The Capitalisation of Learning Exchange (CAPEX) Workshop organised by the Pacific Organic Learning Farms Network (POLFN) project, under the Pacific Community (SPC), brought together practitioners working across agriculture, forestry and conservation.
Participants from Tonga, the Solomon Islands, Samoa, the Federated States of Micronesia, French Polynesia, and New Caledonia, including Fiji, took part in the three-day event.
A key focus of the workshop was exploring how to implement nature-based solutions (NbS) sustainably and integrate them into everyday community practices, ensuring their benefits continue beyond the lifespan of project funding.
Discussions highlighted the importance of strengthening community ownership and encouraging the long-term adoption of sustainable practices, rather than relying solely on external project support.
POLFN Project Manager, Fuatino Fatiaki, said the workshop aimed to bring together practitioners from different sectors to share experiences and identify sustainable actions that could contribute towards achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
“I believe this event is one of those important mechanisms to bring together different practitioners from different areas for us to discuss what is happening in our communities and find solutions or ways that are going to help us achieve a lot of the nature-based solutions that we are trying to promote,” said Fatiaki.
With the event hosted at the Mudrenicagi Organic Learning Farm (OLF), the workshop featured farm observations, group discussions and practical activities allowing participants to explore organic and agroecological farming practices and reflect on how these approaches could be applied within their own communities.
Mudrenicagi OLF Advisor, Karen Mills, said the gathering was a unique opportunity for practitioners working on similar environmental challenges across different parts of the Pacific to connect and learn from one another.
“The Kiwa Initiative is all about climate adaptation through nature-based solutions. So, it’s a rare time for us to all meet face to face and share our knowledge with players who are doing the same kind of work but in different regions.
“Some are focusing on forests, farming or oceans but altogether we are all working towards solving some of our climate challenges that we have here in the Pacific,” she said.
The workshop also focused specifically on market access and livelihood opportunities, with participants exploring how nature-based solutions could contribute to improving household incomes, strengthening local economies and creating lasting benefits for communities across the Pacific.
Representative of the Conservation Society from the Federated States of Micronesia, Yomalinda Pablo Alfons, said the exchange offered valuable insights into the different environmental challenges and approaches being discussed.
“Overall, it’s a new experience and I’m glad to be a part of it. In addition to that every topic is discussed in detail in each session. I was very impressed, especially learning about the different situations in other places compared to back home,” said Alfons.
Looking beyond the workshop, Fatiaki said it was important to turn shared knowledge into practical action and maintain collaboration among participating projects.
“We hope that the knowledge and experiences shared during this workshop will go beyond these three days and translate into meaningful actions within our communities.
“It is important that participants take what they have learned, adapt it to their local contexts and continue working together to strengthen nature-based solutions and build climate resilience across the Pacific,” said Fatiaki.
The three-day exchange highlighted the importance of bringing Pacific communities and project partners together to learn from one another.
This work is part of the Pacific Organic Learning Farms Network (POLFN) project under the KIWA Initiative, managed by the Pacific Organic and Ethical Trade Community (POETCom) initiative at SPC. The KIWA initiative is funded by the European Union, Agence Française de Développement (AFD), Global Affairs Canada (GAC), Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT).