Celebrating the Resilient Voyage of Our Women Leaders  

Solomon Islands 

Nagotano, located in the Central Islands Province of the Solomon Islands, is situated within the Coral Triangle, a region renowned for its exceptional marine biodiversity.  

The Solomon Islands’ rich waters are home to over 605 species of coral, 2,228 species of reef fish, 7,000km² of coral reefs, and vast mangrove forests (400 km²) and seagrass beds (10,000 ha). This rich ecosystem allows marine life to thrive and provides food and security for coastal communities.   

Local partnerships leading conservation efforts.

Within this vibrant marine environment, the Wildlife Conservation Society hosted a Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security (CTI-CFF) Regional Exchange in Nagotano, highlighting women leading conservation in their communities.  

The CTI-CFF initiative is a multilateral partnership of six countries - Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands, and Timor Leste, and marks ten years of the Women Leaders Forum. Established in 2014, the Women Leaders Forum is a peer-learning network dedicated to empowering women across the Coral Triangle in marine and coastal resource management. 

The Regional Exchange field session focused on a ‘community of interest dialogue’ in Nagotano and showcased a women-led marine management initiative. This event was made possible through a collaborative effort between WCS, the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology (MECDM) and MFMR, with funds from the Global Environment Facility (GEF 7) Coral Reef Rescue: Resilient Reefs, Resilient Communities project. 

Despite operating in a traditionally male-dominated context, women of Nagotano have taken on leadership roles in conservation. They helped develop a Community Fisheries Management Plan, led coral replanting and sea cucumber restocking efforts, pursued alternative livelihoods, and regularly monitored their coastal areas. 

During the community of interest discussions, WLF participants learned about local governance, resource management strategies and the pivotal role women play in decision-making around marine resources. 

Image: Letisha Pende CBRM lead for the Nagotano community management plan, attending the Women Leaders Forum, celebrating a decade of engagement in marine conservation. Photo Credit @ Ronnie Posala, 2025 

Highlights of the event included: 

• Sharing success stories and lessons learned from the past decade. 

• Strengthening women’s leadership networks across the Coral Triangle. 

• Enhancing understanding of Gender Equity and Social Inclusion (GESI) in marine resource management. 

Claire Kent, a representative from the Nagotano community, highlighted the importance of this initiative, 

“For us women in Nagotano, to manage, conserve, and protect our marine resources is to protect our families. We depend on our marine resources for food security and livelihood. Through such initiatives, women are given the opportunity to show that we can be leaders in conservation efforts in our communities, and how voices matter in shaping the future of our oceans.”  

The community-based initiative in Nagotano is supported by the World Bank, through the Pacific Regional Oceanscape Program (PROPER) Project, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAL) for technical support in developing the alternative livelihood projects, in partnership with the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources (MFMR).  

Last month, the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources launched the Community Fisheries Management Plan, which was hailed as a milestone of true collaboration, meaningful engagement, and inclusive participation, underscoring the government’s commitment to marine conservation.  

“Women have been at the heart of this process, ensuring that conservation is not just on paper, but lived practice,”

added Ms Letisha Pende CBRM lead for the Nagotano community management plan. 

The Nagotano exchange highlights how empowering women and fostering inclusivity strengthens community stewardship of marine resources. The Coral Reef Rescue Project will continue to support these women and the Nagatano community to conserve their local climate resilient reefs.  

Free Online Coral Reef Conservation Courses

The GEF-7 CRR project has also released free online courses and resources on coral reefs conservation.

These include:

Coral Reefs: Introduction to Challenges and Solutions,  

Coral Reefs: Data and Monitoring, 

Coral Reefs: Sustainable Blue Economy, 

Coral Reefs: Climate Resilient Communities. 

Alongside these courses, a new online decision support tool was created Coral Reef Rescue Portal. This brings together over 70 existing coral reef datasets and resources in one easy-to-use, searchable platform.

The GEF-7 Coral Reef Rescue project is implemented by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), with the University of Queensland (UQ) as the Lead Executing Agency and the WCS serving as the National Technical Facilitator in Solomon Islands.