The Pacific Innovation Forum for Climate and Environment (PIFCE) 1st - 3rd July, 2026

Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment

Brief overview

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for all Samoans through a strong commitment to sustainable development and the effective management of Samoa’s natural resources and environment.

Your organisation’s goals

THE MNRE is Samoa’s lead agency for climate change coordination and environmental management. It houses the majority of the technical teams implementing adaptation and mitigation measures, ensuring climate resilience is strengthened across government, NGOs, private sector and communities. MNRE’s divisions including biodiversity, waste management, meteorology, forestry, and disaster management to deliver integrated climate services; conserving ecosystems, advancing sustainable forestry, improving waste systems, enhancing disaster preparedness and providing vital climate and weather data to guide national responses.

Also leading policy development, legislative drafting and institutional reforms to align Samoa’s frameworks with international climate commitments under the Paris Agreement. Its work emphasises inclusivity and collaboration, engaging diverse stakeholders to ensure practical, locally relevant climate solutions. Combining all these expertise with strong governance and community partnerships, MNRE advances Samoa’s sustainable development priorities while safeguarding people and ecosystems against the escalating impacts of climate change.

Describe your innovation

The Ministry has finally operationalised its vision for youth and integrating them not as a project-based initiative but into the programs across the Ministry. Rooting their participation in the mandates or each technical division.

This Youth framework is rooted in the Samoan proverb about pollination, the framework regonises young people as “essential pollinators of change”, bridging traditional knowledge with modern innovation to strengthen climate resilience.
The innovation addresses climate change by embbeding youth perspectives into adaptation, mitigation, loss and damage etc across biodiversity conservation, disaster risk management, waste reduction and forestry.

The initiative emphasises training and practical implementation as the foundation for youth advocacy. MNRE engages youth through its existing programs, providing hands-on- experience before they represent Samoa externally. this approach ensures that advocacy is grounded in lived practice equipping young people with the technical skills and contextual knowledge needed to contribute meaningfully to climate solutions.

Equally innovative is the Framework’s emphasis on climate literacy contextualised to Samoa’s reality. Youths part of the program will be given the opportunity to also expand their knowledge on combined innovative methods such as adding traditional forecasting methods in which they are well versed in as part of their up-brining with modern climate modelling.

Institutionalising youth voice, grounding advocacy in practical implementation and leveraging cultural networks, this program offers a replicable model for other SIDS. It ensures youth are not symbolic participants but genuine agents of resilience, safeguarding ecosystems and communities against the ever so abnormal changes of climate risks.

How is this solution is innovative?

The Samoa Environment Youth Engagement Framework (2026–2029) is innovative because it shifts youth engagement from ad‑hoc participation to structured, institutionalized leadership in climate governance. Rooted in the Samoan proverb Tu’utu’u la’au fa’amanuiti, it positions youth as “pollinators of change,” blending indigenous knowledge with modern tools. The Framework emphasizes training and practical implementation through MNRE programs, such as mangrove restoration, reforestation, and climate monitoring before youth advocate externally. By combining traditional forecasting with GIS mapping and digital monitoring, it creates culturally grounded, evidence‑based climate solutions. This model is particularly relevant for Pacific Island nations facing urgent climate challenges.

How can the innovation be replicated and scaled up in other PICTs?

By establishing dedicated environment youth groups that advance national climate and environmental actions. This model is distinctive because youth are first trained and engaged in practical implementation such as reforestation, coastal protection and waste reduction, through ministry programs before advocating externally. This will for certain give them sense of ownership and confidence in what they are advocating for based on true, real practical actions.
Replication requires horizontal institutional partnership (govt ministries, village councils, faith-based networks, CSOs etc). Regional bodies like SPREP and PIFs can support harmonisation and capacity building while financing models should mainstream youth activities into existing climate and environment budgets. This culturally grounded, practice-first approach offers PICTs a scalable pathway to empower youth as genuine agents of climate resilience.

How is the solution cost‑effective and affordable in the context of Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs)?

