coastal communities

• Coastal climate resilience
• Impact Stories
• Ocean governance
• Pacific

In the stillness of dawn, before the sun gilds the Pacific horizon, the ocean speaks. It speaks in the hush of waves against mangrove roots, in the rustle of pandanus leaves, in the chants of elders who remember the old ways. For the Indigenous Peoples of Oceania, the ocean is a living ancestor, a keeper of stories, a bearer of truth.

• Coastal climate resilience
• Coral Triangle
• Ocean governance

“Induh gumih rukut ranting (mother nature) speaks through those who are closest to her.” This case study explores the practice of actively listening and embedding community knowledge and voices in strengthening local governance in Bataraza and Balabac, Province of Palawan, Philippines. Read the full case study, here:

• Coastal climate resilience
• Coral Triangle

In East Kalimantan, Indonesia, it doesn’t take a village to restore marine ecosystems; rather it takes an archipelago. Faced with a history of destructive fishing, the communities of Derawan Islands took it upon themselves to work together – across different groups – to restore coral reefs in Derawan, all for a better future.

• Coastal climate resilience
• Coral Triangle
• Ocean governance

Noticing changes in the volume of their fish catches, duration of fishing, and need to travel ever-increasing distances to be able to fish, the community of Kampung Asai in Papua drew upon traditional knowledge to better manage their marine resources. After learning about the success of sasi (or: ‘prohibition’) from the community in Menarbu – […]

• Coastal climate resilience
• Coral Triangle

Tun Mustapha Park, also known as the largest multiple-use Marine Protected Area in Malaysia, measures almost 900,000 hectares with remarkably high biodiversity, harbouring coral reefs, mangroves, sea grasses and productive fishing grounds. This case study highlights the pilot ecosystem restoration efforts through partnership, replicable technologies transfer and learning. The restoration efforts also emphasised on nature-based solutions over man-made solutions in the management for Marine Protected Areas.

• Coastal climate resilience
• Coral Triangle

The Molbog indigenous communities on the island of Balabac, Southern Palawan, Philippines have an oral tradition that they pass from generation to generation. They have a spiritual belief deeply intertwined with their land and nature, and the unseen spirits that reside within, who possess immense wisdom and power to guide and bless the Molbogs with abundance and protection.

• Ocean governance
• Pacific

For generations, communities in Solomon Islands have leveraged indigenous knowledge to manage marine resources. However, increased pressure on those resources stemming from climate change, overpopulation and overfishing have negatively impacted their health.

• Mediterranean
• Ocean governance

One of the first issues that Barbara Orlando, president of the fisher cooperative in Porto Cesareo – a fishing village in the south of Italy – had to discuss when she joined the newly established co-management committee was the need for a reduction in fishing pressure in the local marine protected area (MPA), to allow depleted stocks to recover.