The further NZ$2 million pledged will bring the total contribution from Aotearoa New Zealand to NZ$5 million.
The French-led initiative aims to simplify access to funding for projects focused on using nature-based solutions to increase ecosystem resilience.
There has been high demand on the Kiwa Initiative(external link) in the two years since the first funding round, for projects such as agroforestry, watershed management, coastal ecosystem management and invasive species management.
One project already underway is the Pacific Organic Learning Farms Network, where farmers in Fiji, Nauru, Tonga and the Solomon Islands can learn and exchange production methods that help preserve natural resources and biodiversity and that can last through climate change. The project, which is managed by the Pacific Community (SPC), also helps communities to be growers of their own food.
The learning farms network was set up in May 2021 and will run for four years. Its main goals are to increase the area of land under sustainable farming systems (and support this by lifting the visibility of organic produce to increase their market), and spread the knowledge across communities and countries.
Growing interest in ‘nature-based solutions’
Nature-based solutions for climate change are an area of keen interest for Aotearoa New Zealand. This includes supporting the use of natural systems to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere (e.g. through restoring forests), as well as protecting ecosystems that come under increased pressure from climate change (e.g. from coastal storms).
We are also interested in supporting more direct leadership by our Pacific partners in these kinds of interventions.
Partners in the Kiwa Initiative
Aotearoa New Zealand, France, the EU, Canada and Australia are donors to the Kiwa Initiative for Biodiversity, Climate Change and Resilience. The French-led project aims to simplify access to funding for climate change and biodiversity action, with a focus on using nature-based solutions to increase ecosystem resilience.
The Kiwa Initiative operates two funding streams: one for large regional projects (NZ$5–8 million) and one for small and medium local grants (NZ$42,000–600,000). In July, when the next funding round will be held, it will have been operating for just over two years.