draft marine spatial plan Credit: Solomon Islands Oceans Team
PROTECTED AND CONSERVED AREAS PROGRAMME
Protected and conserved areas in Oceania play an essential role in safeguarding the region’s biodiversity.
They also underpin sustainable livelihoods and provide an effective Nature-based Solution to many of the existential human-driven threats such as climate change. The aim of this programme is to work with Members and partners to enhance the contribution and effectiveness of area-based conservation to achieve national targets.
The programme has built on the successes of the BIOPAMA flagship project, with 2020 seeing the development of two additional projects in Vanuatu and Solomon islands.
BIOPAMA
The Biodiversity and Protected Areas Management (BIOPAMA) Programme is an initiative of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) financed by the European Union’s 11th European Development Fund (EDF). The project is jointly
implemented by IUCN Oceania, European Joint Research Centre and SPREP with the purpose of improving the effectiveness of protected and conserved areas. Activities are being implemented in four main streams:
• In-country training - a range of support has been provided to agencies and practitioners in tools and practices that enhance the effectiveness of protected and conserved areas, such as mapping, Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool and Management Effectiveness Tracking Tool. So far, the project has trained over 150 practitioners from 16 organisations in PNG, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Fiji, Timor-Leste, Vanuatu and Marshal Islands.
• Grant facility - the BIOPAMA Action Component has awarded grants over US$ 1.7 million of grants to organisations in PNG, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, Tuvalu, Samoa, Kiribati and Vanuatu. This funding is to support on ground management activities within protected and conserved areas.
• Technical reports and knowledge products - IUCN Oceania is leading the preparation of the State of Protected and Conserved Areas in Oceania report with a range of partners. This will be the first comprehensive report focusing specifically on the status and issues associated with area-based conservation in the region (excluding Australia and New Zealand). It brings together a range of regional and international experts. The report is expected to be launched in the latter half of 2021.
• Regional protected areas resource and data hub - BIOPAMA is supporting the development of
a protected area resource and data hub at SPREP through a partnership agreement worth over
• US$ 1 million. This will serve as a centre for
supporting partners to improve decision-making and the effectiveness of protected areas. So far, the hub has updated the protected area data for nearly 70%
of the relevant countries in the region, which has used this to support the development of numerous strategic and policy documents. The interface of the hub is the ‘Pacific Islands Protected Area Portal’. This has had over 85,000 users during the project.
Ensuring resilient ecosystems and representative protected areas in the Solomon Islands (EREPA) The Government of the Solomon Islands is partnering with IUCN, SPREP and other stakeholders to advance its work on protected areas governance, management and effectiveness. Funded through the Global Environment Facility (GEF) a key focus of the EREPA project is the environmental quality and the livelihood benefits for communities within and neighbouring protected areas.
Building on workshops, consultations and field trips, and the development and refinement of the project documents in 2019 and 2020, the project proper will being in 2021.
Expanding Conservation Areas Reach and Effectiveness in Vanuatu (ECARE)
The Government of the Vanuatu is partnering with IUCN and other stakeholders to advance its work on protected areas governance, management and effectiveness.
Funded through the Global Environment Facility (GEF), as well as developing a legal differentiated and overarching framework for protected areas in Vanuatu, the ECARE project aims to improve capacity at decentralised and traditional governance levels, and will also focus on improving the financial sustainability of Vanuatu’s protected areas
National Trust of Fiji receives BIOPAMA grant through the BIOPAMA Action Component
Credit: IUCN Oceania
CRITICAL ECOSYSTEM PARTNERSHIP FUND The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) is a global programme that provides grants to civil society and private sector partners to protect critical ecosystems in 36 global biological hotspots. IUCN Oceania is the Regional Implementation Team (RIT) for CEPF’s investment in the East Melanesian Islands (EMI) biodiversity hotspot, which covers Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and the Bismarck Islands of Papua New Guinea. As of December 2020, 54 large grants and 54 small grants (with a value of US$ 8.2 million) have been awarded, and the following highlights some of the outcomes and activities from these grants in 2020.
