Goal: Support the establishment of a multiple-use ridge-to-reef-to-ocean conservation area spanning approximately 335,800 km² of ocean, including 380 km² of land across the Lau archipelago

The Alliance is collaborating with Conservation International Fiji and a number of other local partners to advance the design and designation of the Lau Seascape. Conservation International Fiji has been working with the communities and chiefs of the Lau group for over a decade to build upon the area’s 52 existing locally managed marine conservation areas and lay the groundwork for the Seascape’s establishment, with an enduring focus on long-term food security and community well-being.

The Lau archipelago is composed of a thriving network of nearly 60 islands. This remote island chain is home to deep harbors and towering limestone cliffs, with coastal waters teeming with whales, manta rays, and sea turtles. Expeditions to the region recorded more than 200 hard coral species and 530 reef fish species, and evidence of a nursery ground for endangered humpback whale populations.

This reservoir of tropical marine life supports the livelihoods of roughly 5,600 Indigenous people who call Lau home – a population whose genealogy on the islands dates back over 1,000 years.

Informed by more than three years of significant stakeholder consultation and scientific research, Indigenous leaders and the Fijian government worked with partners on a strategy to conserve the 335,000 km² Lau archipelago as a Seascape. Designed to reflect the goals of Lau’s Indigenous leaders, the Lau Seascape initiative seeks to sustain the region’s vibrant biodiversity while ensuring livelihoods and economic opportunity for Lau’s people.

At the UN Oceans Conference in 2022, the Fiji government announced that it would establish offshore marine protections within the Lau Seascape. These areas are expected to account for over 8% of Fiji’s 30×30 goal, effectively using Lau to advance the country’s pledge to protect 30% and sustainably manage 100% of its entire ocean area by 2030. The Lau Seascape will be sustainably co-managed at scale by Indigenous communities and local leaders of Fiji, delivering a global model for balancing the effective protection of nature with sustainable development and ocean use.

The Blue Nature Alliance is supporting the design of a sustainable financing plan for the Lau Seascape, one that incorporates sustainable tourism as an income stream for protected area management. We are also working to build the capacity of Lau’s leaders and communities so they are best equipped to effectively manage their vulnerable natural resources and ecosystems over the long term.

“Protecting our oceans against the threats they face requires us to work together. It is clear that the people and the leaders of Lau are ready to take the necessary steps.” 

– Roko Josefa Cinavilakeba, Paramount Chief of Totoya, one of the Yasayasa Moala cluster of islands in Lau