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The Pacific Community (SPC) prides itself on expertise sharing and collaboration, internally within its staff and externally with its Member Countries and partners. It has been engraved in the values handed down since its inception.
One of SPC’s strategic activities is the Digital Earth Pacific (DEP) initiative. This earth observation system uses satellites to gather visual data showing how local environments change over time. Some of the products it delivers are changes to land cover, changes to coastlines caused by climate change or storm events, and understanding how mangrove growth has changed.
The DEP programme shares the same values as SPC, weaving international collaboration between governments and people for the betterment of the Pacific.
Most recently, SPC’s DEP joined forces with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GIZ GmbH (GIZ Pacific) and SPREP for the Management and Conservation of Blue Carbon Ecosystems (MACBLUE) in Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands. MACBLUE focusses on monitoring, developing, and strengthening institutional and individual capacities on a long-term basis to enhance the sustainable management and conservation of the Pacific region’s two invaluable coastal ecosystems, mangrove and seagrass.
As a first step, the partners map the extent of seagrass and mangrove ecosystems in close collaboration with the national stakeholders. Based on this information, the project supports national governments and stakeholders in assessing and modelling carbon storage capacity, emission potential and ecosystem services.
To better understand the MACBLUE project, we must understand the ecosystems in place. Seagrass, often hidden beneath the waves, thrives in many Pacific islands' shallow coastal and marine environments. These underwater plants create crucial habitats for various marine species and serve as nature's filtration system, amongst other valuable benefits. Conversely, mangroves are coastal forests of salt-tolerant trees and shrubs, often found in brackish water or tidal areas. These unique ecosystems are identifiable by their distinctive prop roots that extend above the water's surface. Their significance cannot be overstated as they act as natural guardians against erosion and storm surges, protecting the fragile coastlines of the Pacific.
Shyam Lodhia, the GIS officer for the MACBLUE project with GIZ, explains: “The results we hope to gain from the MACBLUE project is to see actual conservation rehabilitation laws put in place to conserve these ecosystems. Once the project presents the results showcasing these ecosystems' value, maybe governments will consider conserving these sites”.
Shyam continues: “Digital Earth Pacific is a powerful cloud computing platform that provides access to vast amounts of remote-sensing data and the space to run our codes and process things in real-time, something that would be very costly and potentially impossible for most. The programme gives us the means to do this without spending vast amounts of money and hardware resources. It’s easily accessible and easy to understand, and we get the results quickly.”
During the MACBLUE inception workshop held in Port Moresby in October 2023, Ms Debra Sungi, Climate Change & Development Authority, Government of Papua New Guinea, expressed: “Climate change is a collective responsibility that extends beyond government and public awareness, grassroots engagements are essential components of our global climate efforts. The MACBLUE project will utilise innovative remote sensing approaches to map the extent of seagrass and mangroves in PNG while assessing the model related to carbon storage capacity, emission potential and ecosystem services”.
The workshop discussion groups allowed participants from Ministries in PNG to begin validating these Digital Earth Pacific mangroves datasets. These examples of two-way learning with Pacific countries will enable the improvement of these DEP earth observation products over time.
The Fiji National University (FNU) and GIZ recently joined efforts in a seagrass restoration project in the Dawasamu district. In a recent interview with The Fiji Sun, Dr Shalini Singh, Fisheries expert and the Acting Associate Dean of Learning and Teaching for FNU, shared: “CAFF [FNU’s College of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry] recognises the great potential to join forces and leverage synergies for the benefit of coastal communities in Fiji and the Pacific Islands. This collaboration will create knowledge on managing blue carbon ecosystems in the Pacific, focused on seagrass meadows, as part of the MACBLUE Project.”
Biutoka Kacimaiwai, Communications Officer for the MACBLUE project, explains: “There’s not a lot of data about seagrass and the benefits of it, especially for the local communities like Dawasamu where it is crucial. This information will help in educating the communities about the importance of seagrass. In addition, MACBLUE works around the legal review in mapping seagrass and mangroves. Policy frameworks that will be built from this data”.
DEP offers a wide range of products that track changes occurring over the years and map out current activities in agriculture, water resources, land cover, human settlements, forest cover, mineral resources, and coastal erosion, amongst other applications.
With the data collected and derived products, governments and communities can leverage the information for better-informed choices for the betterment of the Pacific peoples.
The Pacific Community (SPC) is thrilled to lead the development of the public digital infrastructure that is Digital Earth Pacific. To achieve the ambitious goals, we invite you to join us. Given our demand-driven approach, partnerships are an essential and major element of DEP. We seek mutually beneficial partnerships to deliver the programme, amplify the benefits, and ensure sustainability.
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