Resilient Reefs Pasifika
Building the resilience of Pacific reefs and the communities that depend on them
#The challenge
The Pacific is home to almost 27% of the world’s coral reefs — and over 8 million Pacific Islanders rely on these reefs for food, livelihoods, and coastal protection. But climate change is threatening the survival of coral reefs.
Most reefs in the Pacific are expected to experience severe coral bleaching conditions at least twice per decade by the 2030s, with severe bleaching expected annually by the 2040s. Despite being the most vulnerable to climate change, Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs) remain the most underfunded and least equipped to respond and adapt to climate impacts.
In response, PICTs have united under the 2030 Pacific Coral Reef Action Plan (PACRAP) — a shared, region-wide strategy to protect, restore and adapt coral reef systems. Despite this strong foundation and growing interest, current efforts remain fragmented, underfunded, and too small in scale to match the urgency of the climate crisis.
#Three key pathways to create deep, lasting change
Catalyse action to support local reef resilience solutions
Strengthen capacity by building skills, tools and leadership for communities and governments
Unlock capital by connecting funders to funding
#The solution
With escalating climate impacts, we must urgently resolve these barriers to ensure solutions can be delivered in a coordinated way across the whole region.
Resilient Reefs Pasifika, led by the Great Barrier Reef Foundation with the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and Talanoa Consulting, is a five-year, AUD$15.2m initiative responding to this urgent challenge.
Resilient Reefs Pasifika will tackle both immediate needs through the deployment of urgent, scalable action, and longer-term needs by connecting and resourcing a pipeline of projects and funding. We will achieve this through two core activities: Pacific Resilience Hubs and a Pacific Coral Reef Action Accelerator Program.
#Pacific Resilience Hubs
Locally led action across Micronesia, Polynesia and Melanesia
The Pacific Resilience Hubs bring together traditional knowledge, scientific expertise and community leadership to tackle threats from ridge to reef. Each Hub will be led by a Pacific partner organisation with strong regional ties and technical expertise. With approximately AUD$1.5m in implementation funding per Hub, each will coordinate and fund local reef resilience projects, support regional capacity building, and foster collaboration across sectors.
The Hubs will:
- Coordinate reef projects across large areas
- Fund new and existing initiatives across reef and coastal catchments
- Connect local partners with resources, technical support, innovative solutions and new funding sources
- Build skills and capacity for reef resilience and climate adaptation
- Support collaborative donor models aligned with Pacific priorities
#Pacific Coral Reef Action Accelerator Program
Supporting a region-wide pipeline of reef resilience projects
The Accelerator Program identifies and supports a new cohort of four to six locally-led reef projects each year (for four years), helping them refine project design and readiness, strengthen delivery capacity, and connect to funders. Over AUD$1.6m will support technical expertise to overcome common feasibility and investment barriers.
The Accelerators will:
- Unite current and emerging leaders in reef action to coordinate and advance the Pacific Coral Reef Action Plan (PACRAP)
- Connect funders with a strong pipeline of initiatives grounded in Pacific priorities
- Build regional capacity through tools, technical advice and tailored project design support
- Enable donors to collaborate more flexibly with each other and Pacific leadership for greater regional impact
2025 Accelerator Projects
Ocean Toa
Cook Islands, Polynesia
Ocean Toa Cook Islands is a purpose-driven ecotourism initiative leading the Ocean Tupuna Movement, which aims to redefine ocean conservation as a catalyst for social transformation by addressing the impacts of climate change on isolated communities, challenging systemic social inequities, and advancing indigenous knowledge systems. By repurposing dormant pearl farms into coral sanctuaries, fostering community collaboration, promoting youth education, and developing resilient, island-specific ocean-based economies, the initiative seeks to enhance local livelihoods, oppose deep sea mining, and safeguard marine biodiversity and the cultural heritage of island communities for future generations. The Accelerator will enable it to scale operations, strengthen program design and foster regional collaboration in reef restoration.
Image credit: Ocean Toa
Live & Learn
Solomon Islands, Melanesia
Live & Learn is committed to designing and developing a ridge-to-reef approach to protect marine and terrestrial ecosystems and strengthen community-led resilience in sites soon to be selected in the Solomon Islands. The project design will consider the interdependence of ecosystems, the communities that rely on them for their livelihoods, safety, and cultural identity, as well as the impacts of climate change and environmental degradation. Emphasis will be placed on ensuring long-term viability through community leadership, broad stakeholder engagement, and the exploration of innovative solutions for conservation and resilience financing. The Accelerator is supporting Live & Learn by strengthening the project design, facilitating donor engagement, and helping to scale its impact.
Image credit: Aelanlife/Courtesy Nakau and Live & Learn
RARE
Palau, Micronesia
RARE’s Fish Forever program empowers Palauan communities to manage coastal resources by blending fisheries management, traditional practices and scientific knowledge. Building on the success in Melekeok State — where Fish Forever is well established — the project plans to expand to Ngchesar and Ngiwal, forming the first ecologically and socio-politically networked marine management system along Palau's eastern coast. With Accelerator support, it will test and enhance the project design, engage with donors and potentially scale the project across the whole country.
Image credit: RARE
Drawaqa Marine Conservation Trust
Fiji, Melanesia
Born from a 20 year-long collaboration between resorts, dive businesses and local communities, the Drawaqa Marine Conservation Trust supports marine conservation in Fiji’s Yasawa Islands. Its current work focuses on expanding Locally Managed Marine Areas (Tabu areas), coral restoration, and sustainable tourism across multiple island communities in the Yasawa Islands. The Accelerator will enhance their organisational capacity, program design and donor connections, enabling them to scale reef-to-ridge interventions across this large, ecologically important archipelago.
Image credit: Drawaqa Marine Conservation Trust
Island Conservation
Tuvalu, Polynesia
Island Conservation restores islands for nature and people worldwide. It does this by bringing back biodiversity, the foundation of healthy ecosystems. Removing invasive species from islands is repeatedly proven to be one of the most effective ways to restore biodiversity, boosting seabird populations and increasing the flow of nitrogen-rich nutrients to nearby reefs. Its project will expand drone-based rat eradication efforts to Nukufetau Atoll in Tuvalu, building on recent drone-based eradication efforts in the Marshall Islands and working closely with community, traditional leadership, and government. The Accelerator will enable Island Conservation to validate its approach and build ecological and community resilience across the Pacific.
Image credit: Jesse Friedlander/Island Conservation
#Why it matters
- The Pacific is home to 27% of coral reefs globally
- Less than 4% of global reef funding reaches this region
- Coral reefs support $10tn in ecosystem services
- Without action, most reefs will face annual bleaching by 2040
Resilient Reefs Pasifika is scaling the solutions we need - led by Pacific communities, backed by science, and supported by global collaboration.
