KIWA Initiative - Nature based solutions for Climate Resilience

The Pacific Ocean is one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change. It has exceptional terrestrial and marine biodiversity that provides invaluable services to communities. Yet the Pacific countries and territories lack resources to address this challenge, whereas their traditional ways of life depend on it.

Rising to the challenge of climate change adaptation by protecting, developing and restoring biodiversity is the aim of the Kiwa Initiative. Launched in 2019, this €35 million multi-donor fund is managed by AFD. For the first time, it brings together Australia (€0.62 million), Canada (€6.8 million), France (€13 million), New Zealand (€0.60 million) and the European Union (€13.9 million).

The name Kiwa, both guardian of the ocean in the mythology of certain Maori tribes and goddess of pearl oysters and crustaceans in Polynesian mythology, is a symbol of ocean and biodiversity protection.

The expected results are the following:
- Result 1 – To support projects that conserve and restore marine and terrestrial biodiversity to favour climate change adaptation of communities and ecosystems;
- Result 2 – To promote projects intended to anticipate, reduce and manage climate change vulnerabilities in strategic economic sectors using nature-based solutions and ecosystem-based approaches.
Recipient countries and territories are : Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands (The), Micronesia (Federal States of), Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands (The), Tonga, Tuvalu, Timor Leste, Vanuatu; three French overseas territories: New Caledonia, French Polynesia, and Wallis-and-Futuna.

IUCN will implement the Kiwa Initiative's small and medium grants facility (Component A).