Strengthening coastal biodiversity conservation and management through protection and rehabilitation incentives for coastal carbon sinks in Pacific Island countries

State of implementation/results

• At the regional level, the project continues to support the secretariat of the International Partnership for Blue Carbon (IPBC) as a member of an international advisory body in regular online technical conferences. Together with partners such as the US Forest Service, CSIRO, Conservation International and US Silva Carbon, methodological approaches for measuring the carbon content of local seagrass and mangrove ecosystems have been coordinated at regional level. A regional exchange platform for the Pacific island states on blue carbon is in preparation.
• As part of this network, the project contributed technical inputs to the development and finalization of project roadmaps and studies, including on drivers of degradation and destruction of mangrove ecosystems in Fiji and the development of a plan for integrated coastal zone management in the Solomon Islands.
• In adaptation to the COVID-19 situation, the Pacific GIS and Remote Sensing Council (PGRSC) hosted the annual regional conference in February 2021 for the first time in virtual format with good participation of the four project partner countries and a special mangrove segment. In close collaboration with the PGRSC Chair, the project continues to work on formalising national GIS user groups in the four partner countries. In Fiji, for example, a project-hosted Practitioner Dialogue on the deeper use of tablet or mobile phone-based GIS and survey applications and possible platform harmonisation between government and development partners was held in February 2021.
• In October 2023, project partner SPC launched the Digital Earth Pacific Platform, which is used to implement the project's mapping work. In March 2024, SPC presented a first draft version of the mangrove mapping for the four partner countries, with annual data on the change in mangrove cover from 2016-2022. The project developed a methodology for mapping seagrass meadows adapted to the Pacific and tested the methodology in initial mapping for Fiji.
• In March 2023, the project contributed to the National Blue Carbon Stakeholder Workshop in PNG to take stock for a national blue carbon policy and supported government partners in 2024 in close collaboration with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) to develop this policy.
• The project started the restoration of degraded seagrass meadows in the north of the Fijian main island of Viti Levu together with the Fiji National University (FNU) and the three neighboring communities. The restoration measures were successful and initial project results were presented at conferences. The experience gained is being incorporated into the design of management approaches in the other Pacific states.
• Based on the results of the study on the institutional and legal framework for mangroves and seagrass meadows in the partner countries, the project worked with the partner governments to define the priorities for further cooperation on sustainable approaches to the protection and rehabilitation of seagrass and mangrove stocks.
• The project website and a newsletter provide regular project updates, and the project was featured in newspapers and TV shows in all four partner countries as part of its public relations work. Major media campaigns on the importance of seagrass beds for fisheries were organized on World Fisheries Day in November 2023 and on International Seagrass Day on March 1, 2024.
• On International Seagrass Day in March 2024, the project organized a technical exchange between the four partner countries and, together with WWF and FNU, a workshop on seagrass restoration. On International Mangrove Day 2024, the project organized a workshop on mangrove restoration together with KOICA and the Ro Delainamako School.

Latest Update:
01/2025

Further links

• PNG-first blue carbon policy