March 6, 2026
- Inaugural Pacific Ocean Finance Week spotlights urgent global investment required for the region’s seas and the need to coordinate efforts to align funding with Pacific-led ocean priorities.
- The summit was convened by the Office of the Pacific Ocean Commissioner, with support from Conservation International and the Bezos Earth Fund
Suva, Fiji (Friday, 6 March 2026) – Pacific leaders are calling for stronger global investment in ocean sustainability. More than 150 government, finance, and philanthropic leaders gathered in Suva this week for Pacific Ocean Finance Week, an event aimed at advancing funding and coordination for sustainable ocean management.
The gathering was convened by the Office of the Pacific Ocean Commissioner in partnership with Conservation International, Rare, and the Bezos Earth Fund, with support from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
It marks one of the region’s largest coordinated efforts to align international financing with Pacific-led ocean priorities.
Pacific Ocean Commissioner Dr. Filimon Manoni said, ‘For the Pacific, Ocean is our home, our livelihoods, our supermarket, our futures fund and endowment fund. For many of us in the region that is all we have. The Ocean serves as the only and exclusive source of life, of vitality of economic development fueling our very national building aspirations. Pacific nations are world leaders in solutions, innovation, and commitment to safeguarding the ocean. Global partners must now match this with meaningful investment. The course is charted; this is the moment to act for our ocean and our future.’
During the week, Dr. Manoni advanced the establishment of the Pacific Ocean Finance Group, a new regional mechanism to coordinate funding and guide investment toward priority ocean action.
Dr. Manoni emphasized that greater transparency and sharing of ocean finance intelligence and data across the Pacific will help identify gaps, strengthen partnerships, support long-term planning and speed up delivery.
“The Office of the Pacific Ocean Commissioner will support Pacific Leaders in coordinating their commitments to the ocean, including through capacity building that will help countries access and secure finance,” said Dr. Manoni.
The event brought together governments, regional organisations, investors, and ocean experts to exchange practical solutions and financing pathways tailored to Pacific needs.
Mere Lakeba, Interim Vice President of Conservation International’s Pacific Program said, “The Pacific is a global leader in ocean management, but we need funding to match this ambition. We also need to strengthen our systems behind ocean finance, so that our institutional capacity and resource coordination can feed to our growing pipeline of ready-to-fund projects. This is vital to close the SDG 14 funding gap and deliver on existing commitments that bring lasting benefits for people and nature across the region.
Pacific Ocean Finance Week is helping make that happen — building partnerships that channel resources to communities, support marine protection, and turn regional commitments like the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent into real results.”
During the week, Office of the Pacific Ocean Commissioner, the Government of the United Kingdom and the Bezos Earth Fund convened high-level dialogues and technical sessions to advance country-led ocean finance solutions. Through its First Wave grants under the Unlocking Blue Pacific Prosperity Initiative, the Bezos Earth Fund is supporting Pacific governments to establish and sustainably finance large-scale marine protection aligned with the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent.
The sessions showcased practical pathways to mobilise new resources, strengthen livelihoods, and align philanthropic, bilateral and multilateral partners behind durable, Pacific-designed ocean protection frameworks befitting the region’s role as steward of the world’s largest blue lung.
“Pacific leaders have charted an ambitious course for ocean protection. Our role as the funding community is to support that vision with the kind of long-term, reliable financing that turns commitments into lasting results,” said Nicola Thomson at the Bezos Earth Fund. “We welcome opportunities like the Pacific Ocean Finance Week to collaborate with Pacific Regional Organizations, governments and other funders to align philanthropic and public finance behind Pacific-designed solutions that protect the world’s largest blue lung while strengthening resilience and livelihoods across the region.”
The event builds on the partnership agreement the British High Commission in Fiji, Conservation International, and the Office of the Pacific Ocean Commissioner to deliver the Sustainable Blue Pacific Initiative, a partnership designed to strengthen marine governance, community-led monitoring, and sustainable financing across the region. Supported through the UK government’s Climate Action for a Resilient Asia programme, the initiative will help Pacific countries advance national ocean priorities and build long-term regional readiness for high seas protection.
ENDS.
For further information contact:
Mereseini Marau
Communications Officer
Office of the Pacific Ocean Commissioner
Email: Mereseinim@forumsec.org
Phone/WA: +679 7751383
Emmeline Johansen
Senior Director of Media, Asia Pacific
Conservation International
Ph/WA: +64 (NZL) 27793401
About The Office of the Pacific Ocean Commissioner (OPOC): OPOC operates within the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat to support the Pacific Ocean Commissioner in advocating for regional ocean interests, supporting regional advocacy and coordination on ocean governance. OPOC facilitates the Pacific Ocean Alliance (POA), engages with civil society and private sector stakeholders, and works closely with CROP agencies and development partners to advance the Framework for a Pacific Oceanscape (FPO) and Pacific Islands Regional Ocean Policy (PIROP) priorities.
About Conservation International: Conservation International protects nature for the benefit of humanity. Through science, policy, fieldwork and finance, we spotlight and secure the most important places in nature for the climate, for biodiversity and for people. With offices in 30 countries and projects in more than 100 countries, Conservation International partners with governments, companies, civil society, Indigenous peoples and local communities to help people and nature thrive together. Visit Conservation.org for more, and follow us on Conservation News, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.