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Pacific countries manage over 10% of the world’s Ocean as Large Ocean States, and contribute less than 1.3% to global plastic pollution.  Despite this measly contribution to plastic pollution, Pacific communities remain on the forefront of impacts of the worsening plastic pollution crisis.

In an ancient quarry on top of a volcano on a remote Pacific island, half-finished figures hewn into the rock ignore Maria Tuki as she walks by.The rugged faces of these figures sport world-famous furrowed brows and sloping noses.

From rising seas to disappearing forests, the world’s small island developing states are facing some of the fiercest fallout from the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste.  

It’s been two weeks since the curtains fell on the third UN Ocean Conference. At this largest ever ocean summit, the Pacific voice echoed as a collective, calling for more global ocean accountability, and offering transformational national and regional voluntary commitments.

 A national project to strengthen management efforts for the Palau National Marine Sanctuary (PNMS) has successfully concluded after four years and $1.8 million in support of fisheries management, enforcement & surveillance, and research and outreach efforts.

Smack-bang in the center of the Pacific Ocean – slightly north of the equator and about 1,800 kilometers south of Hawaii – lies uninhabited Palmyra Atoll, a U.S. National Wildlife Refuge managed by The Nature Conservancy (TNC).

LIKE many coastal communities in Fiji, the villagers of Nabouono in the remote district of Udu, Macuata have long relied on the sea to sustain their livelihoods.

In the Pacific, Melanesian communities such as those in Nusumetu, nestled in Green Hills of North Tanna in Vanuatu, myths are not just stories, they are maps of identity, land rights, and spiritual connection.

The people of Mauke are stepping up efforts to combat the invasive red passionfruit vine (Passiflora rubra), a fast-growing threat to the island’s environment and cultural heritage.

Pacific island nations are racing to enhance marine conservation, establishing sweeping “no-take” zones and pledging to sustainably manage vast swathes of their territorial waters despite facing limited resources and geopolitical pressure.