The University of Hawaiʻi is part of a new Pacific initiative focused on regional collaboration among emerging leaders in the Pacific in vital areas including natural resource economics and management, climate resilience, sustainable food systems, renewable energy development, water security, waste management, and more.
The University of the South Pacific was awarded a $5 million grant from the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs to establish a resilience and adaptation fellowship program with UH and other partner institutions. President Joe Biden officially announced the grant as part of the White House’s roadmap for a 21st-Century U.S.-Pacific Island partnership.
A UH delegation met with a group from the University of the South Pacific in June 2024 to help launch this new initiative. The UH delegation included UH President David Lassner, UH Mānoa Provost Michael Bruno, UH Mānoa Interim Vice Provost for Research and Scholarship Christopher Sabine, and UH Mānoa College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) Climate and Agroforestry Extension Specialist Ashley McGuigan, who also serves as the Hawaiʻi U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Islands Coordinator for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Southwest Climate Hub.
“This collaboration represents a pivotal step in nurturing the next generation of Pacific leaders equipped to tackle climate challenges,” Lassner said. “Weʻre sharing knowledge, ideas and experience across the Pacific to create a more sustainable and resilient future for our region.”
Bruno added, “The Pacific Islands are on the frontlines of climate change, and this partnership underscores our unwavering commitment to actionable solutions. Through this program, we’re investing in the human capital that will drive sustainable development and ensure the long-term prosperity of Pacific communities.”
The delegations discussed ways to implement the interdisciplinary program, including helping to facilitate PhD students from the University of the South Pacific and its 12 member countries (Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu) to come to UH to be co-supervised by UH faculty to help develop capacity related to climate adaption, mitigation and resilience in the Pacific. This program is also intended to help support the exchange of UH faculty to the University of the South Pacific.
The University of the South Pacific has also received funding from Aotearoa, New Zealand, a significant contributor to climate change research and action, to establish a center that will contribute to improved institutional capability and evidence-based decision-making in the Pacific region, fostering climate resilience and driving ambitious and innovative action on climate change. UH and the University of the South Pacific also discussed ways both institutions can collaborate and partner under this new center, including via a developing climate partnership with the USDA and CTAHR.
More opportunities related to this project will be announced at a later date.
