The Kiwa Initiative has announced the launch of four new major projects aimed at strengthening climate resilience across the Pacific during the 12th Steering Committee Meeting in Suva, Fiji last week.
The Kiwa Initiative is a multi-donor program funded by France, European Union, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. It is managed by the Agence Française de Development (AFD), and builds resilience by protecting and restoring biodiversity.
Additionally, Kiwa operates by providing simplified access to funding for local governments and NGOs, currently supporting over 45 projects across 17 Pacific Island nations to help ecosystems and economies thrive.
Two of the three new regional projects will specifically target PNG communities in New Ireland and East New Britain provinces.
The first, Kiwa cFISH, led by Multiplier/cChange, is a three-year €4.9 million project that will focus on scaling community-based fisheries management targeting Papua New Guinea (PNG), Solomon Islands, and French Polynesia.
For PNG, the project aims to ensure 40% of communities in New Ireland Province implement or improve local fisheries management measures using a national information strategy (NIS) system. The project seeks to empower women and youth to lead the protection of their coastal resources.
The second is also a three-year project, Kiwa PRESERVE, led by WaterAid, takes a holistic approach to water and food security in PNG, Samoa, and Timor-Leste. The €5 million project will address disruptions to the water cycle in the rural communities.
Additionally, for PNG, the project will support watershed protection through community by-laws, reforestation of degraded slopes, and installation of bio-infiltration basins that are designed to reduce erosion and protect traditional ways of life from the impact of the climate crisis.
These initiatives represent a significant expansion of nature-based solutions (NbS) for communities facing rising sea levels and environmental degradation.
