Solomon Islands Calls for Ocean Governance Rooted in Action and Authority at Melanesian Ocean Summit

In a room filled with regional leaders, ocean advocates, and policymakers, the voice of Solomon Islands carried a message grounded not in ambition alone, but in action.

Taking the floor at the inaugural Melanesian Ocean Summit in Port Moresby, Solomon Islands delivered a plenary statement that did more than outline a position, it told a story of a nation already deep in the work of protecting its ocean.

At the heart of that story is the Melanesian Ocean Reserve (MOR), not as a future aspiration, but as a living, operational framework shaped by customary law, Indigenous stewardship, and national decision-making.

Leaders and partners at the inaugural Melanesian Ocean Summit in Port Moresby

For Solomon Islands, ocean governance is not something to be declared, it is something to be done.

The country used the Summit platform to make this distinction clear. While regional cooperation remains important, it must follow a careful and deliberate path, one that respects national processes and the authority of its people.

The statement emphasised that before any new regional framework is adopted, there must be genuine consultation, Attorney General clearance, Cabinet endorsement, and the completion of domestic processes within each country.

Solomon Islands High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea, William Soaki, captured this approach with clarity.

“It reflects Solomon Islands’ commitment to building ocean governance that is meaningful, nationally accountable, and capable of delivering impact on the ground.”

He went further, grounding the message in something deeper than policy.

“For Solomon Islands, regional cooperation must be shaped through learning and relearning how to engage across Melanesia in ways that respect Indigenous Ocean Governance, national systems, and the authority of communities who continue to manage and care for their waters.”

This is not a step back from global commitments, nor a rejection of regional unity. Instead, it is a call to build cooperation on foundations strong enough to hold what matters most, sovereignty, Indigenous knowledge, constitutional integrity, and community leadership.

That same approach has already taken shape at home.

At the recent Ocean12 Technical Working Group meeting in Honiara, Solomon Islands reaffirmed the Melanesian Ocean Reserve as the Government’s only Cabinet-endorsed ocean governance framework currently under active implementation. Ocean12, bringing together 12 ministries, continues to align efforts across marine spatial planning, sustainable ocean economies, conservation finance, and on-the-ground delivery.

And the work is already unfolding.

Through initiatives such as the ARA Ocean Knowledge Partnership, led by Solomon Islands National University, Indigenous knowledge is being woven together with modern science, creating a model of ocean governance that reflects both tradition and innovation.

The plenary statement made one thing unmistakably clear: the Reserve is not a proposal waiting to be realised. It is already in motion.

At the same time, Solomon Islands reaffirmed its commitment to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework through its National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan.

Its national target of protecting 15 percent of its ocean remains in place, but with an important distinction. It is not just about how much ocean is protected, but how protection is achieved, through stronger relationships, local governance, and community-led stewardship.

In this way, the story of Solomon Islands’ ocean governance is not measured only in percentages or policies, but in people, practice, and place.

The Melanesian Ocean Reserve itself reflects this vision on a broader scale. As the world’s first Indigenous-led, multi-national ocean reserve framework, it brings together Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and Papua New Guinea under a shared commitment to protecting the ocean while sustaining livelihoods, strengthening cultural authority, and building long-term resilience.

In Port Moresby, that vision was not presented as a distant goal.

It was shared as a reality already taking shape, guided by those who have always known the ocean not just as a resource, but as home.