The Nauru Ridge to Reef (R2R) project has been designed to develop, establish and implement a government and community partnership approach to increase knowledge for better management of natural resources and ecosystem services for the entire Island of Nauru through innovative integrated land, water, biodiversity, coastal and marine management approaches thereby protecting and increasing livelihoods opportunities, food security, and enhancing climate resilience.

These goals will be achieved by building Nauru’s capacity to implement a comprehensive cross sectorial regime for sustainable land, freshwater water, solid waste, coastal and marine area management and ensuring the initiatives are mainstreamed and established into all levels of decision making including government policy, laws and regulations and community plans. 

The project is part of the broader Pacific Regional Program on “Pacific Islands Ridge-to-Reef National Priorities – Integrated Water, Land, and Coastal Management to Preserve Biodiversity, Ecosystem Services, Store Carbon, Improve Climate Resilience and Sustain Livelihoods”. This program is designed to build stronger linkages between sustainable development and management of freshwater ecosystems (e.g. ground water systems for Nauru) and coastal/marine areas and promotes the implementation of holistic, integrated management of natural resources. 

The goals of the Nauru R2R project will be achieved through four specific project level outcomes interventions that are directly interconnected at national and site based community (district) levels. These include:

1. Improved management effectiveness of new  marine conservation areas
2. Integrated landscape management practices adopted by local communities living within the ‘bottom-side’ and applicable ‘ridge’, and ‘topside’ areas not covered by mining
3. Biodiversity conservation and Sustainable Land Management mainstreamed in policy and regulatory frameworks
4. Knowledge Management. 

To achieve integrated management of terrestrial and marine systems in Nauru, the project will build on the participatory process facilitated in the development of the R2R Program Framework Document, which included extensive stakeholder dialogues in the development, and will implement innovative and creative project activities to address critical knowledge gaps in environmental and ecosystem services.