The first Oceania-wide micro-qualification in Nature-based Solutions has been launched, creating an accredited pathway to strengthen ecosystem-based climate resilience and biodiversity management across the Pacific.
In a region where rising seas lap at ancestral sites and storms redraw coastlines overnight, a new kind of learning is taking root. Today, Pacific partners launched the first Oceania-wide micro-qualification in Nature-based Solutions (NbS) at Auckland University of Technology (AUT).
Developed by the Pacific Community (SPC), the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), AUT and hosted by Griffith University, with support from the Kiwa Initiative, the qualification marks a turning point for climate education in the Pacific. For the first time, learners across Oceania will have an accredited pathway to gain skills in working with nature restoring forests, reefs and wetlands to adapt to climate change in ways that are both scientifically rigorous and culturally grounded.
The cohort brings together 32 participants from 11 Pacific countries, representing government agencies, regional organisations, and community-based practitioners working at the frontlines of climate resilience.
Coastal and Marine Ecosystem Advisor at SPREP, Ms Juney Ward, said the micro-qualification reflects the Pacific’s strength in combining traditional knowledge with scientific innovation.
“NbS are rooted in the way Pacific communities have always cared for their islands and oceans. This course brings that knowledge into accredited training, ensuring our resilience approaches are guided by both culture and science, and led by Pacific practitioners themselves.”
The launch featured a series of short films, each telling a story of Pacific communities already applying NbS: mangroves replanted to shield villages, reefs restored to protect fisheries, farmers blending traditional knowledge with new science.
Associate Professor Maibritt Pedersen Zari at Auckland University of Technology (AUT), said the programme bridges learning with practice.
“By embedding Nature-based Solutions into accredited training, we are equipping Pacific learners with skills they can apply directly in their own contexts, guided by their own local knowledges and pirorities. This means graduates leave with tools and srategies that are sound, but also shaped for the environments and communities they serve.”
The Pacific Islands are among the most climate-vulnerable places in the world. Yet they are also places of innovation, where science, traditional knowledge and cultural strength combine to forge solutions.
Programme Manager of the Kiwa Initiative at SPC, Dr Rebbecca Stirnemann, said education is one of the most powerful investments for resilience.
“It is more than funding a course. By supporting this micro-qualification, we are helping Pacific practitioners to design their own Nature-based Solutions approaches that protect biodiversity, strengthen livelihoods, and reflect local knowledge. Education ensures that these solutions are scaled in ways that endure for generations.”
Developed collaboratively with SPC and SPREP, the AUT provided academic and creative leadership in producing the teaching materials and films for this Oceania-wide course. The micro-qualification is not an official AUT course, and the micro-qualification itself is awarded under SPC and SPREP through the Pacific Qualifications Authority.
This micro-qualification represents a regional commitment to learning for survival, learning for dignity, and learning for the future. It is not just about today’s launch it is about ensuring the next generation of Pacific leaders can carry forward the tools to safeguard their islands, their cultures, and their people.
About KIWA:
The Kiwa Initiative, launched in 2020, is a multi-donor programme that strengthens climate resilience in the Pacific through Nature-based Solutions by protecting, restoring, and sustainably managing biodiversity. With a budget of over €77 million, it is funded by France, the European Union, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. The initiative is managed by Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and implemented in partnership with the Pacific Community (SPC), the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), and the Oceanian regional office of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN-ORO). Together, these partners support regional and local actions that build resilience, safeguard ecosystems, and enhance the sustainable livelihoods of Pacific communities.
For more information on the micro-qualification, please contact:
- Susan Strongman, Communications Manager, AUT | [email protected]
- Rebecca Stirnemann, Kiwa Project Development Coordinator, SPC | [email protected]
- Angelica Salele-Sefo, Kiwa Project Development Coordinator, SPREP | [email protected]