The term MPA, as used in Tonga, encompasses an array of levels of protection and conservation purposes from areas that allow multiple use activities, to areas that restrict take and/or access. Existing MPAs require different levels of protection to achieve their management goals, and that these diverse objectives offer different values to the national system that can help meet its goals and objectives to conserve natural and cultural heritage, and sustainable production of resources found in the coastal and marine environments. MPAs will be a neessary component of MSP, as their contribut...[more]

1. To reduce Tonga's greenhouse gas emissions and improve energy security through 50% renewable energy mix in the Energy Transformation sector by the end of the Tonga Energy Roadmap 2010-2020 [TERM] implementation period. 2. To improve efficiency of electricity supply and demand sides by 18% by the end of the TERM implementation period. 3. All Tongans shall access to clean, reliable and affordable energy services by the end of TERM implementation period. 4. Establish phased comprehensive set of action plans to put in place a long term institutional arrangement which provides strong leade...[more]

AFPPD in partnership with IPPF and Pacific Parliaments has trialled a post election module in Building Capacity of Pacific Island Parliamentarians to Advocate for ICPD and SRHR in Tonga and Cook Islands Parliaments. We also provide opportunities to build advocacy and knowledge skills of parliamentarians, including processes to enable them to work with CSOs. This partnership is effective in enhancing social protection and inclusion, improving well being, and guaranteeing opportunities for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged, by focusing parliamentarians on their roles within their national pa...[more]

The Pacific is home to one third of the 52 Small Island Developing States in the world. With the exception of PNG, the rest of the Pacific SIDS are constrained by small administrations and limited economies of scale. Despite universal support for the MDGs, MSI and the high per capita ODA in the Pacific, the region is off track in achieving most of the MDGs by 2015 . Recognising this, the Pacific Isalands Forum Leaders in 2009 agreed to the (Cairns) Forum Compact on Strengthening Development Coordination. The Compact comprises various initiatives including: i) annual Millennium Development G...[more]

The IHO capacity building programme seeks to assess and advise on how countries can best meet their international obligations and serve their own best interests by providing appropriate hydrographic and nautical charting services. Such services directly support safety of navigation, safety of life at sea, efficient sea transportation and the wider use of the seas and oceans in a sustainable way, including the protection of the marine environment, coastal zone management, fishing, marine resource exploration and exploitation, maritime boundary delimitation, maritime defence and security, and o...[more]

The FAO Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (the Agreement) was adopted by the FAO Conference in 2009. The main purpose of the Agreement is to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing through the implementation of robust port State measures. The Agreement envisages that parties, in their capacities as port States, will apply the Agreement in an effective manner to foreign vessels when seeking entry to ports or while they are in port. The application of the measures set out in the Agre...[more]

The Pacific Islands Development Forum is partnering with Government of Tonga and Solar Head of State, to install solar panels on the residence of the King . This is part of the island’s target to generate 50% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020 . This project will be a symbolic statement of intent by the government, and also a test project to encourage more future grid-connected solar projects on the island.

The objective of the J-PRISM Partnership is two-fold, firstly to strengthen and develop national waste management systems and human capacity in Pacific SIDS through partnership with Pacific SIDS, SPREP and the Government of Japan; and secondly to promote the regional sharing of knowledge and expertise and encourage the eventual uptake of good waste management practices in Pacific SIDS.Good waste management is a vital component of national sustainable development, since poorly managed waste has negative impacts on areas such as public health, environment, and tourism. By strengthening the syste...[more]

IRENA has developed the SIDS Lighthouses Initiative to support the strategic deployment of renewable energy in SIDS, to bring clarity to policy makers regarding the required steps, and to enable targeted action. As a joint effort of SIDS and development partners, this framework for action will assist in transforming SIDS energy systems through the establishment of the enabling conditions for a renewable energy-based future, by moving away from developing projects in isolation to a holistic approach that considers all relevant elements spanning from policy and market frameworks, through technol...[more]

Noumea Communique2nd Oceania 21 ConferenceNoumea, 2 July 20141. The 2nd Oceania 21 Conference (Oceania 21), organised by the New Caledonian Government, with the support of France, and was chaired in turn by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade of Vanuatu, the Prime Minister of Tuvalu and the President of the Marshall Islands, currently Chairman of the Pacific Islands Forum.

Tonga will participate in and provide ongoing support for programs and activities of regional fishery organisations pursuant to target 14.c, specifically the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA), the Pacific Community (SPC), and the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC). This includes support for the Future of Fisheries Roadmap; and the Noumea Strategy: A new song for coastal fisheries pathways to change; as well as a commitment to implement the WCPFCs Conservation and Management Measures (CMMs).

The network enables effective knowledge sharing and advocacy on the practical application of Integrated Water Resources Management approaches to address key water resource, catchment and coastal management challenges in Pacific Island Countries

Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting is a summit-level meeting which has been held every three years since 1997. Leaders openly discuss various issues that Pacific Island Countries(PICs) are facing in order to build close cooperative relationships and forge a bond of friendship between Japan and PICs. The 7th Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM7) was held in Iwaki, Fukushima, Japan, on 22 and 23 May, 2015. At this summit, under the slogan of "We are Islanders - Commitment to the Pacific from Iwaki,

The Partnership will support Pacific SIDS in meeting their obligations to implement and effectively enforce global, regional and sub-regional arrangements for the conservation and management of transboundary oceanic fisheries thereby increasing sustainable benefits derived from these fisheries

The Pacific Mangroves Initiative (PMI) is a partnership-based initiative promoting investment and action for sustainable mangrove futures in the Pacific Islands.

