The National Environment Service (NES), with the Ministry of Finance and Economic Management (MFEM) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), held the Policy and Institutional Review (PIR) Validation Workshop on Tuesday 15 September 2026 at Crown Beach Resort.
The PIR is the first of four assessments under the Global Biodiversity Finance Programme (BIOFIN), launched in the Cook Islands in February. It examines how policies, institutions, budgets, incentives and subsidies shape biodiversity outcomes, and underpins the Biodiversity Expenditure Review (BER), Financial Needs Assessment (FNA) and a National Biodiversity Finance Plan supporting the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
Government agencies, state-owned enterprises, financial institutions, the private sector, civil society, women’s organisations and traditional leaders tested draft findings built on a detailed literature review and stakeholder consultations held from 7 to 14 September. UNDP’s Samoa and global BIOFIN teams joined online.
Opening the workshop, NES Director Halatoa Fua said: “Protecting biodiversity is not simply an environmental responsibility; it is an investment in the long-term wellbeing of our people and islands.”
Participants confirmed several priority issues: biodiversity enters infrastructure and investment decisions too late; expertise is lost when short-term projects end; budgets do not yet identify biodiversity spending; and civil society faces uneven access to grants. They called for volunteer contributions, much of it by women’s and community groups, to be recorded and valued as co-financing, and for gender equity and social inclusion to inform subsidy and grant decisions.
Financial Secretary Garth Henderson, MFEM, Co-Chair of the BIOFIN National Steering Committee, said: “The systems we develop must be simple, affordable and sustainable. Protecting biodiversity is also about protecting our national balance sheets and avoiding much greater costs in the future.”
UNDP In-Country Programme Analyst Ron Hiku Viviani said: “Let this piece of work lead to action. Let the work bear fruit for our people.”
The second BIOFIN National Steering Committee met that afternoon to receive the preliminary findings. Participants will rank priority recommendations through an online survey, and the final validated PIR is due in October 2026. E Co. Limited also introduced the next phases, which will measure current biodiversity spending, cost NBSAP actions and identify realistic financing options, leading to a Biodiversity Finance Plan in 2027.
