The next few months will bring a wave of critical climate diplomacy for the Pacific Islands, starting with regional leaders gathering in Palau for the Pacific Islands Forum to place ocean protection at the center of the agenda. This will be followed in early October by pre-COP meetings in Fiji and Tuvalu, culminating in November when Australia presides over the COP31 climate summit in Antalya, Turkiye. This dense diplomatic calendar presents Australia with a unique opportunity to leverage its COP31 presidency and the newly active High Seas Treaty to build a connected network of marine protection spanning national boundaries and international waters.
At the heart of this push is the concept of "Blue Corridors"—the vast migratory pathways utilized by marine species like whales and sharks as they travel thousands of kilometers across different national jurisdictions. Conservationists emphasize that protecting isolated marine parks is no longer sufficient because marine life relies on continuous ocean connectivity. For instance, humpback whales breeding off Queensland migrate directly toward Antarctic feeding grounds, while those breeding in Tonga journey through the waters of the Cook Islands, Niue, and New Zealand to reach the exact same destination. To these migratory species, the waters of Australia, the Pacific Islands, and Antarctica function as a single, interconnected living system.
Securing these pathways was historically impossible without an international legal framework for waters outside national boundaries. However, the legal landscape shifted in January when the High Seas Treaty officially entered into force, granting governments the authority to protect the two-thirds of the global ocean that lies beyond any single country's control. This legal milestone unites three decades of scientific migration tracking with thousands of years of Indigenous knowledge, providing policymakers with the concrete tools needed to map and protect these vital corridors.
Pacific Island nations are already demonstrating significant leadership by turning these conservation concepts into active policy. In May, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, and Vanuatu signed the Melanesian Ocean Corridor of Reserves, marking the first Pacific-led declaration to link national waters into a single, shared protective corridor. Tonga has also stepped forward with a National Ocean Policy that targets 30 percent ocean protection, signaling plans to secure the Pacific Blue Corridor used by humpbacks traveling from Tongan breeding grounds through the Cook Islands, Niue, and New Zealand down to Antarctica. This regional approach is grounded in ancestral Pacific knowledge that views the ocean as a connecting pathway rather than a dividing barrier.
As Australia prepares to co-host what it has billed as the "Pacific COP" in Antalya, regional leaders are calling for an enduring partnership rather than simple endorsement. To translate this rhetoric into action, Australia must address three critical areas. First, it must secure the Lord Howe Rise, a submerged Tasman Sea plateau and biodiversity hotspot that straddles both Australian domestic waters and the high seas, hosting ancient corals and migratory species. Commitments to bolster protections there represent a necessary starting point.
Second, Australia must strengthen conservation within its own borders. The Australian government has pledged to expand its highly protected marine sanctuaries from 24 percent to 30 percent by 2030. To meet this target, Canberra must first increase protections in the Coral Sea and around Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands, followed by science-guided expansions across the rest of its waters.
Third, Australia must reconcile its climate leadership with its domestic energy policies. Marine sanctuaries alone cannot shield a rapidly warming ocean from collapse. Nearly 100 civil society organizations have called on Australia and Turkiye to lead by example and advance an equitable transition away from fossil fuels, pointing out that Australia cannot credibly lead global climate talks while continuing to approve fossil fuel projects. The consequences of inaction are stark: CSIRO modeling indicates that the recovery of humpback whale populations—one of conservation's greatest triumphs—could be significantly reversed by 2050 as warming temperatures disrupt Antarctic ecosystems. Ultimately, the decisions Australia makes in the lead-up to COP31 will determine whether these Blue Corridors become a historic conservation achievement or a missed opportunity.
