[Joint Media Release by Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS) and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)]
Pacific Partners Convene to Strengthen Collective Action on Climate Security
17 March 2026
Senior officials from Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) member countries and regional stakeholders have convened this week in Brisbane, Australia for the Regional Dialogue on Climate Security in the Pacific, a platform to strengthen collective understanding of the security implications of climate change in the Pacific and to explore practical responses within the region’s evolving peace and security architecture.
The three-day gathering brings together sixty-five participants from Forum Member Governments, the Council of Regional Organisations of the Pacific (CROP) agencies, academia and international partners.
The Dialogue draws on expertise from climate science, adaptation and climate finance, alongside practitioners working in peacebuilding, governance and regional security. Bringing these perspectives together helps deepen understanding of how climate impacts interact with environmental systems, economic stability, governance structures and social cohesion across the Pacific.
“Our member countries are increasingly noticing stresses and tensions occurring in the way our communities attempt to deal with the impacts of climate change. These impacts are not only exacerbating existing social and political challenges but are also having a direct impact on security. We are gathering here to better understand how climate change and security intersect and to map a way forward to respond to their increasingly linked challenges,” said Sefanaia Nawadra, Director General of the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).
“The Pacific has consistently recognised climate change as the single greatest threat to the livelihoods, security and wellbeing of our people. Climate change does not operate in isolated sectors; its impacts cut across environmental systems, economic systems, governance structures and social relationships. Understanding the peace and security implications of climate change therefore requires bridging these fields of knowledge and practice,” said Desna Solofa, Deputy Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum.
The Dialogue builds on regional commitments under the Boe Declaration on Regional Security, endorsed by Forum Leaders in 2018, which expanded the region’s concept of security and placed human security at its centre. It also reflects the vision of the Ocean of Peace Declaration endorsed in 2025, which emphasises cooperation, prevention and the collective stewardship of the Pacific Ocean and environment.
Forum Members are currently advancing the development of a Regional Peace and Security Action Plan that will bring together the Boe Declaration and the Ocean of Peace Declaration within the framework of the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent.
Through cross-sectoral engagement, participants will exchange emerging practices, strengthen regional coordination and identify opportunities for partnerships and financing to address climate-related security risks across the Blue Pacific. Outcomes from the Dialogue are expected to identify emerging regional priorities on climate security to help inform the draft Regional Peace and Security Action Plan.
The Dialogue is coordinated through collaboration between the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme, with funding support from the United Kingdom.
[ENDS]