Second protected area in Choiseul, Solomon Islands!
On 29th January, the Siporae Tribal Forest Conservation Area in Choiseul, was declared a protected area under the Protected Areas Act 2010.
Speaking during the launching and declaration ceremony, Minister for Environment, Dr Calwick Togamana thanked the communities and partners of Siporae Tribal Forest Conservation for working together to fulfil the stringent requirements under the Protected Areas Act 2010.
The Siporae Tribe is well aware that most forests in Solomon Islands are threatened by unsustainable logging and mining. The declaration of their land as a protected area provides hope that their forested lands and the great biodiversity and cultural heritage it contains will be looked after and conserved into the future. Siporae Tribal members also acknowledged their project as a great example of collaboration between the Solomon Islands Government, NGOs and local communities.
CEPF is happy to have supported the efforts of the Natural Forest Resources Development Foundation (NRDF) to work with the Siporae community throughout this process.
Martika Tahi recognised as Hotspot Hero!
As part of its 20th anniversary celebrations in 2020, CEPF recognised 10 conservationists from biodiversity hotspots
around the world who have dedicated their lives to protecting biodiversity, the Hotspot Heroes.
Martika Tahi, a biologist from the Vanuatu Environmental Science Society, was recognised as a Hotspot Hero, highlighted as “a highly committed, technically skilled, ni- Vanuatu woman who is leading the way for conservation in her country”. With help from several CEPF grants, Martika has conducted much-needed scientific surveys of bats, seagrass and dugongs around Vanuatu’s remote islands, and the resulting data are being used to improve management of sites vital to conservation. Her outreach to remote communities on the importance of species conservation has reduced the hunting of bats on several islands while protecting the vital ecosystem services these species provide.
Edenhope Foundation empowers Santo rangers As part of their project to support, protect and register three community conservation areas in the Santo Mountain Chain, Vanuatu, Edenhope Foundation with the support of CEPF is working with the recently created Santo Sunset Environment Network (SSEN).
The SSEN is supporting environmental rangers throughout the west and northwest coast of Santo so that they can help chiefs with kastom conservation and traditional resource management. Ranger trainings took place in October and December 2020 – the first of its kind in west coast Santo – where local custodians received hands on training in topics such as ecosystem health, monitoring techniques for species commonly hunted, land use planning, and reduction of waste.
Mr. Jacob Revurevu, a newly certified Ranger from Pareo, said that the training, “helped me to put into practice techniques and tools that before only specialists from government could do. Now we can do it ourselves, and make sure that our Environment on West Coast Santo stays healthy.”
Alternative livelihoods in Manus
With the support of CEPF, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has been working in the Great Central Forest of Manus Island in Papua New Guinea, and area under immediate threat from logging being carried out without community consent. As well as providing legal awareness for affected communities, WCS is working with farmers and families from each of the ten clans that have consented to signing conservation deeds in Manus Island, to support them to grow vanilla.
Training has been provided on site selection, spacing between vines, use of shade trees, mulching, vine planting and curing of vanilla in the harvesting and processing stage. A booklet on vanilla farming has been drafted for distribution to the vanilla farmers. WCS will continue to support these communities as their farming activities grow.
WCS is providing support to local farmers to develop a conservation- compatible livelihood centred on vanilla prodcutuion
Credit: Elodie Van Lierde
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DEPLOYING NATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS DEPLOYING NATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS
When we protect, sustainably manage, and restore ecosystems, we also address a range of societal challenges, simultaneously providing human well-being, livelihoods, resilience and biodiversity benefits.
In the Pacific Islands, ecosystem-based approaches to climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction can greatly contribute to increasing the resilience of communities in the face of climate change impacts, such as mangroves reducing the impact of cyclones and storm surges.
IUCN Oceania supports governments, Members and communities to increase the role of nature
based solutions in climate change adaptation and coastal ecosystems management.
