SOMACORE Partners Spotlight Community-led Marine Conservation to Advance Global Ocean and Biodiversity Commitments
Community leaders, conservation organizations, and development partners from across the Bismarck Solomon Seas region gathered during the Melanesian Ocean Summit to showcase how locally led marine conservation initiatives are helping advance global biodiversity, climate, and ocean commitments while strengthening food security and coastal livelihoods across Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, and the Solomon Islands.
Organized under the GIZ-implemented Solutions for Marine and Coastal Resilience in the Coral Triangle (SOMACORE) Programme, the Bismarck Solomon Seascape side event highlighted practical experiences in community-based marine management, customary governance, and sustainable livelihood development from partners including the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Indonesia Locally Managed Marine Areas (ILMMA), WWF Pacific, Eco Custodian Advocates (ECA), and The Nature Conservancy (TNC).
Also present at the event was Immanuel Gebhardt, Country Director of GIZ Philippines and the Pacific Islands, who highlighted GIZ’s support for marine and coastal resilience initiatives across the region, including SOMACORE. He emphasized the importance of strengthening partnerships, community-led conservation, and regional collaboration to support sustainable marine management and resilience in the Coral Triangle.
The discussions demonstrated how locally managed marine areas, marine protected areas, customary marine closures, and women-led livelihood initiatives are contributing to international targets under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, particularly on biodiversity conservation, ecosystem restoration, equitable governance, and community participation in natural resource management.
Across the presentations, partners emphasized that achieving long-term marine and coastal resilience requires more than establishing protected areas. Speakers highlighted the importance of recognizing customary marine tenure systems, supporting Indigenous and local community leadership, strengthening women’s participation, and ensuring conservation efforts also deliver tangible economic and food security benefits for coastal communities.
The side event also reinforced the growing role of community-driven conservation approaches in helping countries work toward global ocean commitments, including the protection and sustainable management of marine ecosystems under the “30x30” biodiversity target and broader climate resilience goals across the Coral Triangle region.
Partners further stressed the need for stronger regional collaboration, long-term financing, peer learning, and knowledge exchange to scale successful local solutions across the Bismarck Solomon Seascape and beyond.
The SOMACORE Programme is supported by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection through the International Climate Initiative and is being implemented by 12 organizations across the Coral Triangle.
