Fiji’s ability to meet its biodiversity and marine conservation goals by 2030 is at risk due to a growing funding shortfall, the Ministry of Environment warned this week as it moves to implement a newly launched national strategy. Principal Environment Officer Krishneel Nand said limited financial resources are one of the “biggest challenges” confronting the country’s efforts to restore ecosystems, protect species and strengthen monitoring and enforcement across terrestrial and marine environments.
Nand told a recent round of meetings that the Ministry is now relying heavily on development partners and donor support to turn the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSEP) from paper into on-the-ground action. “Biodiversity conservation not only requires awareness, it requires funding,” he said, adding that the ministry is “tapping into our partners and donors to finance the implementation of our goals and targets under the NBSEP.” He also noted that presentations during the consultations highlighted species in need of protection at both the international and regional level.
Among the immediate conservation priorities the ministry plans to bolster are protections for sharks, turtles and other endangered species, Nand said. The measures the ministry seeks to fund include ecosystem restoration projects, targeted species protection programmes and expanded monitoring and enforcement capacity — areas that typically require sustained financing for patrols, scientific surveys and community engagement.
While Fiji has attracted international climate and nature finance in recent years, the ministry’s message signals that existing commitments fall short of what is needed to meet the government’s targets. Earlier coverage documented a $27 million Climate Investment Funds award supporting a mountain-to-ocean Nature, People and Climate investment plan, but officials now say broader and longer-term resourcing will be required to fulfil the NBSEP and deliver on Fiji’s contribution to the global 30 by 30 goal of protecting 30 percent of marine and terrestrial areas by 2030.
Izhaar Ali, Head of Partnerships and Programme Development at the World Wide Fund for Nature, said the ocean remains under pressure from climate change and human activities, and argued that designated “blue corridors” — protected marine routes or zones — could play a role in strengthening protection. “We hope that the blue corridors would be able to support Fiji’s NBSEP… It would be a dedicated protected site, and thus we hope that it contributes to Fiji’s 30 by 30 targets,” he told delegates, underlining the corridors’ potential to bolster ecological connectivity and resilience.
Ali also stressed the need for greater regional cooperation, arguing that transboundary threats and migratory species make collective action essential. He acknowledged, however, that discussions about blue corridors and other marine protections have been “very sensitive” with the Ministry of Fisheries, a reminder of the policy and stakeholder coordination challenges that must be resolved if new protections are to succeed without unduly impacting fishers’ livelihoods.
This latest development frames the NBSEP rollout as a race against time: with 2030 approaching, the ministry must secure additional funding, reconcile inter-agency sensitivities, and scale up conservation interventions to achieve national and international biodiversity commitments. Officials say further talks with development partners and regional bodies are planned as Fiji seeks to translate strategy into funded, enforceable conservation outcomes.