Niue at the Forefront of Ocean Conservation

By Michael McGreevey*

Ever since Polynesian explorers settled in Niue more than a thousand years ago, the lives of the people of this unique island have been deeply intertwined with the ocean. In 2020, Niue surprised the world by declaring 40% of its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) as the Niue Moana Mahu Marine Protected Area, the second largest proportion of any country’s marine territory dedicated as a no-take zone. In 2022, Niue declared 100% of its EEZ as the Niue Nukutuluea Multiple-Use Marine Park. It was only in 2020 that the global community committed to protect 30% of our lands and water by 2030 through the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). Niue had exceeded this commitment years earlier, and the rest of the world is now trying to catch up to their foresight.

Key partners of the NOW Trust held a workshop in Alofi to discuss strategy, operations, and fundraising

One year ago, Niue built on that leadership by launching an innovative approach to financing ocean conservation: Ocean Conservation Commitments (OCCs), an approach to securing financial resources for the holistic and long-term protection and management of Niue’s oceans. At the launch event at New York Climate Week, the Right Honourable Dame Jacinda Ardern, Former Prime Minister of New Zealand and Conservation International Arnhold Distinguished Fellow spoke of how OCCs would empower corporations, governments, philanthropies, and people around the world to become direct stakeholders and supporters of the actions Niue is taking to protect its ocean.

Participants included representatives of government, the private sector, community leadership, and civil society

Niue is a small country with just 1600 people, so expertise in marine conservation and conservation finance is limited. Over the last three years, the Blue Nature Alliance has supported the Niue Ocean Wide (NOW) public-private partnership to build out its marine conservation vision and develop the innovative OCC framework to finance it. This has included modeling the exact costs to support Niue’s ocean conservation activities over 20 years, creating a technology platform for sponsoring and registering OCCs, and connecting Niue with potential donors and sponsors.

Prime Minister Dalton Tagelagi and Minister of Natural Resources Mona Ainu’u have been leaders in advancing Niue’s ocean conservation.

During the last week of September, a small team from the Blue Nature Alliance had the unique privilege of visiting our partners in Niue to learn about their work, meet representatives of communities, government, and the private sector, and continue advancing Niue’s leadership and vision for ocean conservation. We spent several days in an intensive workshop with key partners of the NOW program, met with the Prime Minister and Minister of Natural Resources, and discussed potential opportunities with multilateral donors.

A community feast prepared by the village of Hakupu included abundant seafood and local coconut crab

We also had a chance to explore the fascinating geology, spectacular ocean ecosystems, and the rich cultural life of a place unlike any other on the planet. Niue packs a lot into its 100 square miles, including otherworldly coral formations, forest hikes leading to sea caves and ocean grottos, and migrating humpback whales easily seen from any lookout on the coast. It is a captivating place where a glimpse of an impossibly blue ocean surrounds every corner. It should be no surprise that Niue, with its unique culture and connection to the sea, has become a world leader in protecting our oceans.

Niue is one of the few places in the world where snorkelers might have a close encounter with migrating humpback whales.

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* Michael McGreevey is a member of the  Blue Nature Alliance conservation finance team.