CLIMATE CHANGE PROGRAMME
The IUCN Climate Change Programme aims to help Pacific Island Countries build resilience to climate change by:• Safeguarding biodiversity by positioning nature
conservation at the heart of community and country responses to their energy needs
• Integrating sustainable energy systems into developing new and expanded livelihoods
• Reducing plastic waste generation and leakage from islands, and driving the circular economy forward Plastic Waste Free Islands
Plastic Waste Free Islands (PWFI) is a three year initiative implemented in Fiji, Samoa and Vanuatu
(and also in the Caribbean) that aims to collaboratively address the problem of plastic waste leakage from island states, targeting the key sectors of tourism, fisheries and waste management.
2020 started with inception workshops in February in Fiji, Samoa and Vanuatu, bringing together stakeholders from government, business, communities and NGOs to discuss the context and challenges of plastic waste in each islands nation, and how PWFI can contribute to and support the solutions required.
In the course of the year the fieldwork components for the waste audits and quantification were started in Fiji, and in Samoa and Vanuatu they were completed along with draft quantification and sectoral material flow analysis.
The findings from the analysis will guide and support the use of methodologies such as the National Guidance for Plastic Pollution and Hotspotting, to enable governments in collaboration with key stakeholders to identify and implement interventions and instruments to address the prioritised hotspots.
2020 also saw the launching of three Zero Plastic Waste toolkits designed for hospitality, tour and cruise companies working in small islands developing states (SIDS). These toolkits provide practical guidance on how to prevent plastic waste in the tourism sector, which for many SIDs are a vital and large part of their economies, and they will also play a part SIDS building back better following the COVID-19 pandemic. In each kit, relevant stakeholders can find best practices from around the world, concrete suggestions for implementing change, and information about return on investment. The toolkits identify problem areas, and provide tips and tricks for hygienic and convenient zero plastic waste options.
Energy, Ecosystems and Sustainable Livelihoods Initiative (EESLI)
With funding support from the governments of Italy, Spain, Austria and Luxembourg, EESLI works with 10 countries and supports government-led initiatives, small grants for NGOs and SMEs, plus special initiatives to support climate change mitigation and risk reduction measures.
In 2020 EESLI projects were delayed or postponed due to COVID-19 travel and border restrictions, including work on the Samoa Energy Map and the Tonga Haapai solar systems rehabilitation projects. A new project was developed to support Pacific Island communities manage the impacts of COVID-19 on their tourism projects by implementing livelihood-enhancing projects, and this will start in 2021.
Pacific Islands Energy and Gender Network Strategic Action Plan (PEGSAP)
IUCN supported the initial establishment of the Pacific Energy & Gender (PEG) Network, however since 2015 the PEG Network has been inactive mainly due to financial constraints, and no specific work on gender and energy is being undertaken at a regional level. This is a concern since gender equality remains largely rhetorical for many women in the Pacific, where women’s economic inclusion continues to remain a challenge.
To address this problem the Pacific Community (SPC) initiated the PEG Phase 2 project, of which PEGSAP is a key component. IUCN Oceania, the IUCN Gender Office in Washington DC and Econoler, a Canadian consulting company, worked together in 2020 to undertake national consultations across the region and to draft the PEGSAP for 2020–2030.
As the actions from the strategy are implemented, the expected results include:
• Increased awareness of the challenges, opportunities and potential solutions to increase women’s
economic empowerment in the energy sector across the Pacific region
• Increased knowledge and understanding within SPC and participating national governments of how to address women’s economic empowerment issues in the energy sector.
Minna Epps, IUCN Global Director for the Marine and Polar Programme officiates the inception workshop for the PWFI project in Nadi, Fiiji
Credit: IUCN Oceania
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BIODEV 2030
As a solution to the challenge of rescuing biodiversity and preserving ecosystems, the BIODEV 2030 is a pilot project that aims to mainstream biodiversity into key economic sectors in 16 countries, with Fiji representing the Pacific Islands.
