The Oceans Unit within the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change leads and coordinates Fiji’s ocean and climate change work ensuring that ocean considerations are integrated into national policies, plans, and international commitments. The Unit provides policy, technical, and coordination support across government and works closely with communities, regional organizations, and development partners.

Key areas:

• Strengthening whole of government coordination on ocean issues.
• Developing, reviewing, and supporting implementation planning for ocean-related policies and frameworks.
• Implementing National Ocean Policy (NOP) priorities and objectives by advancing initiatives such as blue carbon and nature-based solutions, coral reef conservation, ocean accounting, and improved ocean data and knowledge management to inform decision-making.
• Providing technical and policy support for ocean-related initiatives.
• Representing and supporting Fiji in key ocean and climate processes, nationally, regionally and internationally.
• Capacity building through the participation of the Unit’s officers in international fellowship programmes and regional initiatives to strengthen institutional expertise and partnerships.

Current Programmes and Priorities:

• Early Career Ocean Professional (ECOP) Programme
• Supporting the implementation of the Blue Economy Framework (BEF).
• Operationalizing the finalized review report of the NOP through strengthened monitoring and evaluation frameworks and integration across sectoral plans and programmes.
• Enhancing Fiji’s leadership on ocean acidification (OA) through active engagement in the OA Alliance, while advancing national capacity to address ocean-climate impacts.
• Development of national ocean accounting through collaboration with partners.
• Elevating ‘oceans’ in the climate change regime, nationally and internationally.