Nauru Restoration Generation

Context

Halting and reversing land degradation, as well as conserving remnant biodiversity in Small Island Developing States (SIDS), is a critical global priority. Nauru is among the most severely affected, with decades of unsustainable surface phosphate mining leaving much of the island’s landscape degraded and creating deep economic and social reliance on mining revenue. This legacy has hindered efforts to adopt Sustainable Land Management (SLM) and biodiversity conservation through an integrated landscape approach.

External support is essential to achieve systemic change—placing Nauru on a sustainable land-use pathway by mainstreaming Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) and restoring ecosystem services through the conservation and enhancement of the island’s limited biodiversity assets.

The proposed Project provides this transformational shift. It will establish enabling policy and regulatory frameworks for SLM and biodiversity conservation, integrate LDN targets into national development planning, and pilot restoration initiatives on severely degraded post-mining lands. Concurrently, it will safeguard and restore Nauru’s remaining forests and raise awareness and capacity at national and community levels to ensure long-term stewardship of rehabilitated landscapes.

The Pacific Community (SPC) will support implementation of the agreed activities under four key components of the Nauru Restoration Generation Project:

Component 1: Strengthening policy and institutional capacity for sustainable land management and biodiversity conservation.
Component 2: Rehabilitation and restoration of degraded land to protect and reinstate ecosystem services in Nauru.
Component 3: Conservation and sustainable use of Nauru’s forests.
Component 4: Scaling up efforts towards land degradation neutrality and biodiversity conservation.

This comprehensive approach directly addresses four critical barriers—policy gaps, technical and financial capacity constraints, degraded landscapes, and limited public awareness—through four interlinked outcomes. Together, these interventions will position Nauru on a sustainable trajectory, aligning with global LDN targets and the Sustainable Development Goals while contributing to regional SIDS priorities.