Pasifik
Protecting customary systems of Indigenous nations across the Pasifik
Quick Facts
25%
of all global spoken languages are rooted in the Pasifik.
30%
of the Earth’s surface is covered by the Pacific Ocean.
25K
islands are located in the Pasifik region.
Why it's important
Indigenous Peoples' long-standing guardianship of islands and surrounding waters in the Pasifik has sustained ecological balance and planetary habitability since time immemorial.
Nia Tero works with partners in the Pasifik to strengthen guardianship of sacred homelands and waters.
Through the continuation of customary practice and innovative Indigenous constitutionalism, Pasifik-based Indigenous Peoples defend their ancestral lands and waters against post-colonial aftereffects, extractive industry and geopolitical pressures.
We support their unique ways of life, which sustain thriving land, freshwater, and ocean ecosystems.
We have people who came from the land, from the sea, and we understand this concept of managing the resources because we’ve done it for generations, and it’s a matter of making sure we don’t lose it as we become more globalized.
- Ralph Regenvanu
Uripiv of Malakua Island (Vanuatu)
Vanuatu’s Minister for Climate Change Adaptation
Advisory Council, Nia Tero
Spotlight: an Indigenous-led model for ocean guardianship
Melanesian Ocean Reserve
In the Pasifik, Nia Tero is working alongside our Indigenous partners on establishing the Melanesian Ocean Reserve (MOR). The Reserve will be the world's first Indigenous-led, multi-national ocean reserve initiative that will operate across the Exclusive Economic Zones of Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, and New Caledonia.
When complete, The Reserve is expected to span over 6 million square kilometers of ocean and islands — an area as vast as the Amazon rainforest.
This massive ocean reserve reflects the collective ambition of nations to protect the vast waters that have sustained the region’s Indigenous Peoples and ecosystems for hundreds of centuries. MOR serves as an umbrella approach that supports a mosaic of management regimes. This ranges from strict no-take zones where uses such as fishing, mining or other extractive industry are prohibited to highly managed areas where Indigenous stewardship ensures protections that match or exceed those of marine protected areas globally.
This is guardianship rooted in law, in custom, and in the lived experience of Indigenous Peoples who have navigated and cared for these waters for generations.
pasifik HIGHLIGHTS
Led by a Pasifik-based team, Nia Tero elevates the influence of Pasifik identity and knowledge in shaping policy and action that supports Indigenous Peoples' guardianship. Additionally, we recognize the collective, diverse, reciprocity-based regional identity that drive a self-determined vision for a thriving Pasifik. Below, view more about key initiatives and work with our Pasifik partners.
In the Solomon Islands, the Sky Islands Initiative — born from a government pledge to protect forest areas above 400 meters (20 percent of the land) — is driving local leadership and action rooted in Indigenous lifeways. The initiative aligns with Indigenous stewardship philosophies across Vanuatu, Kanaky, and Papua New Guinea, fostering a collective commitment to preserving these vital ecosystems and contributing to global environmental solutions.
In the Pasifik, Nia Tero supports and strengthens Indigenous constitutionalism—an approach to governance that places Indigenous authority, values, and lifeways at the foundation of the state to achieve Indigenous guardianship of land, ocean, and community wellbeing.
In Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, and Solomon Islands, national constitutions are grounded not in colonial inheritance but in Indigenous sovereignty, with moral leadership, strong courts, and Indigenous values that shape how lands, waters, and peoples are cared for today.
