Posted on November, 10 2016

Melanesia extends from the western Pacific Ocean to the Arafura Sea, and covers Fiji, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea (PNG), the Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu. It has thousands of kilometres of coastline and counts a population of some 8.7 million people—a number expected to grow to 12.4 million by 2030.

So says a new report launched 18 October in Suva, Fiji, which is re-examining the importance of the ocean to this important sub-region of four countries and one territory, two countries of which are part of the Coral Triangle: Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.

“Reviving Melanesia’s Ocean Economy: The Case for Action” pegs the value of the ocean and coastlines in Melanesia at around US$548 billion, and notes the sea’s contribution to food, livelihoods, and economic activity. Some 70 per cent of all coastal fisheries production in the Pacific islands is for subsistence, the report notes—and such production will have to increase by 60 per cent to feed Melanesia’s rapidly growing population by 2030.

With such population growth comes immense pressure, leading to resource exploitation, degradation, and depletion, compounded by climate change. Overfishing and destructive fishing have affected more than 65 per cent of the reefs in the Solomon Islands and 50 per cent of the reefs in PNG, according to the report. By 2030, 100 per cent of coral reefs in PNG are expected to be at risk—up from 55 per cent in 2012.

The Melanesia report was produced in collaboration with the Global Change Institute (GCI) at the University of Queensland, Australia and The Boston Consulting Group (BCG).  GCI (www.gci.uq.edu.au) is an independent research institute working to address the impacts of climate change, technological innovation, and population growth in the fields of clean energy, food systems, sustainable water, and healthy oceans. BCG is a global management consulting firm working in the private, public, and non-profit sectors.

“We can now see in no uncertain terms just how much the people of Melanesia rely on the ocean,” said Prof Ove Hoegh-Guldberg of GCI, lead author of the report, in a WWF statement. “There is no doubt the ocean has delivered the majority of food, livelihoods, and economic activity for Melanesia for a very long time. Given some of the troubling trends in the status of the ecosystems that generate these benefits, however, the question is now: how long will these benefits last?”

The launch in Fiji was attended by around 80 guests, including Fiji’s Acting Prime Minister, Attorney General, and Minister for Economy, Public Enterprises, Civil Service, and Communications Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, together with Permanent Secretary for Environment Joshua Wycliffe.  

High-level panel discussion

The launch featured a high-level panel discussion with commentary by Francois Martel, Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Development Forum, which focuses on the Pacific model of green growth in blue economies; Stanley Wapot, Manager for the Governance and Sustainable Development Programme of the Melanesian Spearhead Group; Alifereti Tawake, a community advocate and natural resource management specialist from Kadavu Island, Fiji, representing the Locally Managed Marine Area (LMMA) Network; Brett Haywood, Managing Director of Sea Quest (Fiji) and executive member of the Fiji Fishing Industry Association and the Pacific Islands Tuna Industry Association; moderator Dr Patrina Dumaru, Team Leader for the European Union Global Climate Change Alliance (EU-GCCA) Project of the Pacific Centre for Environment and Sustainable Development (PACE-SD) at the University of the South Pacific (USP); and Kesaia Tabunakawai, Representative of the WWF Pacific office.

Tabunakawai said in a statement, “This new analysis adds considerable weight to the case for ocean conservation to be an even higher priority for Melanesian leaders. We have seen good commitments in the past, but the objective analysis shows that we are running out of time, and need action on a much greater scale and urgency if Melanesia is to have a healthy and prosperous future.”

“At a time when Melanesian governments are facing many competing priorities, the report helps to present an economic justification for investment in the protection, management, and restoration of the ocean and coastal resources,” says WWF Coral Triangle Coordination Team Leader Jackie Thomas. “It also brings a sense of pressing urgency, but also the message that it’s not too late for Melanesia. Clearly, action is needed now, given the increasing pressure on its ocean assets.”

In April 2015, WWF, GCI, and BCG released an earlier global report, “Reviving the Ocean Economy,” which aimed to emphasise to policymakers and the private sector the huge economic value of the ocean, the detrimental effects of its over-exploitation, and what should be done to keep it alive.

