“Towards self reliant coastal communities securing their quality of life through sustainable and integrated resource management”

The close relationship that Pacific Island peoples have developed with the ocean over millennia is a key part of the region’s rich cultures. Despite the erosion in recent decades of both culture and natural resources, the capacity and knowledge of coastal communities provide the fundamental pillar for achieving sustainable livelihoods from the sea. 

Assisting communities to build on these strengths in combination with new knowledge and institutions is at the core of the FSPI Communities and Coasts Programme’s work. 

The FSPI Communities and Coasts Programme works with our national partners to deliver the above and build their long term capacity through 3 strategic action areas: 

• Capacity building which is the primary focus and aims to enable national NGO’s and Governments to facilitate and support community based coastal management processes. 
  
• Research and development in terms of key applied research on the technical and socioeconomic aspects of coastal resource use and management and the development of community appropriate awareness raising materials and other tools.
  
• Policy development and advocacy activities to support and promote community based approaches and appropriate legal frameworks. 

The Communities and Coasts Programme currently works in Solomon Islands, Fiji, Vanuatu, Kiribati and Tuvalu as well as Barbados, Jamaica and Grenada in the Caribbean.