Representatives of two countries, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, announced their intention to create the first Indigenous-led ocean reserve at the UN Ocean Conference, taking place 9 to 13 June in Nice, France.
"For millennia, the Indigenous Peoples of Melanesia have been the wisest and most effective stewards of these sacred waters. That is why the governments of Melanesia are joining forces to create an unprecedented ocean reserve that honors our identities, livelihoods, and spiritual connections," Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele said.
The Melanesian Ocean Reserve will encompass the 6 million square kilometers of ocean and islands in the combined national waters of the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and Papua New Guinea and connect to the protected waters of New Caledonia’s exclusive economic zone.
It will also, the countries said in a joint release, be the first Indigenous-led multinational reserve of its kind and “permit only sustainable economic activities consistent with Indigenous values in these waters.”
Vanuatu Minister for Environment Ralph Regenvanu said that one of the goals of the project was to officially “establish this transboundary corridor of traditionally managed ocean space between our countries.”
"The Melanesian Ocean Reserve will give the governments and peoples of Melanesia the ability to do much more to protect our ancestral waters from those who extract and exploit without concern for our planet and its living beings. We hope our Indigenous stewardship of this vast reserve will create momentum for similar initiatives all over the world,” he said.
Papua New Guinea and New Caledonia are expected to officially join the preserve project at a future date.
The project’s development has been a collaboration between Regenvanu and Solomon Islands Minister for Environment Trevor Mahaga, as well as Papua New Guinea Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources Jelta Wong.
Funding has come from Nia Tero, an Indigenous-led investment firm that solely focuses on projects that benefit Indigenous communities.
Nia Tero CEO 'Aulani Wilhelm said that the intention to establish the new preserve was "giving voice to the hope of all Oceanic Peoples – to be able to fully bring forward the dream and knowledge of our ancestors in the modern day and to care for the ocean and our planet in the way they deserve.”
Conceptual support and resources have come from the Solomon Islands-based Islands Knowledge Institute (IKI).
“The excitement and inspiration driving the Melanesian Ocean Reserve stems from the chance at making this relationship real in the context of our countries at every level, from the tribe to the village to the state,” IKI Senior Fellow Edgar Pollard said.