Yes. Participation for this program is voluntary, and the learning component is embedded in the Ministry’s daily operations, where the technical divisions will provide mentorship and training through their projects and programs. This ensures that knowledge transfer occurs without additional costs to end users.
This framework does not create parallel schemes requiring new budgets, instead it mainstreamed youth engagement into existing environmental initiatives. When external funding opportunities present themselves, of course they are used to expand reach, but the program’ ore remains sustainable through institutional resources. Communities (and MSMEs later on down the line) benefit from youth involvement, climate literacy and practical implementation without incurring fees, while local government gain strengthened capacity and inclusive governance without separate allocations. In this way, affordability is ensured and accessability is genuine.

Locations (country, island, or community) where this solution has been piloted and/or implemented

An EOI was sent out nationwide and the selected applicants cover all the habitable islands of Samoa.

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Abyss Vanuatu Ocean Institute

About

Abyss Vanuatu Ocean Institute (AVOI) is a science-led, community-driven initiative advancing marine restoration, climate resilience and sustainable blue economy development in Vanuatu. Through its Havannah Harbour pilot, AVOI integrates Reef Ball deployment, artificial reef design, drone-enabled monitoring and workforce training via the Vanuatu Ocean Rangers. The model combines innovation and local stewardship to restore ecosystems, strengthen biodiversity and support climate adaptation. By linking technology, community engagement and practical delivery, AVOI is developing a scalable national framework that helps translate ocean policy into measurable outcomes, creating jobs, building local capability and supporting long-term environmental resilience across island communities.

Abyss Vanuatu Ocean Institute (AVOI) delivers integrated, science-led services focused on marine restoration, climate resilience and sustainable environmental management. Its core services include the design and deployment of Reef Ball artificial reef systems and managed vessel reefs to restore degraded marine habitats, enhance biodiversity and support fisheries recovery. AVOI also provides drone-enabled monitoring and survey services, using autonomous and manned systems to track climate impacts, support conservation planning and improve data-driven decision-making across marine and coastal environments.

A central component is the development of the Vanuatu Ocean Rangers program, which builds local workforce capability in restoration, monitoring, conservation and environmental stewardship. AVOI also supports Marine Protected Area (MPA) design, ecological baseline assessments and long-term monitoring frameworks aligned with national ocean policy objectives.

Through community engagement, eco-tourism integration and applied innovation, AVOI connects environmental protection with economic opportunity. Its Havannah Harbour pilot serves as a scalable model to deliver practical climate adaptation, strengthen ecosystem resilience and enable coordinated, whole-of-government environmental outcomes across Vanuatu.

The Innovation

One of AVOI’s key innovations is the integration of the Vanuatu Ocean Ranger program with locally delivered marine restoration systems, including Reef Ball fabrication and deployment. This model combines workforce development, community engagement and practical restoration into a single, scalable framework designed for island environments.

Through structured Vanuatu Ocean Ranger Camps, over a 3 day period AVOI identifies and trains local Ni-Vanuatu participants in marine conservation, Scientific diving, restoration techniques, monitoring and stewardship. One aspect of the Rangers responsibilities is to support the fabrication and deployment of Reef Ball artificial reef systems using locally sourced materials and regional supply chains, significantly reducing costs and increasing local ownership. The approach enables degraded reef systems to be restored while simultaneously building in-country capability and employment pathways, guided by our National AVOI Play Book at its core.

This innovation directly addresses climate change by strengthening reef resilience, supporting fisheries recovery and enhancing coastal protection against storm surge and extreme weather events. It also improves ecosystem health, which is critical for food security and long-term adaptation in Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs).

What makes this model particularly relevant for PICTs is its practicality and scalability. It does not rely on high-cost external inputs but instead builds local capacity, integrates customary stewardship and aligns with government policy frameworks. The system can be replicated across islands using a consistent training, deployment and governance approach.

Supported by drone-enabled monitoring and AI self learning data collection, AVOI’s model provides a cost-effective, community-led solution that connects restoration, climate resilience and sustainable economic opportunity in a way that is both locally grounded and nationally scalable.

How is this solution innovative?

