Agreement between EU and the Pacific region to promote sound ocean governance

An agreement to promote sustainable management and sound ocean governance in the Pacific Region was signed on 5 September.

Photo: EU

A landmark agreement has been signed between the European Union (EU) and The Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA), the Pacific-Community-SPC, the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and The University of the South Pacific to promote sustainable management and sound ocean governance in the Pacific Region.

The agreement was supported by the regional development cooperation of Sweden for Asia and the Pacific.

The agreement is called The Pacific-European Union Marine Partnership Programme and addresses some of the most serious challenges faced by the region.
Among these are the increasing depletion of coastal fisheries resources, the threats to marine biodiversity, including negative impacts of climate change and disasters.

“Oceans are essential, ensuring food, livelihoods, biodiversity and climate resilience. They are increasingly under threat through unsustainable management practices, accelerated by the negative effects of climate change. Therefore, in our marine partnership with the Pacific, the EU will continue to support every effort to manage the Pacific Ocean more sustainably for local communities and for many generations to come,” says Jean-Louis Ville, Head of Unit for East Asia, South-East Asia and the Pacific at the European Commission Directorate General for International Cooperation and Development.

The signing of the agreement marks the operational starting point of the implementation of the programme.

The 5-year programme is funded by the European Union (EUR 35 million) with additional targeted support from the government of Sweden (EUR 10 million).

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