BBNJ enters into force

Pacific island countries have invested a lot into the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement, which has now received enough signatures to enter into force. Federated States of Micronesia was the first country to sign up to this agreement, which has been 20 years in the making. It creates a binding legal agreement to promote ocean health and marine conservation in the High Seas – those parts of the oceans that sit outside national jurisdictions.

Tongan civil society pressures government 

The Civil Society Forum of Tonga is lobbying the new government to move away from deep sea mining. Parliament is yet to meet in Tonga. However, civil society advocates have called on the new Prime Minister, Lord Fakafanua, to sever ties with The Metals Company with whom previous governments have partnered to progress seabed exploration in the Clarion Clipperton Zone (CCZ).  Sesimani Lokotui, national director of the NGO, has said that his group will consider petitioning the King on the matter.

US administration impacts in the region

The new year has seen decisions made in Washington DC have significant impacts in our region. The Ambassadors of Fiji, Marshall Islands and Papua New Guinea were recalled at the end of last year and have been making their farewells. On the immigration front, several Pacific island countries have been affected. Visa applications for migration from Fiji have been put on pause and the US government recently put a freeze on all visa applications by Tongan citizens.

SPREP funding in the crosshairs of geopolitical competition

Among the 66 international organisations that the USA recently pulled out of was the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP). This created a funding gap of US$200,000. Shortly afterwards, we saw the Chinese government hand over the same amount to SPREP at their headquarters in Apia, Samoa. The money was pledged in 2024 on the margins of the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ Meeting in Tonga. But the timing of the handover creates an image of China stepping into a gap left by the US.