Safe and reliable passage through Pacific waters is essential to protect fragile ocean environments and allow Pacific island countries' economies to develop. Up-to-date navigation charts based on modern, accurate surveys are critical transport infrastructure the ocean equivalent of well-constructed roads. Hydrography is highly specialised. Few Pacific countries have the technical capability or systems needed to undertake hydrographic surveys or update their own navigational charts.This new regional programme aims to ensure Pacific navigation charts meet international standards and support mari...[more]

The Pacific Risk Resilience Programme (PRRP) is a large-scale risk governance programme in one of the most vulnerable regions to disasters and climate change in the world. The US$16.1 million Pacific Risk Reduction Programme (PRRP) is being delivered through a partnership between the Australian Government Department for Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and international NGOs Live and Learn Environmental Education (LLEE) and the Mainstreaming of Rural Development Initiative (MORDI). The Programme is helping to build the national and regional ris...[more]

The Pacific Islands Development Forum is partnering with PIDF Member Countries (including Fiji, Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu) and Solar Head of State to facilitate the installation of solar energy infrastructure to power residences of heads of state of eleven PIDF member countries and the PIDF Headquarters to promote renewable energy in the Pacific This project will be a symbolic statement of intent by the governments, and also a test project to encourage more future grid-connected solar projects on the...[more]

The objective was to reduce loss of life, injuries and economic losses cause by tsunami in Samoa, Tonga, Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau through an end-to-end tsunami risk management programme.

The goal of the Pacific Islands National Priorities Multi-Focal Area ‘Ridge-to-Reef’ (R2R) program is to maintain and enhance Pacific Island countries’ ecosystem goods and services (provisioning, regulating, supporting and cultural) through integrated approaches to land, water, forest, biodiversity and coastal resource management that contribute to poverty reduction, sustainable livelihoods and climate resilience. This goal will be achieved through a series of national multi-focal area R2R demonstration projects which will support and address national priorities and development needs whi...[more]

Meteorological training is enhanced in the Southwest Pacific.

Outcome 1: Child Protection Systems (including Justice and Police, child and family social services, health and education and communities) provide improved quality of and access to services for the prevention of and response to violence, abuse and exploitation of children at all times.Outcome 2 Parents, caregivers, and children demonstrate skills, knowledge and behavior enabling children to grow up in caring homes and communities, including schools that are free from violence, abuse and exploitation.

Sea Mercy is a US based 501(c)3 non-profit organization with a mission to "stand in the gap" with service delivery vessels, trained health volunteers, support equipment, and critical care services as island nations develop their "outer island" infrastructures. Due to distance and a lack of service delivery vessels, there is a huge disparity between the services offered on the primary islands, to those available on the remote islands. Working directly with our island nation partner's health ministries and leadership, Sea Mercy provides free Floating Health Care Clinics (FHCC), which also serve ...[more]

The primary objective of this partnership is to support Pacific governments and their development partners working in the energy sector by facilitating access to up-to-date, reliable energy data and project information for planning, policy and investment decision purposes. A secondary objective is to make it easy for countries and their donor partners as well as potential investors to access reports and documents relating to existing and proposed energy projects in order to help in the replication of successful activities and to avoid repeating mistakes that have been made in past projects.

Through the Vavau Ocean Initiative, the Ministry of Fisheries (MoF), the Ministry of Meteorology, Energy, Information, Disaster Risk Management, Environment, Climate Change and Communication (MEIDECC), the Vavau Governors Office, Vavau Environmental Protection Association, Waitt Institute signed Memoranda of Understanding in April 2017 to support scientific assessment and monitoring of marine resources. This Initiative includes three major components: (1) marine scientific survey of the nearshore coral reef ecosystems in the Haapai and Vavau island groups; (2) evaluation of existing commun...[more]

In accordance with Cabinet Memorandum Number 716 of 22 July 2015, the Ministries responsible for lands and natural resources, environment, fisheries, ports and shipping, planning and urban management, tourism and international affairs are working in partnership with IUCN, VEPA and the Waitt Institute to develop and implement a marine spatial plan for all of Tongas waters. The marine spatial plan will be developed with the goal of sustainable, profitable, and enjoyable use of ocean resources, for today and for future generations. It will support improved fisheries and preservation of tradit...[more]

The Tonga Fisheries Sector Plan has been prepared by with funding support from the World Bank. The final plan represents the most significant strategic step towards more effective management of Tongas fisheries resources in over a decade. It lays out an ambitious program of reforms that build on existing programs, and encourage consideration of new policy directions that will place Tongas fisheries in a strong position through the four plan components: 1. Sustainability of community fisheries 2. Profitable commercial fisheries and aquaculture 3. Public and private investment 4. Good gov...[more]

The Royal Decree of 1978 by His late Majesty King Tupou IV, banned whaling in Tongan waters. This was re-affirmed during an International Conference on Whales in a Changing Ocean that was hosted by Tonga in April 2017. The Whale watching industry has boomed since this banning, which has increased revenue, through the tourist sector, into the country.