AVOI’s solution is innovative because it integrates community workforce development, marine restoration and applied technology into a single, scalable delivery model tailored for island environments. Rather than treating conservation, employment and climate adaptation as separate challenges, AVOI combines them through the Vanuatu Ocean Ranger program and locally delivered Reef Ball restoration systems. This creates a practical pathway where communities are directly trained and employed to restore and monitor their own marine ecosystems. The model also incorporates drone-enabled monitoring and emerging AI-supported survey systems to improve data collection, ecological tracking and rapid response capability, including in remote and disaster-affected areas. This blend of low-cost, locally sourced restoration methods with advanced monitoring technology allows for both accessibility and scientific rigour. What makes the approach particularly innovative is its focus on scalability and replication. By developing a standardised training, deployment and governance framework, AVOI provides a repeatable model based on a National AVOI Play book that can be adapted across Pacific Island Countries, helping translate policy into measurable, community-led climate and environmental outcomes.

How can the innovation be replicated and scaled up in other PICTs

AVOI’s model is designed for replication across Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs) through a structured, partnership-driven and capacity-focused approach. Following an initial two-year proof-of-concept in Vanuatu, AVOI will develop a refined National PICT Playbook outlining standard operating procedures (SOPs) and safe work method statements (SWMS), delivered in both English and Bislama, with visual and pictorial elements to ensure accessibility across diverse communities.

Scaling will be enabled through institutional partnerships with government agencies, regional bodies, scientific partners such as UTS, and local stakeholders, supported by blended financing models including public-private partnerships, eco-tourism revenue streams and conservation funding.

A key component is the development of a simplified, citizen science-based survey framework focused on key indicator species. This approach lowers technical barriers, enabling participation from communities with varying levels of formal education while strengthening data collection and stewardship.

By combining local workforce training, accessible science, and standardised systems, AVOI creates a practical, low-cost model that can be adapted regionally, empowering communities while supporting climate resilience, biodiversity restoration and sustainable economic development across PICTs.

Is your solution cost‑effective and affordable in the context of Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs)?

AVOI’s solution is designed to be highly cost-effective and affordable for communities, local governments and small operators across PICTs. A core principle of the model is the use of locally available materials, including aggregates from regional quarries and, where appropriate, surplus or repurposed government materials. This significantly reduces construction and deployment costs for Reef Ball systems and associated infrastructure.

From an end-user perspective, the model lowers financial barriers by building local capability through the Vanuatu Ocean Ranger Camp Initiative and subsequent program, reducing reliance on external expertise and enabling communities to deliver and maintain restoration activities themselves. The integration of eco-tourism also creates revenue-generating opportunities that can help offset ongoing costs.

Affordability is further strengthened through the development of a streamlined cross-departmental approval pathway within the AVOI Playbook. By providing clear guidance on site selection, environmental considerations and standardised processes, local governments can reduce delays, duplication and administrative costs, enabling more efficient project delivery at scale.

Together, these elements create a low-cost, accessible and sustainable model that is practical for widespread adoption across PICTs.

Where is this being piloted?

AVOI’s solution is being piloted in Vanuatu, with Havannah Harbour (North-West Efate) identified as the primary proof-of-concept site, supported by a permanent operational and training hub at Lot 149, Lapita Estate. While over 1,000,000 Reef Balls have been deployed globally across more than 80 countries, this will be the first integrated deployment of this system in Vanuatu. The pilot combines initial baseline surveys across 12 regions using Reef Life Survey (RLS Methodology) prior to any deployments. Once 6 of the sites are selected for deployment we will deploy 50m x 10m of Reef Ball habitat restoration—designed as a 500+ year solution—, allowing us to. Continue to conduct 6 monthly replicated surveys in exactly the same 50m transects to demonstrate recruitment changes providing proof of concept. Together with the Vanuatu Ocean Ranger program, which trains and employs local Ni-Vanuatu to deliver restoration, monitoring and stewardship, supported by drone-enabled surveying, community engagement and eco-tourism integration. The approach is intentionally holistic, linking marine restoration, climate resilience, workforce development, local supply chains and government coordination into a single, place-based model. The Havannah Harbour pilot will be used to refine systems, demonstrate measurable outcomes and establish a scalable framework for national and regional replication across PICTs, through the development of our AVOI National Playbook, helping guide replication across all our satellite sites. Initial training will be conducted through AVOI Headquarters in Havannah Harbour, with Ranger selection conducted through a multi-day conservation camp where participant will all leave with new knowledge and appreciation for the terrestrial and marine environment, and Ocean Rangers selected for employment within the AVOI team at the conclusion of the camps.