PINA

Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister James Marape, alongside Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka and Vanuatu Prime Minister Jotham Napat, have officially signed the historic Melanesian Ocean Corridor of Reserves (MOROR) Declaration at APEC Haus during the Pacific Ocean Summit.

The MOCOR is a landmark subregional network of connected Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). It unites five Pacific territories, PNG, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, and New Caledonia to establish joint border governance, enforcement, and marine science frameworks.

The landmark declaration reflects a strong united Melanesian commitment to protect and sustainably manage the Pacific Ocean for future generations by strengthening regional cooperation on, Climate Action, marine conservation, ocean governance Pacific Regional Solidarity

The initiative aims to align national and regional priorities, enhancing maritime conservation and climate resilience across their shared marine corridors.

The 2026 Inaugural Melanesian Ocean Summit, Pacific leaders stand united with Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister Marape in advancing regional collaboration and sustainable ocean governance.

The signing ceremony was witnessed by UN Special Envoy for the Ocean, Peter Thomson.

Although Solomon Islands was unable to participate due to its ongoing Prime Ministerial election process, leaders expressed confidence that Solomon Islands will soon join this important regional vision.

Prime Minister Marape said, “Together, we stand as custodians of the Pacific Ocean — united for our people, our environment, and our future.

“Together, we champion the protection of our Blue Pacific and the prosperity of Melanesia through shared leadership and action, PM Marape said.

France has thrown its support behind Melanesian efforts to protect the Pacific Ocean, with French Ambassador to Papua New Guinea Pierre Fournier telling leaders at the the Melanesian Ocean Summit that the Pacific will play a decisive role in implementing global ocean commitments.

Speaking at the summit in Port Moresby, Fournier said France remains committed to the preservation of the ocean and backed stronger regional cooperation on marine protection, fisheries management and maritime security.

“Our joint action to reverse the dreadful degradation of the health of the ocean with our joint commitment to protect at least 30 percent of the ocean by 2030, and the adoption of the High Seas treaty, or BBNJ agreement, are a true testimony of our contribution to the protection of more than half of the planet,” he said.

Fournier linked the summit’s discussions to outcomes from the 3rd UN Ocean Conference held in Nice in June 2025, where France co-hosted the gathering alongside Costa Rica.

He said the conference produced the Nice Ocean Action Plan, which included political commitments and voluntary actions that would have significant impact in the Pacific region.

“And the Pacific, with the biggest Ocean, has the biggest impact on the implementation of this outcome,” he said.

The French envoy also highlighted the importance of ratifying the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement, saying it would strengthen efforts to protect high seas biodiversity and support regional marine corridor initiatives being promoted by Pacific countries.

Fournier said France was investing heavily in the Pacific through its territories of New Caledonia, French Polynesia and Wallis and Futuna, which together manage an Exclusive Economic Zone of 6.5 million square kilometres.

“France is a major contributor to the sustainability, prosperity and security of the Region,” he said.

He outlined France’s regional support through fisheries surveillance, maritime monitoring and humanitarian operations, including support to the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) through naval deployments and patrol aircraft operations.

“France’s continuous support to FFA by deploying navy vessels and patrol aircrafts in FFA operations represent an average of 130 days at sea and 50 hours of flight time each year, with a cost of 2 million euros per year,” he said.

Fournier said France’s Pacific territories were also expanding marine protected areas, pointing to French Polynesia’s declaration of its entire 5 million square kilometre EEZ as a marine protected area and New Caledonia’s 50-year moratorium on seabed mineral exploration and exploitation.

“With such proactive local public policies, the monitoring and oversight measures implemented by the government in this context, and France’s four-pronged regional strategy, the Pacific can count on us,” he said.

The Ambassador also reaffirmed France’s commitment to regional security cooperation, climate action and multilateralism.

“France, a permanent member of the Security Council, is both your friend and your neighbour,” Fournier said.

“We share the same vision; we share the same values. You can count on us,” he said.

Leonard Louma, former Director General of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Secretariat, Wednesday issued a defence of the Udaune Declaration, as a radical and necessary pushback against international climate apathy and greenwashing.

