Honiara, Solomon Islands, 3 October (IPS) – In the full conference room of the Heritage Hotel, the sound of Pacific Voices filled the air – not only through speeches, but in song, rhythm and poetry. The Dreamcast Theater Performing Arts Group opened the second Pacific Island Ocean Conference with a suggestive performance, in which leaders and practitioners remind us why they had gathered: listening. To listen to science. To listen to communities. To listen to the ocean itself.
The message echoed during the five -day meeting: the protection of the Pacific Ocean requires a united approach that bridges traditional knowledge and modern science, the policy of the areas in the experienced experiences of Pacific Peoples.
“We all have to come together and look at an extensive, robust framework that would enable the different sectors to coordinate activities and work together in terms of what we should do to protect the ocean, our means for development and nation building aspirations,” Dr. Filimon Manoni, Commissioner for the Office Pacific Ocean Commissioner (OPOC).
Speaking communities
Unlike many international conferences that are dominated by policy language and scientific jargon, this meeting focused on the Pacific communities. Chiefs, fishermen, youth leaders and practitioners of nature conservation spoke frankly about the challenges with which they are confronted – from the disappearance of fish stocks to Kusterosia – and with governments and scientists it was not only listening, but also to act.
For a faunder leilance duffy from Conservation International SamoaWhose work focuses on protecting biodiversity through community -based conservation, this is not a new territory.
“When we talk about weaving traditional knowledge in science, we’ve already done the weaving,” she said. “We just have to expand more about it and show to the world how Pacific Nations are always integrated.”
Duffy emphasized that although political fights can divide leaders into parliaments, the environment remains an unnotic force in the region.
“As Pacific Islanders, we don’t have the luxury like large countries. We are small land bases in the Pacific Ocean states. If we do not manage our oceans sustainably in the way we always have, the ocean will consume us.”
Ocean as genealogy
For Pacific Peoples, the ocean is not only geography – it’s genealogy. It is history, livelihood, identity and faith. For centuries for satellites and supercomputers, Pacific Navigators read the stars, swellings and winds to cross thousands of miles of open sea. This heritage still forms today’s communities.
While climate change is accelerating, with rising seas and stronger storms Batting Islands, the leaders of the Pacific Ocean do not see this oceanic wisdom as a folklore but as an essential source for resilience.
“It’s the same, we just use another language to talk about the same thing,” Dr. Salanieta Kitolelei, who studies the integration of indigenous knowledge and relationships of marine species.
She pointed to coral restoration projects in Fiji where scientists and villagers work next to each other, transplusing corals from warmer to cooler areas to replace dying reefs.
Traditional knowledge as data
Scientific leaders at the conference recognized the irreplaceable value of traditional knowledge. Jerome Aucan, head of the Pacific Community Center for Ocean Sciencedescribed how it often fills the gaps where data is missing.
“If we look at early warning systems and prediction of high sea level during storms or cyclones, we make predictions by being informed by the past,” he said.
But in many cases instrument data does not exist. Instead, communities trust memory.
“The only data we have are the knowledge of the elderly about what happened that day. In some of those extreme events, elderly people have a lively memory – where the water went, how high the waves achieved and what damage was caused. Some knowledge goes back 30, 40 or even 60 years. We use that knowledge to reconstruct in the past so that we can improve the way the way we can improve the way we can improve the way.” “
This, Aucan added, is not an anecdote – it’s proof. And it’s indispensable.
Pacific Ocean’s own science
Dr. Katy Soapi van de Pacific Community (SPC) Simply put: “The Pacific has always been home to its own science. Our traditional systems for observing the health of the ocean are refined. In combination with new tools – such as satellite mapping or genetic studies by Riffen – we create powerful, holistic approaches to protect our shared ocean.”
This integration is now being reflected in regional ocean board. OPOC, in charge of coordinating ocean priorities in the region, insists on bedding both traditional knowledge and modern science in decision -making frameworks.
“We can’t afford to treat native knowledge as an anecdotal,” said Manoni. “It is evidence, tested and lived for generations. Science and tradition together give us the most complete picture of how we can manage our ocean.”
Lessons from Fisheries
One of the most striking examples of this synergy comes from fishing management. Dr. Noan Pakop, director -general of the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA)emphasizes how community practices have influenced modern policy.
“Our communities have long been using tabu areas – closing riffs to have fish regenerated,” he said.
“These practices reflect modern nature conservation methods. By combining local observations with scientific stock data, we have built stronger, more sustainable tuna management systems that benefit all Pacific Nations.”
Yet there are still challenges. In global negotiations on climate, biodiversity and ocean board, Western science still dominates the room. The leaders of the Pacific Ocean at the conference called for a more fair recognition of their knowledge systems.
A shared model for the world
It is clear that the conference shares a collective vision: a Pacific Ocean that protects 100 percent of its ocean and manages at least 30 percent sustainably, in accordance with global goals for biodiversity. But leaders insisted that the path should be unique Pacific – near community, culture and connection.
This is more than preservation. It is survival. Rising seas are already swallowing coastlines. Heating waters threaten fishing and food security. Cyclones are intensive. For small island countries, the bet could not be higher.
But as the meeting of this week in Honiara shows, the Pacific Ocean is not a victim story. It is a leadership story.
From coral transplantation in Fijische Villages to Storm memories of the elderly who shape predictive models to tuna management that combines Tabu with satellite data and geospatial images – The Pacific Ocean maps out where old wisdom and modern science sail together.
The world looks. And as Leilani Duffy reminded delegates, the biggest gift from the Pacific Ocean shows that respect for the ocean is not a new agenda – it is who Pacific Peoples are.
“Maintaining is not something we have imported. It has always been part of our lives. The challenge is now to ensure that the world listens to what we already know.”
While the conference room in Honiara was slowly coming to an end, the call to listen hangs – a reminder that protecting the ocean is not alone about policy and frameworks. It is about stories, memories and the wisdom of people whose genealogy is written in the waves.
IPS a desk report
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