In French Polynesia, Partnerships Strengthen Ocean Conservation Efforts
Pew Bertarelli Ocean Legacy and the Te Moana Collective help government advance effective marine protections that benefit people and nature
For millennia, the ocean has shaped daily life for the people of French Polynesia, connecting islands and sustaining communities and their cultures across generations.
These Pacific waters are among the most biodiverse on Earth. They support coral reefs teeming with life, huge schools of tuna and other fisheries, sea turtles, and much more. For Polynesian people, protecting this region of the ocean is not only an environmental priority but also a commitment to cultural heritage, food security, and resilience in the face of climate change.
For more than a decade, Pew Bertarelli Ocean Legacy has worked to advance that commitment alongside the government of French Polynesia, fishers, scientists, and local communities and associations. We have done this mainly by supporting the creation and management of marine protected areas (MPAs) and traditional Polynesian conservation practices such as rāhui, through which communities determine when to restrict fishing in their own waters to ensure long-term sustainability of those fisheries.
To help expand ocean protections here, Pew Bertarelli Ocean Legacy representatives met on Jan. 23 with French Polynesia President Moetai Brotherson, other government and community leaders, and members of the Te Moana Collective, an ocean conservation coalition created in June 2025 that Pew Bertarelli Ocean Legacy participates in. Participants worked to align priorities, assess progress, and identify opportunities for more cooperation, including on how to best implement the government’s 2025 designation of fully protected areas covering approximately 220,000 square kilometers (85,000 square miles) of remote waters near the Society Islands and 680,000 square kilometers (263,000 square miles) near the Gambier Islands. Together, these waters form one of the largest networks of fully and highly protected areas in the world, prohibiting all extractive activities and creating refuges for marine life, including migratory manta rays, coral atolls, and seabirds.
Effective implementation, which is essential to deliver meaningful benefits for ocean life and communities, depends on sound science, strong governance, and robust monitoring and enforcement.
Discussions also emphasized the importance of building local capacity through staffing, training, and long-term financing. Specifically, participants explored opportunities to strengthen sustainable finance mechanisms and establish a locally led institution to manage donor funding for marine conservation.
A shared commitment to ocean health
Other organizations in the Te Moana Collective— the Becht Foundation, Bezos Earth Fund, Blue Marine Foundation, the Blue Nature Alliance, Oceans 5, and the Wyss Foundation—joined the meetings to also offer technical, scientific, and financial resources to advance the shared goals.
During the meeting with President Brotherson, members of the Te Moana Collective committed $15 million to support government priorities that include:
- Effectively implementing the Society and Gambier islands MPAs.
- Designating and implementing at least 500,000 square kilometers (193,050 square miles) of additional fully or highly protected areas around the Austral and Marquesas islands by World Ocean Day—June 8, 2026.
- Continuing to integrate traditional Polynesian marine management practices, such as rāhui, into the government’s ocean conservation strategy.
- Expanding artisanal fishing zones around islands and strengthening monitoring, enforcement, and management capacity.
"We welcome this international financial commitment as support for the path that Mā'ohi Nui – French Polynesia is destined to chart: that of a great oceanic state capable of combining modern science with the ancestral wisdom of Rāhui,” President Brotherson said in a statement. “This $15 million will be invested, through our own financial mechanisms, to guarantee our food sovereignty, secure our waters from plundering, and provide a sustainable future for our youth. By watching over Tainui Ātea [the existing marine managed area that encompasses all French Polynesian waters] and our archipelagos, Mā'ohi Nui – French Polynesia is equipping itself with the means to safeguard its heritage and to present to the world a conservation model aligned with our Oceanian values, capable of sustainably preserving this common good of humanity and essential regulator of the global climate that is Moana Nui a Hiva [the Pacific ocean surrounding the islands of French Polynesia]."
Te Moana Collective representatives and government officials are now visiting the Gambier Islands to meet with local leaders who are spearheading efforts to develop the management plan for the newly designated MPA there.
These exchanges will help identify funding needs so resources may be strategically allocated to support the implementation of the management plan and ensure that conservation measures support both biodiversity and community priorities.
French Polynesia has emerged as a global leader in large-scale ocean protection and has committed to protecting 30% of its ocean and developing a sustainable “blue economy” that respects cultural knowledge. Continued collaboration between the government and the Te Moana Collective is helping to turn ambitious commitments into effective management, while also strengthening governance and securing long-term benefits for people and nature.
Donatien Tanret leads Pew Bertarelli Ocean Legacy’s work in French Polynesia.
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