The Promoting Pacific Island Nature-based Solutions (PPIN) project seeks to support the development of policy and legislation for Nature-based Solutions (NbS), build awareness and capacity, and strengthen regional cooperation amongst Pacific Islands Countries and Territories (PICTS) on NbS. This project will be a key component of New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) “Resilient Ecosystems for Climate Change Adaptation” (RECCA) Activity. The project will seek to build regional awareness and capacity for NbS and embed NbS into regional and national policy and regulatory frameworks for key sectors in the anticipated demonstration countries of Fiji, Tonga, and Vanuatu. IUCN is the leading partner with the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), the Pacific Community (SPC), contributing as implementing partners. NbS will be integrated into existing regional platforms like the Pacific Resilience Partnership and the Pacific Roundtable for Nature Conservation through NbS technical working groups to advise members. Regional and national awareness and capacity in relation to NbS will be strengthened through targeted capacity building programmes for those designing and implementing NbS.
The project will build regional NbS awareness and capacity for NbS at a Pacific regional level through targeted capacity building activities, interactions with the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS), United Nations (UN) agencies, and other regional projects and through the establishment of communities of practice. PPIN will seek to pilot the integration of NbS into national policies and frameworks in three demonstration countries. The Governments of Vanuatu, Fiji, and Tonga will be approached and their agreement to be potential demonstration countries sought. All three of these countries have demonstrated clear interest in NbS through the development of national policies and frameworks that may be models for integrating NbS into national policies across the region.
The direct beneficiaries of the PPIN project will be governments, government officers and implementing organisations supported to strengthen capacity for designing and implementing NbS policies and projects. Other beneficiaries will include stakeholders from other sectors who engage on NbS capacity building and awareness, representatives from private sector (e.g. tourism, infrastructure, fisheries, agriculture, forestry), CROP agencies, NGOs, donors, and other sub-regional agencies. Broad support and engagement with the PPIN project among stakeholders, and their active role in its implementation are key to achieving project objectives and ensuring ongoing progress after project end.