Speaking on the third day of the 2026 Melanesian Ocean Summit, Louma detailed the strategic motivations behind the agreement, framing it as a critical tool to keep the torchlight on climate change and environmental degradation.

Louma noted that the declaration was born out of profound frustration with the global status quo.

He said the “disappointingly low” outcomes of COP27 in Egypt and the persistent failure of wealthy nations to meet the promised US$100 billion annual climate finance goal.

“We noticed that greenwashing mechanisms were being contrived by major emitters to absolve themselves of responsibility,” Louma told the summit.

“We didn’t want people to forget our concerns.” he said.

The Udaune Declaration was an opportunity to tell the international community that we are not just bystanders, we have been proactive leaders in this space long before the UN Sustainable Development Goals were even crafted.”

The Udaune Declaration is not merely a statement of intent but a roadmap for radical and ambitious regional action.

Louma highlighted several key pillars:

*Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation: The MSG is pushing for a transition away from fossil fuels to spur investment in cleaner, alternative energies.

*Deep Seabed Mining Ban: To protect marine ecosystems, the declaration commits MSG members to a moratorium on deep seabed mining within their jurisdictions until science-based research can fully determine the environmental impacts.

*Nuclear Caution: Louma reaffirmed the region’s stance against the discharge of treated nuclear material into the Pacific, urging the Japanese government to exercise extreme caution following the 2011 Fukushima disaster.

*Single-Use Plastics: A commitment to a total ban aimed at precipitating a shift toward natural, biodegradable products.

Louma linked the declaration directly to the regional legal architecture, highlighting that a successful global economy requires both political resolve and technical know-how.

He stated that the Udaune Declaration provides the necessary “political will” for MSG members to exploit the Blue Economy, the sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth.

“Opportunities cannot be fully exploited if the requisite finance and technical expertise are not available in our countries,” he said.

“The Udaune Declaration demands that these gaps be addressed appropriately.”

Louma also urged Melanesian nations to take pride in their history of climate advocacy.

“Udaune is part and parcel of efforts to provide a legal framework for concrete actions,” Louma said.

“It creates an ecosystem where the blue economy can be developed with the genuine participation of our people,” he said.

In an address at the 2026 Melanesian Ocean Summit, Professor Chalapan Kaluwin, Director of the Momis Ocean and Climate Research Institute, issued a bold challenge to policymakers: stop borrowing foreign ideas and start trusting Papua New Guinean science.

Professor Kaluwin revealed that years of independent research and experiments conducted “in our own backyard” have confirmed that Papua New Guinea, alongside Palau and neighbouring island seas, sits atop the warmest ocean waters on the planet.

“We decided to find time to do this work in our own university, in our own country,” Kaluwin told the summit.

He explained that by utilising advanced technology including pressure sensors and Argo floats deployed from Manus to Fiji, local scientists have tracked a steady rise in ocean temperatures since 1991.

“When you talk about global warming, that’s for politicians. Climate change is what scientists talk about,” Kaluwin said, noting that sea surface temperatures in the region remain the highest in the world.

This heat, he warned, is the engine driving more frequent and intense El Niño and La Niña cycles, which are now impacting the region every one to two years rather than the traditional five-year cycle.

Professor Kaluwin question why a nation of 1,200 islands does not yet have a dedicated Ministry of Oceans.

He argued that the country’s GDP, wealth funds, and future sustainability are inextricably linked to the sea, yet policies are often imported from the West rather than built on local data.

” You have smart people already in this country,” he said. “You will be able to develop your own policies based on your science. Don’t go and borrow policies from elsewhere.”

The Professor highlighted several urgent risks to PNG’s maritime interests.

Kaluwin raised alarms over mining licenses granted to foreign firms without scientific credibility, specifically mentioning the risks of terrestrial pollution from the Highlands flowing down to the Great Barrier Reef.

As ocean temperatures rise, Kaluwin warned that PNG is at risk of losing its tuna stocks as species migrate to cooler waters.

Prof Kaluwin said economic strategy must start with the people living on the 1,200 islands of PNG.

” It’s your home, it’s your land, it’s your ocean. It doesn’t belong to anybody else in the world,” Kaluwin stated.

“Our research is meant for the people, to protect their interests and their future,” he said.