Five years of the Kiwa Initiative: protecting biodiversity and supporting communities

From the outset, the Kiwa Initiative has been focused on Nature-based Solutions (NbS). “Nature-based Solutions are initiatives that aim to meet the needs of governments and local communities amid climate change, and which offer two major advantages,” says Virginie Duvat, author of the Small Islands chapter of the fifth and sixth IPCC reports and an expert in the assessment of NbS. “Firstly, they promote biodiversity, which supports all aspects of human life, in one way or another, in the Pacific Islands where some of the world's biodiversity hotspots are found. The second advantage is that they achieve the social objective of improving people's well-being,” she explains.

Backed by €77 million in financing from the European Union, France, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, the Kiwa initiative represents a unique coalition of stakeholders working on climate change adaptation in the Pacific Islands. These projects have benefited more than 220,000 people, with the involvement of over 160 civil society organizations and around 130 public institutions across the island territories. In 2017, at the first One Planet Summit, French President Emmanuel Macron announced the launch of this initiative to tackle key priorities in the region, whose countries and territories all agree that climate change is their primary existential threat. The calls for projects issued by the Kiwa Initiative have generated unprecedented interest, with 342 applications received for local projects and 97 for regional projects. This response illustrates the needs that must be met and the major interest in the initiative across the Pacific region. 

The Kiwa Initiative has remained true to its dual objectives of improving conditions for both the environment and people, by working closely with local communities on the ground to implement projects. Led by the NGO Wildlife Conservation Society, the Kiwa WISH+ regional project is focused on managing watersheds to improve water quality, as well as the health of communities and ecosystems. Every community affected is consulted to obtain the free, prior and informed consent of the project's key stakeholders. “It is essential that the concept behind a project is fully understood before its launch because it means we can anticipate the different roles that community members will play. Taking on a diverse range of views helps us to build up a more complete picture and provides a platform for women's voices to be heard,” says Luisa Ruru, resident of Wabole village in Fiji and a direct beneficiary of the project.

What makes the Kiwa initiative so unique is its focus on both local and regional projects, implemented across numerous countries and territories. These efforts foster a community based on practice, sharing of experience, and collaborative working. It serves as a wellspring of ideas and a source of inspiration. “It’s important to remember: we couldn't do any of this on our own. We need each other's help. An inclusive approach based on partnerships and stakeholder involvement is essential for effective management. That’s why we build and forge strong partnerships with expert organizations that share our vision, like the Kiwa INSPIRE project,” says Jennifer Olegerii, Director of the Koror State Government's Department of Conservation and Law Enforcement in Palau.

Managed by the Pacific Community, the Kiwa POLFN project (Fiji, Nauru, Solomon Islands and Tonga), representing a network of organic learning farms, exemplifies what the Kiwa community is all about. Based on a farmer-to-farmer training approach, the project is gradually developing organic farming in the region via a network of trainers that is expanding year on year. 

Wherever possible, Nature-based Solutions draw on local knowledge and traditional practices. However, for the specialists who implement this approach, it is about trial and error to find the ideal solution which can also be replicated. The Kiwa PEBACC+ project (Fiji, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Wallis and Futuna) applies ecosystem-based adaptation techniques to build the resilience of communities and economies: for example, by restoring mangrove forests to protect coastal areas. The project has selected specific pilot sites for these operations, which are easily accessible so that the work is visible, while focusing on tangible, short-term results, and the involvement of “committed, reliable, and communicative” partners. SPREP (Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme), which is leading the project, expects these pilot sites to incentivize scale-up elsewhere.

“An initiative like Kiwa serves as the impetus for other regions to build a future around Nature-based Solutions, in a structured and collaborative way. For me, the Kiwa Initiative is about creating incubators. By that I mean it provides the opportunity to implement pilot projects and conduct trials from start to finish, so that we can learn lessons and figure out how to develop and roll-out robust Nature-based Solutions,” says Virginie Duvat.