Launched globally in 2020, BIODEV is funded by the French Development Agency (AFD), and IUCN is collaborating with Expertise France and WWF-France to deliver a project that will:
• Undertake scientific diagnostic at national and sectoral levels, underpinned by the species threat abatement and restoration metric (STAR)
• Calculate the potential threat reduction measures of two key economic sectors
• Host national dialogues involving stakeholders from strategic economic sectors
• Catalyse and promote national and sectoral voluntary commitments to reduce pressures on biodiversity over the next decade, including from the private sector
These voluntary contributions will be a big step towards building ambitious common global goals to halt the decline in biodiversity by 2030 and restore biodiversity by 2050.
Coastal Marine Ecosystem Resilience Programme (CMERP)
There is global recognition that healthy ecosystems help build societal resilience to climate change impacts.
Healthy ecosystems deliver goods and services such as food, fuel, and clean water while also providing protection from a range of climate related impacts, disasters and hazards. Ecosystem-based approaches to adaptation and resilient development have a focus on valuing, utilising, and maintaining ecosystems for their provisioning, protecting and regulating functions.
SPREP and IUCN in partnership have designed and will implement the Coastal Marine Ecosystem Resilience Programme (CMERP), which will use ecosystem based adaptation (EbA) to enhance the resilience and adaptive capacity of Pacific Island people to climate change by
protecting, restoring and managing coastal and marine ecosystems and the services they provide.
CMERP has two broad components, 1) the prioritisation and integration of EbA in national planning and decision- making, including long term 30-50 year future climate impact and resilience scenarios, and 2) the Blue Impact Facility, an investment mechanism including grants and blended finance options that will provide funding for EbA actions on the ground. These investments will include support for the regional shift from hard ‘concrete/grey’
engineering adaptation solutions to ‘green’ or hybrid nature based solutions.
In 2020 IUCN received CMERP concept approval and project design funding from the Global Climate Fund (GCF) for the participating countries in the Melanesia sub-region (Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu), with the project proper scheduled to start in 2022. The Micronesia and Polynesia sub-region CMERP Programs will follow in parallel in 2021.
IUCN Red List of Ecosystems
The IUCN Red List of Ecosystems (RLE) is a toolbox consisting of a set of categories and criteria for assessing the risks to ecosystems, to focus attention on the most threatened ecosystems. It analyses risks to biodiversity at all scales to support conservation, resource use, and management decisions by identifying ecosystems most at risk. Ultimately, the RLE methodology will be used to determine the global status of the world’s terrestrial, marine, freshwater and subterranean ecosystems.
In partnership with the Keidanren Nature Conservation Fund (KNCF), in 2020 IUCN started the introduction of the RLE methodology in the Pacific Islands, facilitating training workshops in Tonga and Fiji. As well as building the capacity of the countries, the project also saw the completion of the first ever RLE assessment undertaken in Tonga, for the mangrove ecosystems on Tongatapu.
In October and November, a series of RLE training webinars were conducted to build broader regional capacity and awareness, informed by learnings from the initial training and from Tonga’s first RLE assessment. Next steps include developing RLE national action plans for both Tonga and Fiji, focusing on national priority geographic areas or ecosystem, and also promoting the inclusion of the RLE methodology in the post-2020 priorities of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Booby Chick in Mabua, Lau, Fiji Credit: Andrew Foran
RLE training in Fiji Credit: IUCN Oceania
Kiwa Initiative
The Kiwa Initiative, announced by the President of the French Republic at the 2017 One Planet Summit in Paris launched in March 2020, is the product of an unique commitment driven by France and the European Union, with Canada, Australia and New Zealand. KIWA aims to strengthen the resilience of ecosystems, economies and communities in Oceania by supporting projects that promote Nature-based Solutions via grants and technical assistance.
The Pacific Community (SPC), the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and IUCN Oceania are the implementing partners for KIWA.
In 2020 IUCN began designing an €6 million small to medium grants programme, open to eligible organisations from Pacific Islands Countries and Territories, with the first call for proposals starting in 2021. These grants will support NbS projects that protect biodiversity while addressing climate change impacts.
