Young Water Professionals Bring Pacific Water Priorities to Ministers Forum

Young Water Professionals from across the Pacific brought the realities, challenges and aspirations of a new generation of water leaders directly to Pacific Ministers during the Pacific Water Ministers Forum held as part of PWWC26 in Papeete, Tahiti, on 1 September 2026.

The presentation was one of the key opportunities during the 17th Pacific Water and Wastewater Conference and Expo (PWWC26) for emerging water professionals to speak directly to regional decision-makers about the challenges they are confronting in their work and communities, and the support needed to strengthen the Pacific’s water future.

Seven Young Water Professionals (YWPs) traced the journey of water from source to reef and highlighted how water security, sanitation, climate resilience, public health, food security and economic development are deeply interconnected across Pacific communities.

The presentation brought together Chloé Laugrost of French Polynesia, Linda Tamaraka of Vanuatu, Tepepe Taurannang of Kiribati, Zion Young of Samoa, Matini Vailopa of Tuvalu, Judgewin Daniel of Palau and Manasa Batiwale of Fiji.

Opening the presentation, French Polynesia’s Chloé Laugrost framed water as both a vital resource and a strategic regional issue, stressing that water management extends well beyond the provision of drinking water.

“Across the Pacific, water connects our islands just as it connects our peoples. Its management goes beyond administrative boundaries and technical considerations. It is a strategic issue,” Laugrost said.

She also highlighted the importance of wastewater management in protecting public health, freshwater resources and marine environments, particularly in island communities where livelihoods and wellbeing are closely connected to lagoons, reefs and coastal ecosystems.

Vanuatu’s Linda Tamaraka then introduced the source-to-reef approach, explaining how rainfall, rivers, groundwater, coastal waters and wastewater form one connected system.

“If pollution enters our rivers, it affects communities downstream. If groundwater becomes contaminated, drinking water supply are put at risk. If wastewater is not properly treated, it can harm our coastal water, marine life, and coral reefs,” Tamaraka said.

She said protecting each part of the water cycle was therefore essential to safeguarding both communities and ecosystems.

“By protecting water from sources to reef, we protect our environment, support our communities, and help ensure a sustainable future for the Pacific,” Tamaraka said.

Turning to water security, Kiribati’s Tepepe Taurannang highlighted changing rainfall patterns, longer and more severe droughts and saltwater intrusion as growing threats to Pacific water supplies, particularly for Small Island and atoll communities.

Taurannang also drew Ministers’ attention to the distinction between water availability and water quality.

“Having water available does not necessarily mean it is safe to drink. The Pacific also faces growing issues not only in ensuring the quantity of water is sufficient but also the quality of water is safe and free from contamination,” Taurannang said. “Quality water means quality life.”

Samoa’s Zion Young focused on access to adequate sanitation and the growing operational pressures climate change is placing on Pacific water utilities.

“Our communities continue to be affected by limited access to adequate sanitation, causing growing public health concerns, and as mentioned by Tepepe, wastewater contamination into our oceans, rivers, mangroves, and groundwater,” Young said.

She also highlighted the impact of severe weather, flooding and high turbidity, alongside the practical challenges utilities face in maintaining equipment, securing replacement parts and ensuring operators have the skills required to keep systems functioning effectively.

Young said these pressures reinforced the importance of careful and effective investment in utilities, including both operational sustainability and capacity building.

Bringing these pressures together, Tuvalu’s Matini Vailopa demonstrated how water security, sanitation, climate change and deteriorating water quality can combine to disrupt the natural water cycle.

“Severe droughts, saltwater intrusion, changing rainfall patterns and increasingly heavy rainfall are disrupting the natural water cycle,” Vailopa said. “These challenges affect our precipitation and freshwater availability, making it difficult to secure reliable water supplies for our communities.”

His central message to Ministers was that the region’s water challenges cannot be addressed separately.

“We cannot address water security, sanitation, water quality, and climate resilience in isolation,” Vailopa said.

Palau’s Judgewin Daniel broadened the discussion beyond water infrastructure, showing how water underpins agriculture, aquaculture, food security, public health, livelihoods and economic opportunity.

“Water shapes life, from farm to table, from pond to plate, and from household to community,” Daniel said. “It nourishes crops, sustains aquatic resources, protects public health, drives economic growth, and strengthens community resilience.”

Daniel said stewardship of water and wastewater systems was therefore not only an environmental responsibility, but a cornerstone of food security, economic development and human wellbeing.

Closing on behalf of the Young Water Professionals, Fiji’s Manasa Batiwale reflected on the role the next generation will play as Pacific water systems confront climate change, growing demand, ageing infrastructure and increasing pressure on treatment capacity.

Batiwale acknowledged that young professionals are already working across the region to operate and maintain systems, repair infrastructure, provide water and wastewater services, develop their skills and explore new technologies and approaches.

At the same time, he stressed that the next generation still has much to learn from those who have already carried leadership responsibilities.

“There are responsibilities we have not yet carried, difficult decisions we have not yet faced, and experiences that can only be gained with time,” Batiwale said. “And that is why we value your guidance and continued holistic leadership.”

He called on Ministers to continue sharing the lessons of their own leadership journeys while creating space for young professionals to contribute to the solutions ahead.

“We will need experience and continued learning. We will need proven solutions and new approaches. And above all, we will need to work together,” Batiwale said.

The YWPs closed with a collective appeal for Pacific leaders to continue carrying the experiences, challenges and aspirations of island communities into regional and international discussions.

“We will continue doing our part - from source to reef. And wherever the Pacific’s future is being discussed… carry our voice with you. From the Pacific… to the world.”

The presentation formed part of the wider conversations at PWWC26 in Tahiti, where Ministers, utility leaders, water professionals and regional partners came together to examine the future of water and wastewater services across the Pacific.

For the Young Water Professionals, the Ministers Forum provided an opportunity to present the technical and operational challenges facing their countries. It created a direct link between the generation currently carrying responsibility for regional water leadership and those preparing to take that responsibility forward.

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