Solomon Islands Hosts Landmark Regional Gathering on Marine Conservation, Threatened Species, and Women’s Leadership

Honiara, 22 Sept 2025 – A historic regional event has officially opened today in Honiara, bringing together leaders, experts, community champions, and other stakeholders from across the Coral Triangle and the Pacific for five days of intensive dialogue, collaboration, and celebration of progress in marine conservation and gender equality.

Held from 22–26 September 2025 at the Pacific Crown Hotel and the Mendana Hotel concurrently, the events combine several key meetings under the Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security (CTI-CFF) umbrella, including:

• The 2025 Women Leaders Forum Regional Exchange, under the theme “From Southeast Asia to Melanesia: Celebrating the Resilient Voyage of our Women Leaders.”
• The 2025 Threatened Species Workshop focusing on the WWF ShellBank and Blue Corridors for Turtles Socialization Workshop.
• The 10th Women Leaders’ Forum Working Group.
• The 6th Threatened Species Technical Working Group Meeting.
• The first CTI-CFF Bismarck Solomon-Seas Seascape (BSS) in-person Dialogue.

Welcoming delegates during the opening ceremony, Honourable Cathy Nori (MP), Minister for Women, Youth, Children and Family Affairs, emphasised the significance of hosting this event: “The Women Leaders Forum provides a vital platform to share knowledge, celebrate women’s contributions, and strengthen inclusive leadership in marine and coastal management. For the Solomon Islands, this reflects our national commitment to gender equality under the Gender Equality and Women’s Development (GEWD) Policy, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). When women and youth are fully included in decision-making, our communities and oceans are stronger.”

The Opening Ceremony featured addresses from distinguished guests, setting the tone for a week of regional cooperation, scientific exchange, and community-driven solutions.

Ten Years of Women’s Leadership in Marine Conservation

This year marks a decade since the establishment of the Women Leaders Forum (WLF), a peer-learning and advocacy platform designed to elevate the role of women in marine and coastal resource management across the CT6 countries — Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste.

Under the theme "From Southeast Asia to Melanesia: Celebrating the Resilient Voyage of our Women Leaders", the WLF 2025 Regional Exchange brings together over 40 participants including government focal points, community leaders, strategic partners, and gender equality advocates.

The forum will reflect on achievements over the past decade and chart new pathways to 2030, focusing on the implementation of the Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) Policy, leadership development, and regional learning.

“As a two-time WLF Chair, I’ve witnessed significant progress in women’s participation in marine conservation and fisheries management. We are also seeing growing support from partners for women-led initiatives at both community, national, and regional levels. This reflects the importance of the WLF in continuing to provide space for women and youth to lead in marine conservation, particularly here in the Solomon Islands,” said Ms. Agnetha Vave-Karamui, Deputy Secretary Technical, Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology, Solomon Islands.

Conserving the Coral Triangle’s Most Threatened Species

The Coral Triangle Initiative’s Threatened Species programme focuses on conserving and managing threatened species as defined under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. Under the Red List, threatened species are defined as: “any species that is vulnerable to extinction in the near future: Critically Endangered (CR), Endangered (EN), and Vulnerable (VU).” This programme targets critical species, including marine turtles, sharks, rays, marine mammals, and economically important reef species whose survival is threatened by overfishing, habitat destruction, marine debris, wildlife trading, and climate change in the Coral Triangle region.

The week’s meeting provides a platform for conservation action through the Threatened Species Technical Working Group, which is convening to review national progress on species such as marine turtles, sharks, rays, and marine mammals, and align on the 2026–2028 Threatened Species Workplan under the CTI-CFF Regional Plan of Action 2.0.

A key highlight is the ShellBank and Blue Corridors for Turtles Socialisation Workshop, organised with support from WWF, introducing traceability tools and regional collaboration strategies to reduce illegal trade and improve protection of migratory sea turtle populations.

Strengthening Regional Seascape Collaboration

For the first time, the Bismarck Solomon-Seas Seascape (BSS) Dialogue will convene a trilateral sub-regional meeting between Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Solomon Islands. This dialogue will advance joint action on migratory species conservation and marine ecosystem connectivity within the shared seascape.

This dialogue will lay the foundation for a joint priority workplan on migratory species, aligned with the CTI-CFF Regional Plan of Action 2.0, and explore approaches for scaling up transboundary conservation efforts.

Looking Ahead

Across all sessions, a unifying goal stands out: to ensure the Coral Triangle’s marine biodiversity and coastal communities remain resilient, inclusive, and empowered into the future.

“This gathering represents the power of unity, knowledge-sharing, and inclusive leadership. From community members to national policymakers to regional and international partners, we are all stewards of the Coral Triangle,” said Dr. Frank Keith Griffin, Executive Director of the CTI-CFF Regional Secretariat.

The week will culminate in the finalisation of two key outputs:

• A draft 2026–2028 Threatened Species Workplan to guide conservation efforts and partner collaboration.
• A shared framework for GESI implementation across CTI-CFF programming, supported by capacity-building tools and success stories from women leaders.

As the region looks ahead to 2030, the dialogues and partnerships emerging this week embody the CTI-CFF hope — a shared vision of countries uniting across borders, of women leading with purpose, and of threatened species and ecosystems not only surviving but thriving. It is a hope rooted in action, collaboration, and the belief that the Coral Triangle will continue to serve as the beating blue heart of the planet for generations to come.

Note to media: Quotes included in this release are attributable to the individuals named and should not be attributed to the media contact listed below. For interview requests or further comment, please coordinate with the CTI-CFF Regional Secretariat.

About the Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security (CTI-CFF)

The Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security (CTI-CFF) is a multilateral partnership of six countries—Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste—working together to protect the Coral Triangle, the global epicenter of marine biodiversity. Often called the “Amazon of the Seas,” the Coral Triangle is home to 76% of the world’s known coral species (over 600 species of reef-building corals) and 37% of the world’s reef fish species, supporting the livelihoods and food security of more than 130 million people.

Through its Regional Plan of Action (RPOA 2.0), CTI-CFF drives regional collaboration to conserve coral reefs, expand marine protected areas, ensure sustainable fisheries, and build resilience to climate change. The CTI-CFF Regional Secretariat, based in Manado, Indonesia, coordinates this collective effort—bringing together governments, partners, and communities to advance a healthy, resilient, and inclusive blue economy across the Coral Triangle.

For more inquiries & information, contact:

Fritzgerald Wenur
Marketing & Information Officer, CTI-CFF Regional Secretariat
E: fritzgerald.wenur@cticff.org
W: www.coraltriangleinitiative.org

Kimberly Christine Chung
Communication & Information Manager, CTI-CFF Regional Secretariat
E: kimberly.chung@cticff.org
W: www.coraltriangleinitiative.org