New Zealand-Pacific Partnership on Ocean Acidification

The New Zealand Pacific Partnership on Ocean Acidification (PPOA) project is a collaborative effort between the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), the University of the South Pacific, and the Pacific Community, which aims to build resilience to ocean acidification in Pacific Island communities and ecosystems, with financial support from NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Principality of Monaco.  The PPOA project follows the “International Workshop on Ocean Acidification: State-of-the-Science Considerations for Small Island Developing States” that was co-hosted by New Zealand and the United States, in partnership with SPREP, as an official side-event of the 3^rd UN SIDS Conference. 

The PPOA project is working to build resilience Ocean Acidification in Pacific Island countries by:

1. Identification and Implementation of Practical Adaptation Actions – At pilot sites in Fiji, Kiribati, Tokelau and Vanuatu the project will carry out an assessment of needs and priorities that will guide the implementation of adaptation activities at the site.  Work is currently underway to develop on the ground adaptation and resilience activites.
2. Research and Monitoring – The project will establish chemical and biological baselines which will be followed up by routine monitoring of key parameters.
3. Capacity Building and Awareness Raising – Throughout the implementation of adaptation activities, the project will seek to build capacity within the local communities and partners, to address OA and to develop effective coastal zone management.  Additionally, the project will seek to raise awareness of ocean acidification at all levels across the region.

The PPOA project recently (October 2015) hosted a regional ocean acidification workshop in Auckland and has also conducted a regional ocean acidification vulnerability assessment (available at http://www.sprep.org/attachments/Publications/CC/ocean-acidification.pdf).

For further information regarding the PPOA project and ocean acidification please contact the PPOA Project Manager, Dr. Robert Duncan McIntosh ([email protected]) or the PPOA Project Technical Assistant, Raymond Schuster ([email protected]).