Photo credit: Goinyk/Adobe Stock
Pacific countries reaffirmed the importance of strengthened international partnership and financing to support Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in addressing intensifying climate and environmental challenges at the opening of a regional gathering hosted by the Government of Fiji in partnership with the Global Environment Facility (GEF).
Opening the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation Viliame Gavoka underscored the urgency of coordinated global and regional action to safeguard the Pacific’s people, ecosystems, and economies in the face of growing climate and environmental pressures.
“Environmental stewardship is no longer solely a moral responsibility, it is a legal one, and it is one the Pacific has led with confidence, clarity, and credibility,” the Minister said. “We all witness daily how environmental pressures intensify across our region, with rising seas threatening our coasts, and the degradation of land and ocean ecosystems placing growing strain on our economies and livelihoods. The urgency is unmistakable.”
Gavoka highlighted that Fiji’s partnership with the GEF continued to be transformative, with GEF financing supporting adaptation, biodiversity protection, ocean and fisheries management, sustainable land use and chemicals management, strengthening institutions, empowering communities, and safeguarding the natural resources upon which all Pacific societies depend.
The GEF’s Head of Programming Fred Boltz underscored the key role of Fiji and its partners in driving global environmental progress.
“Pacific island countries are global leaders in demonstrating how conserving nature underpins the resilience and sustainable development of nations,” Boltz said.
“The GEF is proud to support Fiji and all Pacific island nations to scale up integrated solutions that respond directly to country priorities and deliver lasting environmental benefits for the Pacific and for the world.”
Pacific SIDS are among the most vulnerable countries to the impacts of climate change and environmental degradation. Rising sea levels, stronger storms, coastal erosion, coral reef loss, and pressures on freshwater and food systems pose significant risks to livelihoods, infrastructure, and national development. At the same time, Pacific nations are custodians of vast ocean territories and globally significant biodiversity that are vital to both regional prosperity and global environmental stability.
Bringing together political representatives from 15 Pacific nations – Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu – the opening session highlighted the importance of long-standing cooperation between Pacific island countries and the GEF in mobilizing finance, strengthening national capacity, and supporting country-driven environmental and development priorities.
For more than three decades, the Global Environment Facility has worked closely with Pacific countries to support action on climate change, biodiversity conservation, land and ocean management, and pollution reduction. Since 1991, the GEF has supported more than 270 projects across Pacific island countries, providing over $800 million in grant financing to support national and regional priorities.
Through its family of funds – including the GEF Trust Fund, Least Developed Countries Fund, Special Climate Change Fund, Global Biodiversity Framework Fund, and Capacity-building Initiative for Transparency – the GEF supports Pacific countries in addressing interconnected climate and nature challenges while strengthening institutional capacity and policy coherence.
These investments are helping countries restore coastal and marine ecosystems, strengthen climate resilience in communities and infrastructure, improve waste and pollution management, and enhance environmental governance and planning. In Fiji alone, GEF support over the past three decades has exceeded $41 million across 20 national projects, mobilizing more than $175 million in co-financing,
Discussions this week will focus on strengthening collaboration across the Pacific and with international partners to ensure environmental finance delivers lasting benefits for communities, ecosystems, and economies. The gathering reflects a shared commitment between Pacific countries and the Global Environment Facility to deepen cooperation, scale up integrated solutions, and ensure that global environmental finance responds effectively to the priorities and needs of Small Island Developing States.
Press release originally published by the Government of Fiji.
