Ahkamb Island has officially launched its first-ever Community Conservation Area (CCA) alongside a Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Plan- a milestone initiative to build long-term resilience against climate change and natural disasters.

The two projects, led by Live & Learn Vanuatu with funding from New Zealand through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trades (MFAT), and support from the Vanuatu Government, marks a major turning point for Ahkamb, one of the most remote communities in South Malekula.

Minister for Climate Change, Hon. Ralph Regenvanu, commended the leadership of the Ahkamb community for taking collective action to protect their environment through its CCA of about 1300 hectares of both land and sea.

“This is a management that is world-class, managing biodiversity, our environment, and our resources together,” said Minister Regenvanu.

During the event, Director of Environment, Osborne Melenamu, officially handed over the registered certificate for the Ahkamb-Malembur Community Conservation Area, the first of its kind in Malekula and the whole province of Malampa.

“I hereby exhibit the following sites as a nationally recognized community conservation area under Section 37(3) of the EBC Act,” he declared.

It is the 17th of such area established across Vanuatu. It is also the first in the country to jointly protect terrestrial resources, sacred sites, and marine ecosystems.

New Zealand’s Deputy High Commissioner to Vanuatu, Mehaka Rountree, hailed the projects as a valuable asset in an era increasingly defined by natural disasters.

“Vanuatu’s biodiversity, natural environment, and communities are coming together to protect against the impacts of climate change,” he said.

The Country Manager of Live & Learn Vanuatu, Glarinda Andre, said the project reflects the organization’s guiding principle, ‘Conservation before Development’.

“You must protect your resources and have a plan for how to use them before you cry for development,” she said.

At the same time, Ahkamb also launched its first-ever DRR plan, featuring early warning systems, awareness programs, and emergency tools designed to blend traditional knowledge with modern technology.

The committee chairperson, Billy Williams, said the new plan will greatly assist the community’s disaster response.

“In the past, we didn’t know what to do. We just reacted when disasters strike,” Williams admitted.

“Now we have a plan that will help us keep the community safe before a disaster.”

Ahkamb Island, though small and vulnerable to climate change impacts and natural disasters, has shown that true resilience begins with community action at the grassroot’s level.