November 27, 2024
27 November 2024, (Suva, Fiji) – Conservation International (CI) and the Kiwa Initiative today announced RESTORE (Restoring Ecosystems for Sustainable, Transformative, and Resilient Communities), a 3-year initiative to enhance climate resilience for Pacific Island communities through nature.
RESTORE will work with over 30 communities across Fiji, Samoa, and Timor-Leste to restore and protect vital coastal and marine ecosystems, fostering sustainable livelihoods and preparing communities to withstand climate impacts.
In collaboration with local leaders and Indigenous communities, RESTORE aims to restore 200 hectares of degraded mangroves and transplant 80,000 coral fragments, creating natural barriers against coastal erosion and storms while promoting biodiversity. The project will also support sustainable livelihoods through training and market access, enabling communities to generate income from nature-positive activities.
RESTORE will also deliver a Blue Carbon pilot project to contribute to the understanding of blue carbon markets in the Pacific. By restoring and protecting mangrove forests, the project aims to significantly increase carbon storage and sequestration, while exploring sustainable financing options for mangrove ecosystem management.
"Nature is essential for the resilience of Pacific Island peoples, providing food, shelter, and protection in the face of increasing climate threats," said SusanaWaqainabete-Tuisese, Vice President, Pacific Regionat Conservation International. "Through RESTORE, we are working with communities to restore their ecosystems and use nature to strengthen their adaptive capacity in the face of climate change. This is not just an environmental effort—it’s a step toward a resilient future for the Pacific."
AFd representative from the Kiwa Initiative Secretariat added, “The RESTORE project embodies the spirit of the Kiwa Initiative, strengthening the climate change resilience of Pacific Islandecosystems,communities andeconomies through Nature-Based Solutions (NbS). These efforts are key to building sustainable futures in some of the world’s most vulnerable regions.”
RESTORE is made possible by a €3,300,000 grant from the Kiwa Initiative, with additional contributions from co-funders, underlining a strong commitment to the long-term resilience of Pacific communities.
About the Kiwa Initiative:
The Kiwa Initiative - Nature-based Solutions (NbS) for Climate Resilience aims to build the resilience of Pacific Island ecosystems, communities and economies to climate change through NbS by protecting, sustainably managing and restoring biodiversity. It is based on simplified access to funding for climate change adaptation and biodiversity conservation actions for local and national governments, civil society and regional organisations in Pacific Island States and Territories. The Initiative is funded by the European Union, French Development Agency (AFD), Global Affairs Canada (GAC), Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), and New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT). It has established partnerships with the Pacific Community (SPC), the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and the Oceania Regional Office of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). For more information: www.kiwainitiative.org.
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.