A RECENT national workshop in Tarawa brought together diverse stakeholders to establish monitoring frameworks for Kiribati’s marine spatial planning initiatives.
This collaborative effort focused on designing specific indicators that track the intersection of climate resilience, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable ocean governance.
By engaging various government agencies and local organisations, the program ensures that future maritime decisions are based on transparent data and cultural values.
The new data is intended to align with existing national policies to promote long-term economic prosperity and environmental health for the Kiribati people. Ultimately, the initiative empowers the nation to balance human activity with the preservation of its vital oceanic resources.
“Marine spatial planning aims to find a balance across human activities in the ocean space; therefore, the fact that people are at the core of the MSP process cannot be overstated,” said Kaiea Awira, national CaB-Smart MSP Coordinator, Ministry of Fisheries and Ocean Resources.
“For Kiribati, MSP should deliver a healthy, resilient, and thriving ocean by balancing sustainable use with the conservation of our natural, historical, and cultural heritage, for the benefit of I-Kiribati now and in the future.”
A key part of the workshop was the open sharing of perspectives, interactive discussions, and practical group work, where participants utilised a set of prioritisation criteria to evaluate potential indicators based on aspects such as relevance, feasibility, data availability, data collection and monitoring capacity, and cultural significance.
Awira added, “I am happy to have contributed to the good discussions and practical activities during the workshop, particularly around co-developing relevant and realistic indicators for measuring how well our MSP process is meeting its objectives, through effective cross-sectoral coordination, ensuring the good health of our marine resources and long-term prosperity of our communities.”
The workshop was co-organised by the Kiribati Ministry of Fisheries and Ocean Resources (MFOR), the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Agricultural Development (MELAD) under the umbrella of the Kiribati National Marine Spatial Planning Coordinating Committee (KMSPCC), and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP). It is a key output of the Climate and Biodiversity-Smart Marine Spatial Planning (CaB-Smart MSP) Programme, funded by the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and implemented by SPREP.
“The workshop followed a user-friendly format and a provided an enabling space for Kiribati MSP stakeholders to discuss, debate, and reach consensus on a preliminary set of indicators and I am pleased to note that this has fostered active participation in and ownership of the indicator co-development process over the last 3 days,” said Vainuupo Jungblut, the Environmental Monitoring and Reporting Adviser, SPREP.