As biodiversity faces mounting global threats, Vanuatu is emerging as a leader in the Pacific, taking bold steps to protect nature. A dedicated member of the NBSAP Accelerator Partnership and its Steering Committee, the island nation is currently revising its National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) to align with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KM-GBF), the world’s new roadmap for halting and reversing biodiversity loss by 2030.

Spearheaded by the Department of Environmental Protection and Conservation and supported by the technical expertise of the NBSAP Accelerator Partnership, the revision process is placing inclusivity, practicality, and local reality at the heart of its new approach.

Vanuatu’s next-generation NBSAP promises to be both comprehensive and actionable, addressing biodiversity across land, sea, and freshwater ecosystems. It will bridge conservation efforts with the sustainable use of natural resources. Developed through a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach, the strategy actively engages local communities, traditional leaders, youth, women, civil society, the private sector, and ministries across national and subnational governments to ensure that every voice contributes to shaping the country’s biodiversity future.

Despite being a small island developing state with unique challenges, Vanuatu is setting bold but realistic targets that reflect its ambitions under the KM-GBF. By embedding biodiversity goals into agriculture, fisheries, forestry, and tourism policies and incorporating robust monitoring systems with SMART indicators, the strategy will deliver clear actions and results to ecosystems and the people who depend on them.

What sets Vanuatu’s approach apart is its emphasis on local ownership. The revised NBSAP will prioritize culturally grounded solutions and empower communities to lead conservation actions that reflect their lived realities and traditional knowledge systems.

In a country where biodiversity is both a natural treasure and a foundation for livelihoods, Vanuatu’s efforts are not only timely but essential. Considered a biodiversity hotspot, the island is a geographically complex home to unique and endemic species as well as cultural and linguistic diversity. By embedding biodiversity planning into national development, Vanuatu is enhancing climate resilience, protecting biodiversity, and ensuring food security and community well-being.

As part of the NBSAP Accelerator Partnership, a dedicated facilitator, Adrien Moienau, has been embedded within Vanuatu’s Department of Environmental Protection and Conservation to provide ongoing coordination, technical guidance, and support for multi-stakeholder engagement. This collaboration ensures that Pacific voices and solutions continue to influence global biodiversity decisions.

With its updated NBSAP on the horizon, Vanuatu is setting the stage for a transformative decade of biodiversity action. Grounded in community values, aligned with global goals, and tailored to national realities, Vanuatu’s approach offers a compelling model for biodiversity planning in island nations and beyond.