Our work in the Pacific region
Introduction
New Zealand is connected to the Pacific region by people, ocean, history, culture and shared interests.DOC works in partnership with Pacific island countries and territories to promote environmental protection and to extend New Zealand’s conservation reach. We support capacity building in partner countries and we engage with regional environment organisations for conservation actions.
DOC has a responsibility to support implementation of the government 'Pacific Resilience Approach'.
Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)
DOC works closely with SPREP – the Pacific’s intergovernmental organisation mandated to protect and manage the environment and its natural resources.
DOC provides technical advice for New Zealand’s engagement with SPREP’s Island and Oceans Ecosystems programme and has a cooperation arrangement with SPREP for sharing information and expertise in the region.
Pacific Regional Invasive Species Management Support Service (PRISMSS)
Invasive species are the greatest threat to island biodiversity and ecosystems, and erode their resilience to other pressures, particularly climate change. They present major threats to the health and livelihoods of Pacific peoples.
DOC is a partner of the SPREP-led Pacific Regional Invasive Species Management Support Service (PRISMSS). PRISMSS provides a new centre of excellence approach to invasive species management across the Pacific region.
Managing Invasive Species for Climate Change Adaptation in the Pacific (MISCCAP)
DOC is working in collaboration with SPREP and Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research to share expertise, build capacity and develop tools and resources for the region to manage invasive species. This work aligns closely to our domestic focus on invasive species and Predator Free vision and is funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT).
About SPREP's invasives species management
About DOC's involvement in MISCCAP
Memorandum of Understanding for the Conservation of Cetaceans and their Habitats in the Pacific Islands Region (Pacific Cetaceans MOU) (2007)
Signatories to this MOU agree to work together for the conservation of whales and dolphins in the Pacific Islands and take collaborative action to address threats such as hunting, by-catch in fishing operations, entanglement in marine debris, ship strike, pollution and the impacts of climate change.
About the Pacific Cetaceans MOU
Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC)
The WCPFC is a Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (RFMO) that seeks to ensure, through effective management, the long-term conservation and sustainable use of highly migratory fish stocks such as tunas, billfish, marlin, sharks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean.
The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) is the lead government agency in this forum. DOC’s primary interest in WCPFC is to improve understanding and reduce the impacts of fishing on vulnerable species and associated marine ecosystems. This includes seabirds, marine mammals, sharks and reptiles, for example, turtles, at risk of being accidentally caught and killed in these fisheries.
South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (SPRFMO)
SPRFMO regulates non-highly migratory fisheries for example, orange roughy, jack mackerel, squid in the region. SPRFMO is committed to ensuring the long-term conservation and sustainable use of fishery resources and safeguarding associated marine ecosystems in the South Pacific Ocean.
MPI is the lead government agency for New Zealand, supported by DOC and MFAT.
DOC’s primary interests in SPRFMO are understanding and reducing the impacts of fishing on vulnerable ecosystems. For example, seabed communities of slow growing sponges and corals, and other species at risk from fishing activity such as seabirds, marine mammals, turtles, sharks and rays.
Related publications
Taonga Pasifika: World heritage in the Pacific (PDF, 4,106K)
