Tiaki Moana: Indigenous Wisdom and Youth Power for Ocean Sustainability

The Tiaki Moana Summit will be held from March 24-27, 2025, in Tahiti and Mo’orea, French Polynesia, bringing together 200 participants, including 60 Young Pacific Leaders from 24 Pacific island nations, to advance ocean stewardship. Supported by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the U.S. State Department, IUCN Oceania, the Tahiti Government, and the Pew Bertarelli Foundation, the event will serve as a critical precursor to the 3rd United Nations Conference on the Ocean in June 2025 in Nice. It will focus on bottom-up, community-led management, integrating Indigenous knowledge with Western science to design and implement coastal and pelagic Other Effective Conservation Measures (OECMs).

The Summit aims to amplify Indigenous and youth voices in the development and application of OECMs for biodiversity conservation and climate resilience. It will address six core themes:

• OECMs and Indigenous Rights: Integrating Traditional Knowledge and Governance – Examining how Indigenous governance systems and knowledge complement contemporary conservation strategies, ensuring Indigenous rights are central to OECM efforts.
• OECMs as Tools for Biodiversity and Climate Resilience – Exploring OECMs’ potential to safeguard marine biodiversity and build climate resilience.
• Policy, Financing, and Monitoring OECMs for Long-term Impact – Discussing policy, financial frameworks, and monitoring systems for sustaining OECMs.
• Science, Data, and Technology for OECM Identification and Management – Exploring the integration of Indigenous knowledge with scientific methods for effective OECM management.
• Cross-Sectoral Collaboration for Integrating OECMs into Broader Land and Seascape Management – Fostering collaboration between marine and land management sectors for enhanced OECM effectiveness.
• Engaging Stakeholders: Public Awareness, Capacity Building, and Community Involvement – Developing strategies for increasing public awareness, building local capacity, and ensuring community participation in OECM governance.

Outputs will include a documentary, a policy briefing, a practical guide and a roadmap for OECM development across the region. As species migrate, high seas protection will be essential to reach Global Biodiversity Framework targets, and so the event will likely emphasize the need for ratifying the BBNJ (Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction) agreement as well as legal personhood e.g. for whales. By bringing together Indigenous leaders and youth from across the Pacific and beyond, the summit will foster a more inclusive, bottom-up and effective global marine conservation framework. Its outcomes will offer critical recommendations for integrating local communities and Indigenous knowledge into OECM strategies, promoting bottom-up governance for resilient ocean policies.

The Tiaki Moana Summit will also play a key role in enhancing climate resilience and ensuring the sustainable management of Pacific marine ecosystems through customary fisheries and the weaving of multiple knowledge systems, Western sciences and local Indigenous knowledge. It is expected that after the event, its outcomes will inspire and encourage action, ensuring the Pacific’s marine environments are preserved for future generations. As momentum builds, it will contribute to better policies reflecting the realities of the field while amplifying Young Pacific Leaders’ voices. We hope our Tiaki Moana insights will inform discussions and outputs of the One Ocean Science Congress, for a unified approach to ocean sustainability.