Nature-Based Solutions Global Standard
IUCN launched a Global Standard for Nature Based Solutions (NbS) In June 2020 providing the first-ever set of benchmarks for NbS to global challenges. The NbS Standard will help governments, business and civil society ensure the effectiveness of Nature-based Solutions and maximise their potential to help address climate change, biodiversity loss and other societal challenges on a global scale.
In July 2020 in Suva, Fiji the Fiji Minister of Agriculture, Waterways and Environment the Hon. Dr Mahendra Reddy launched the Global NbS Standard in Oceania, noting the Fiji Government’s longstanding NbS focus and its many and ongoing NbS interventions.
The launch, attended by the Permanent Secretaries of the Fiji Ministries of Fisheries, Forestry and Environment, members of the diplomatic corps, heads of conservation organisations, development partners, private sector and NGO representatives, was broadcast live with IUCN colleagues and Members from across the region and around the world joining in.
In his remarks the Regional Director of IUCN Oceania Mr Mason Smith noted “Our first and perhaps foremost priority is to raise the understanding and awareness of Nature-based Solutions not only at national levels but also in the whole region. In any new undertaking such as this, it is also vital that the Nature-based Solutions Standard are embedded, where possible in national policy”. He also outlined IUCN Oceania’s plans to achieve this, working with Members and partners across the region.
Green Infrastructure Training
In the Pacific Islands and across the world, with the exception of some leading Nature-based Solutions (NbS) projects in countries like Fiji, hard infrastructure in the form of concrete seawalls and retaining walls continues to be the dominant approach to solving biophysical issues such as coastal and riverbank erosion. These approaches to fortify coastal assets often fail and can also contribute to the emergence of more acute erosion problems nearby.
For solid and liquid waste management there is also little use of green or nature based infrastructure such as settling ponds and filtration reed beds, and poorly designed landfill and sewerage disposal works contribute to degradation of ecosystems important for livelihoods and economy. Design of storm water drainage works similarly does not often take NbS approaches into consideration.
To address these gaps, in 2020 SPREP in partnership with the University of Queensland and IUCN Oceania, developed and delivered a Green Infrastructure Training Course. Targeted at infrastructure providers across the supply chain from government public works departments and local administrators to private sector contractors, engineers architects, the course builds their awareness and capacity for Nature-based Solutions and green engineering alternatives.
Delivered in November 2020 to infrastructure development stakeholders in Fiji and the Solomon Islands, with plans to both continue further sessions in those countries and to expand to other countries, the training including a session on the IUCN NBS Global Standard and its value as an infrastructure project design and investment screening tool.
Launch of the Kiwa Initiative at SPC Credit: IUCN Oceania
Hon. Dr Mahendra Reddy Minister of Waterways and Environment launches NbS Global Standard for the Oceania region
Credit: IUCN Oceania
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EFFECTIVE AND EQUITABLE GOVERNANCE OF RECOURCES
EFFECTIVE AND EQUITABLE GOVERNANCE OF RECOURCES
In Oceania, millions of people are directly dependent upon nature’s bounties for their daily food, housing and medicine. Good environmental governance will ensure the environment can continue to provide goods and services for the prosperity of human societies. Sharing power, responsibility and benefits in natural resource management, as well as strengthening governance arrangements including legal entitlements, making decisions more transparent, inclusive and equitable, are good for both people and biodiversity.
IUCN Oceania supports governments, Members and communities to improve the effective and equitable governance of the natural resources that underpin their shared prosperity.
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IUCN PACIFIC CENTRE FOR ENVIRONMENT GOVERNANCE
The IUCN Pacific Centre for Environmental Governance (PCEG) brings together IUCN’s work on environmental law, leadership for green growth, natural resource economics and environment and social policy. Using a rights based, multi-disciplinary approach it aims to promote, facilitate and support the development and growth of environmental governance throughout the Pacific.
In 2020, as well as providing input into a number of regional and national reviews of environmental and climate change related policies and frameworks, PCEG supported a range of new and existing projects including:
Upper Navua Conservation Area
The Upper Navua River, a narrow gorge in the central highlands of Viti Levu, the main island of Fiji, and the surrounding forest host a variety of important fauna and flora, including an abundance of the disappearing endemic sago palm, 17 endemic species of birds and the breeding populations of at least two endemic freshwater fish species.
