SPREP workshop deepens understanding on nature’s potential for achieving sustainable development

22 August 2024. Suva, Fiji - How can we harness the power of nature to help solve development sustainability issues in the face of climate change impacts? How can we ensure that our nature-based solutions projects and initiatives will have lasting positive socio-economic impacts while achieving long-term positive change in the health of our natural ecosystems and biodiversity? 

These were some of the questions participants discussed at the Aligning Ecosystem-based Adaptation and Nature-based Solutions in Fiji workshop held in Suva, Fiji, 20-21 August. The workshop was facilitated by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP). Representatives from Fijian government ministries, non-government organisations, the Fiji Development Bank, academic institutions (Fiji National University and the University of the South Pacific) as well as regional and international agencies attended the event to explore and improve their understanding on the convergence of nature-based solutions (NbS) and ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) projects and how they can be best applied to support sustainable development.

Opening the workshop, Director of Climate Change, Senivasa Waqairamasi, said “Our islands, forests, and marine ecosystems and their high biodiversity provide economic benefits to all Fijian communities and the nation. We have long harnessed this productivity through our farming production and community and commercial fisheries.”

She stated that Fiji’s tourism industry contributes 40 percent of the country’s gross domestic product and is critically dependent on sustaining our cultures, healthy ecosystems and biodiversity. 

“We need a healthy, well-functioning environment to continue to be the foundation of our development successes and our cultures. In short, we need to base our future on nature,” she said. 

Stuart Chape, Director Island and Ocean Ecosystems at SPREP stressed the need for transformative approaches that will move beyond incremental results to long-term, generational impact. He provided an overview of the EbA process and discussed the importance of planning for the future. 

“We not only need to understand the vulnerabilities but must also identify the opportunities we have to address these vulnerabilities and make appropriate choices,” said Mr Chape. 

Nature-based solutions involve the protection, management or restoration of natural ecosystems to address challenges faced by society to improve human well-being while also increasing biodiversity benefits. As interest in NbS initiatives grows, there is a need to assess how well such projects are delivering on these aspirations. 

Participants were introduced to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Global Standards for NbS. This serves as a global “benchmark” for what good NbS might look like. A self-assessment framework was shared to help participants better understand the eight global NbS criteria. It was acknowledged that elements of the global framework may be less relevant in the Pacific context and that a Pacific guide may be more appropriate for assessing good NbS practice in the region.
 
John Clemo, Senior Adviser Climate Change and Environment in the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade said, “Work supported by NZMFAT will inform and guide NbS practitioners in the Pacific. This will be a big step in improving how we are shaping and delivering NbS projects.”

Reflections and lessons were shared from NbS and EbA activities in Fiji and included the ridge to reef and ecosystem-based management approach of the By-catch and Integrated Ecosystem Management BIEM Initiative in the Navua-Beqa Lagoon catchment, the NbS work of the Pacific Organic Farmers Network (POLFN), the Climate Adaptation and Protected Areas (CAPA) initiative and the approaches to coastal management and riparian restoration by the Pacific Ecosystem Based Adaptation to Climate Change Phase 2 (PEBACC+) programme.
 
The workshop introduced the Promoting Pacific Islands Nature Based Solutions (PPIN) project, which is focusing on identifying areas of NbS policy to pursue in Fiji. Group work and discussion helped to identify gaps and needs, which will provide the foundation for further activities to inform the development of educational materials, training programmes and sector-specific guidelines. 

An outcome of the workshop was the indication of interest by the i-Taukei Lands Trust Board (iTLTB) to integrate NbS into its new environment policy. Participants provided inputs to this proposal and discussed the need to address siloed approaches to policy development and implementation of existing legislation. The need to work with and understand sectors outside the traditional conservation sectors was highlighted as essential to attracting investment interest and large-scale financing for NbS.

The workshop was a collaboration between SPREP’s BIEM Initiative, which is a component of the Pacific-European Union Marine Partnership (PEUMP) Programme funded by the European Union and the Government of Sweden; the multi-partner PPIN project, funded by NZMFAT, and the Kiwa Pacific Ecosystem Based Adaptation to Climate Change Phase 2 (PEBACC+) project.  

For more information, contact:
Kenneth Kassem [email protected] (BIEM Initiative)
Loraini Sivo [email protected] (PEBACC+)
Utulei Lui [email protected] (PPIN)