Transforming women’s seaweed enterprises into nature-based solutions for Fiji, Samoa and Kiribati

 

Seaweed aquaculture is widely recognized as having strong potential for climate change mitigation and adaptation activities. In the Pacific, women often manage the seaweed farming businesses. Though the scale of operations in Fiji, Samoa and Kiribati is relatively small, significant growth is possible through the establishment of additional village-based enterprises. The seaweed aquaculture sector of these countries can be expanded by offering technical solutions to existing production constraints as well as by diversifying the market for existing seaweed products. Specifically, nature-based solutions (NbS) can offer meaningful technology solutions to drive the adoption of sustainable aquaculture practices across the Pacific.

The project will begin by mapping the existing seaweed supply chains and identifying and evaluating production and processing interventions for the key seaweed species. Specifically, the Life Cycle Analysis of energy (carbon) and nutrients (nitrogen/phosphorus) involved in the supply chain will capture the flow of both raw material used and waste products created. A natural capital accounting approach will be used to evaluate the benefits and impacts of nature-based financing. Next, the project will focus on enhancing entrepreneurship skills and practices by delivering business training and peer-to-peer learning opportunities. The project team will also collaborate with private sector entities to support the development of innovative product prototypes and evaluate their potential marketability. Finally, the project will synthesize lessons learned. The focus will be on culturally rigorous knowledge sharing and developing frameworks and approaches to scaling up both production capacity and potential market bases for the domestic seaweed aquaculture sectors of these three countries.

This project is part of the Nature-based Climate Solutions (NbCS) in Aquacultural Food Systems in Asia-Pacific initiative (AQUADAPT), which is co-funded by Global Affairs Canada and IDRC. AQUADAPT is a four-year initiative aimed at driving research-action toward inclusive NbS and at better understanding how such solutions can contribute to climate change adaptation, biodiversity conservation and food security across the Asia-Pacific region.