RESCCUE: an innovative programme to preserve nature and support communities in the Northern Province

Context

The RESCCUE project was launched to strengthen the resilience of Pacific island territories to climate change through integrated and sustainable coastal zone management.

Oceanian island states and territories are among those most exposed to sea level rise, erosion, soil salinisation and increasing pressure on natural resources. These developments are undermining coastal ecosystems, infrastructure and the livelihoods of local populations.

In this context, RESCCUE supports adaptation to climate change through integrated coastal zone management (ICZM), in particular by mobilising economic analysis and financial mechanisms to support sustainable, effective and long-term actions.

Activities carried out

As part of the RESCCUE project in the Northern Province, coordinated and implemented by ONFI, several major actions have been carried out:

• Establishment of a hydrological, meteorological and erosion monitoring system (HME), accompanied by its operationalisation in the field.
• Development and implementation of hunting and regulation actions in a drinking water catchment basin in Tuo Cèmuhî (Touho), in partnership with the TIPWOTO hunting association.
• Implementation of ecological restoration actions with a collective of members of the Pwö-i (Poyes) and Tiwae tribes in the same watershed.
• Conducting economic analyses of ecosystem services, including assessing their evolution under different management scenarios.
• Identification and support of local financing mechanisms, in support of the World Heritage associations of Pum (Poum) and Pwêêdi Wiimîâ (Poindimié).
• Conducting a legal, institutional and economic study on the prospects for promoting venison.

Project details

More specifically, the project aims to:

Preserve and enhance the functionality of coastal ecosystems by developing operational models for integrated coastal zone management (ICZM).

Consolidate the capacities of regional and local administrations by fully involving them in a multi-stakeholder consultation process, which is a central element of ICZM.

Promote the integration of recommendations, tools and economic analyses into public policy by demonstrating to decision-makers the relevance and operationality of the proposed economic instruments.

Expected results

• A fully operational hydrological, meteorological and erosion (HME) system has been set up, accompanied by a long-term research programme led by ONFI (CIFRE PN 2018–2021) in partnership with the Northern Province, IRD and UNC. Two new research projects have also been funded as part of this initiative.
• Greater mobilisation of local communities, particularly among the Pwö-i (Poyes) and Tiwae tribes, with the creation of restoration plantations in the drinking water catchment area (2016–2017). A decrease in the number of fires has been observed locally, and actions are continuing beyond the project.
• Increased structuring of the TIPWOTO hunting association, including training for young hunters and the implementation of measures to control invasive large game.
• Experimentation with local financing mechanisms that promote ecosystem services, particularly through a project to promote the invasive Pinus species.
• Progress has been made in promoting the meat of hunted deer, an invasive species: the project has highlighted the value of a legal framework for this practice, both to exploit increased harvesting potential (+25%) and to use it as a lever for financing the management of the sector.
• The emergence of new concepts of territorial management and ICZM, integrating the restoration of biodiversity and the enhancement of terrestrial ecosystem services and customary lands. This work has led to the financing of a new project by the French Agency for Biodiversity in the Northern Province.

Budget

341 000 €

Partners

ONF RTM (hydraulic engineering expert); Bioeko and Vertigo lab

Beneficiaries

Pacific SPC; Public institutions in the Northern Province; Local communities and partner tribes; Local associations; Stakeholders in the hunting industry

Donor

AFD and French Global Environment Facility (FFEM)