In 2000 the Upper Navua Conservation Area (UNCA) was established to safeguard 615 hectares of this majestic area, and in 2006 it was recognised as Fiji’s first Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. Through a unique arrangement, Rivers Fiji Ltd. operates commercial white-water rafting trips in the UNCA by lease with the nine landowning mataqalis (communities).
The Fiji Ministry of Waterways and Environment is the focal point to the Ramsar convention and commissioned IUCN and Nature Fiji – Mareqeti Viti for the review and development of the UNCA Management Plan 2020–2024.
Aligned to the Ramsar Convention guidelines and principles, the draft Plan was developed in 2020 in close consultation with the local communities, Rivers Fiji, Ministry of Environment, Fiji National Wetlands Committee and the Serua Provincial Office
Olympics in the Pacific Islands
IUCN recognises that sport can negatively impact biodiversity through land use to build permanent or temporary sports venues and facilities, as well as through the pollution, noise, waste, lighting, traffic and resource demand resulting from the staging of sporting events attended by hundreds or thousands of spectators.
However, at the same time, sport, through its global reach, can be an important catalyst for raising awareness about the need for biodiversity conservation, and promoting and supporting efforts to enhance biodiversity.
Through a partnership with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), IUCN supports the Olympic Games candidature process, with IUCN and the IOC working together to ensure conservation and sustainability are integrated into the bids of the candidate cities competing to hold the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. As part of this process, in 2020 IUCN Oceania supported the sustainability review of the 2024 Olympics competition site for surfing in Tahiti, French Polynesia.
Carbon Rights in Fiji
Conservation International, supported by the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility and the leadership of the REDD+ Unit under the Fiji Ministry of Forests, is assisting the Fiji Government to implement an Emission Reduction Programme under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Kyoto Protocol.
In 2019, IUCN was part of a team of consultants that reviewed the “REDD+ and Forest Carbon Rights in Fiji:
Background Legal Analysis”, identifying gaps to enable the Government of Fiji to assign property rights to forest carbon and to transfer Emission Title to third parties, while also respecting the land and resource tenure rights of the potential rights-holders, including iTaukei and non-iTaukei.
Oceania Environmental Law Conference
With funding support from the US Embassy in Fiji and from the United Nations Environment Programme, PCEG is developing the inaugural Oceania Environmental Law Conference, bringing together environmental law and policy analysts and professionals in the region. The Conference will focus on the challenges and opportunities that Pacific island countries face in protecting and managing natural resources and the environment through law; and explore opportunities to leverage legal tools and approaches to drive and scale-up positive conservation and development outcomes. Due to the COVID-19 situation, the Conference was rescheduled from 2020 to now take place in July 2021.
Upper Navua River Credit: Tom Till
East Rennell, Solomon Islands Credit: Paul Dingwell
EFFECTIVE AND EQUITABLE GOVERNANCE OF RECOURCES
EFFECTIVE AND EQUITABLE GOVERNANCE OF
RECOURCES
Commission on Ecosystem Management (CEM)
CEM is an experts network with over 1,000 members worldwide and 124 members in Oceania, working on ecosystem management related issues including climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction, the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems, fisheries and ecosystem restoration and services, and the Global Standard for the Design and Verification of Nature-based Solutions.
Commission on Environmental, Economic and Social Policy (CEESP)
CEESP is an inter-disciplinary network of expert professionals, with approximately 1,500 members worldwide and 102 members in Oceania. Its mission is to act as a source of advice on the environmental, economic, social and cultural factors that affect natural resources and biological diversity and to provide guidance and support towards effective policies and practices in environmental conservation and sustainable development, including through the IUCN Natural Resource Governance Framework.
World Commission on Environmental Law (WCEL)
WCEL is a network of environmental law and policy experts, with over 900 members worldwide and 118 members in Oceania, providing knowledge and services to IUCN activities, including convening the World Environmental Law Congress.