The Melanesia report complements the global report with a regional study. WWF’s experience is that decision-makers are often more easily convinced to invest in ocean conservation when it is complementary to their economic and social agendas. Thus, Melanesia is used as a case study for a “sustainable and inclusive blue economy approach” that presents securing a healthy ocean as a good business proposition, or as an example of prudent economic management.

‘Gross marine product’

The report has three main themes. First, it establishes the importance of the Melanesian ocean economy to the region, and to the future of its people. BCG conducted an analysis of the conventional economic value of Melanesia’s ocean and coastal assets, and discovered that the coral reefs, seagrass beds, and mangroves of Melanesia have an asset value of at least $406.7 billion, support fisheries and ocean-based tourism, and provide safeguards against climate change like carbon absorption and coastal protection—a notable concern, as sea rise in Melanesia is already three to four times the global average.

The sub-region’s estimated annual output or “gross marine product” of at least $5.4 billion makes this ocean economy larger even than some national economies.

Of this amount, 56 per cent comes from direct ocean production—53 per cent of which is accounted for by commercial marine fisheries, 2 per cent by non-industrial marine fisheries, and 1 per cent by aquaculture and mariculture—while 27 per cent comes from adjacent benefits, led by coastal tourism at 20 per cent, 5 per cent from carbon sequestration, and 2 per cent from coastal protection.

Second, the report defines the pressures on these assets, presenting both a “business as usual” scenario, which will lead to continuing decline, and a “sustainable and inclusive blue economy” option which would facilitate recovery.

The region’s ocean economy relies largely on the state of Melanesia’s natural assets, which are being depleted, or on the way to depletion, based on several trends that the report describes. Intensive agriculture and deforestation have led to sedimentation and pollution of coasts with agrichemicals, affecting water quality and jeopardising mangroves, seagrass, and corals, as well as tourism value, which provides up to 37 per cent of the region’s annual ocean-based revenue, as the study cites.

Third, the report provides meaningful, achievable solutions. Melanesian countries have already taken the initiative at a regional level to better manage their own marine resources, but this needs to be done on a greater scale and with a greater sense of urgency, with action at the national levels. Melanesian leaders have already embraced the goal of a sustainable and inclusive blue economy, and are aligning with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to protect the sub-region’s future.

“The people of Melanesia have for millennia relied on the ocean and its marine resources not just for food, shelter, and sustenance but also spiritually and culturally,” says Thomas. “A sustainable and inclusive ‘blue economy’ for Melanesia will enable improved management of ocean assets, and help ensure that these assets continue to provide benefits to all people of the region for the long term."

The Melanesia report outlines six specific paths of action. First is the implementation of the Melanesian Spearhead Group Roadmap for Inshore Fisheries Management and Sustainable Development, initiated upon the request of the countries’ prime ministers. Based on the fact that small-scale fisheries, upon which Melanesia’s coastal populations depend, have become unsustainable, this step covers policy and legislation, financing mechanisms, capacity building, data collection, and resource mobilisation.

Second is the delivery of spatial planning and protection to maintain important resources, which means establishing and maintaining marine protected areas (MPAs), marine managed areas (MMAs), and LMMAs.

Third is the application of an ecosystem-based approach to resource management, and combining this with spatial planning and conservation.

Fourth is building resilience against climate change by implementing the commitments of the Paris Climate Agreement and aligning with SDG13 on climate change. Clean energy, including enhanced access to modern energy services, energy efficiency, and economically viable and environmentally sound technology will play a critical role in ensuring sustainable development in Melanesia, says the report.

Fifth is supporting partnerships that work in terms of harnessing market forces, protecting people, fisheries, and ecosystems, and encouraging sustainable business solutions, consistent with SDG17 on partnerships.

Finally, it is about investing in education and women’s rights, as outlined in SDG5, since gender equality and women’s empowerment have been shown to contribute to economic growth, sustainable development, and national stability.

The report is a call for stakeholders to act now to protect Melanesia’s precious ocean wealth. As the document clearly states, “Strong decisions now—followed by sustained action, coupled with prudent investments to secure Melanesia’s ocean and coastal natural assets—will ensure a healthier, more certain future for Melanesia’s communities and economies, for decades to come.”