Goal: Help establish the conditions for greater Indigenous influence in and the improved management of New Caledonia’s 1,292,962 km² Natural Park of the Coral Sea (PNMC), an area slightly larger than South Africa

Since 2022, the Alliance has partnered with the Customary Senate of New Caledonia, the Kanak Customary Authorities College of the PNMC, and Conservation International New Caledonia to help advance the management of the Natural Park of the Coral Sea. 

New Caledonia is home to the largest lagoon in the world and the second-largest barrier reef system after the Great Barrier Reef, with six areas recognized as UNESCO World Heritage sites. The PNMC encompasses New Caledonia’s entire exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and, at the time of its designation in 2014, it was the largest protected area ever created. Harboring some of the highest fish biomass and coral coverage recorded in the world, the PNMC complex geomorphology includes remote islands, complex reef systems, 149 referenced seamounts, and deep-sea basins and trenches.  

New Caledonia has a rich cultural diversity with a population mix of different ethnic communities, including the Indigenous Kanak which make up 41.2% of the country’s population. Of all Caledonians, the Kanak people have the most profound cultural attachment to the island and the Coral Sea, with a genealogy in the area dating back to 1500 BC.   

The ocean plays an important role in Kanak social organization, spirituality, practices, and oral traditions. For example, in Kanak culture, it is believed that the deepest parts of the ocean are graveyards for the souls of elders and seamounts are connection points between the spiritual and living worlds. 

The story of New Caledonia is complex. The Island was declared a French Colony in 1853, marking the beginning of a long period of exclusion of Kanak people from developing society. However, the 1988 Noumea Agreement between independentist and loyalist leaders marked a turning point, setting New Caledonia on a pathway towards decolonization with the establishment of a Customary Senate and the reconciliation of Kanak customary rights with common rights.  

Today, New Caledonia remains a territory of France, but Kanak leaders are legitimate rightsholders of the ocean and have expressed their intention to increase their participation and leadership. They have voiced their holistic and trans-generational approach to conservation and expressed their support for strengthened protections, with special attention placed on the seamounts, seabed, maritime corridors, and culturally important species.    

“For the Kanak people of New Caledonia, ocean conservation is life. We have a duty to incorporate their voices in decisions that affect the future of their resources.”

– Aïle Tikoure, Customary Authority Referent for Drubea-Kapumë Area, Natural Park of the Coral Sea, New Caledonia

With momentum building around more impactful Kanak engagement, the Blue Nature Alliance’s collaboration in New Caledonia will build the enabling conditions for greater Indigenous influence and decision-making authority. This includes strengthening the PNMC’s legal framework and anchoring Kanak cultural heritage and vision in the PNMC’s governance structure.   

The Alliance and our partners are also helping the Customary Authorities to develop the capacity needed to effectively participate in park management and meaningfully contribute to decision-making. Greater leadership of the Kanak Customary Authorities in the management of the PNMC will result in significant advances in the application of social principles and increase the resilience and durability of the PNMC for the benefit of all.    

Achievements made with support from the Blue Nature Alliance and our partners include: 

• An increase in strongly protected MPAs in New Caledonia from 2.3% to 10%, as well as a government bill legally recognizing the Kanak’s cultural vision of the ocean and its protection;
• A 10-year mortarium on deep-sea mineral resource exploration and exploitation within New Caledonia’s EEZ;
• The inclusion of Kanak representatives in scientific marine missions; and
• The constitution of a country-level association (Pana mé Kwé né möȓu), which will further enable Kanak leadership to coordinate and support action for the PNMC and New Caledonia’s ocean.