WCEL functions as an integral part of the IUCN Environmental Law Programme, which includes the Commission and the Environmental Law Centre.
Commission on Education and Communication (CEC) CEC is a network of experts driving change for sustainability, with approximately 1,700 members worldwide and 84 members in Oceania providing their professional expertise in learning, knowledge management and strategic communication to achieve IUCN goals.
Species Survival Commission (SSC)
SSC is a science-based network of experts with more than 9,000 members from almost every country in the world and with 584 members in Oceania, all working on biodiversity conservation, the inherent value of species, their role in ecosystem health and functioning including the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™, the provision of ecosystem services, and their support to human livelihoods.
World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA)
WCPA is the world’s premier network of protected area expertise, spanning 140 countries and with over 2,500 members, including 449 members in Oceania, mobilizing action in science, conservation, policy, and engagement to support well managed and connected parks and other protected areas, including through the IUCN Green List of Protected Areas..
IUCN’s six Commissions unite over 18,000 volunteer experts from a range of disciplines. They assess the state of the world’s natural resources and provide the Union with sound know-how and policy advice on conservation issues.
OUR COMMISSIONS
Oceania Commission members
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IUCN Oceania acknowledges the support of a large network of partners who help fund its activities, implement the IUCN Programme and offer expertise to support the Union’s work.
This work is made possible through the generous contributions of a growing number of donors and partners, including governments, multilateral institutions, intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations and companies.
Pacific Invasive
PIP
Partnership
OUR PARTNERS AND DONORS
FINANCIAL SUMMARY
‘ELISAPETI VEIKOSO Senior Project Manager
National MSP Project (Tonga)
CHRISTIAN MANEPOLO Integrated Oceans Governance Officer
(Solomon Islands)
VATU MOLISA Marine/CEPF Liaison
Officer (Vanuatu)
ZOLA SANGGA CEPF National Country
Coordinator (PNG)
RAVIN DHARI CEPF National Country
Coordinator (Solomon Islands)
OUR STAFF
ANDREW FORAN Regional Programme Coordinator and PCEG Coordinator
ANJANI GOSAI Senior Project Accountant
ANANTA SINGH Junior Accountant (Projects)
ALISI RABUKAWAQA Fiji Project Liaison Officer
CHINNAMMA REDDY Senior Marine Project Officer
EPELI NAKAUTOGA Communications Officer
ETIKA QICA Kiwa Initiative Coordinator
EVIA TAVANAVANUA PA to the Regional Director
FIPE TUITUBOU Programme Support Officer
HANS WENDT Marine Programme Coordinator
HELEN PIPPARD CEPF Project Manager
IFEREIMI DAU Climate Change Programme Officer
JIGNASHA HANSJI Human Resources Officer
JOHN KAITU’U GIS Officer
KEN KASSEM Strategic Partnerships Officer
LILIANA RAKANACE Receptionist
MARIA-GORETI MUAVESI
Senior Environmental Legal Officer
MARIAN GAUNA Marine Project Officer
MARIKA TUIWAINUNU Gardening Support Staff/
Handyman
MASON SMITH Regional Director
MEREWALESI HO Junior Accountant (Operations)
TAVENISA LUISA Fiji Country Project Officer, BIODEV 2030
FILIMONE TUIVANUALEVU Intern - Environmental Law
Intern
In-country Staff
MILIAME KOMAITAI Office Janitor
NAWAIA MATIA ICT Officer
PAUL VAN NIMWEGEN Protected Areas Programme Coordinator
PAULA KATIREWA Climate Change Programme Coordinator
SARAH TAWAKA GEF Regional Officer
SAVENACA KALOKALO Protocol Driver
SEMISI TAWAKE Regional Head of Finance and Administration
SEREANA TUKANA Office Janitor
SERUWAIA QIMAQIMA Travel and Procurement Officer
SHYLENE PRASAD Finance Associate
VAREA ROMANU Climate Change Programme Assistant
