French Polynesia, an Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) in the South Pacific, has around 279 000 inhabitants (2022) spread over 76 of the 118 islands of its 5 archipelagos. Its maritime domain encompasses 5.5 million km², or 20% of the EU's Exclusive Economic Zone. Key sectors include tourism, pearl farming, fishing, with growth in technology, renewable energy, and self-sufficiency. Its GDP per capita is €16,760 (2022).
Our priorities
The current framework for EU cooperation with the Pacific OCTs is set out in the Overseas Association Decision including Greenland (DAOG) adopted on 5 October 2021, which aims to support the territories in their efforts to promote sustainable development.
French Polynesia is an island economy, endowed with an exceptional but fragile biodiversity.
Thus, the water policy adopted in June 2021 establishes an integrated management of water resources that fully includes the issue of climate change and natural hazards.
The water and sanitation sector is essential for the sustainable development of French Polynesia and is being structured at various speeds. The need to ensure a sufficient and high-quality water supply for all uses without compromising the availability of water for future generations is a priority set out in the Territory's sectoral water policy (PSE), the first framework for the management of water and aquatic environments.
Its development has been supported by the EU in the past. French Polynesia has decided to continue the efforts made during previous programmes and to mobilise the territorial allocation to support the water sector.
Our impact
The EU has financed, through various programmes, the Territory's wastewater infrastructure (€55.2 million). Polynesia has prioritized dense, touristic areas, followed by the agglomeration of Papeete. The importance of the environment and access to drinking water was emphasized. In the previous European Development Fund framework, despite Covid-19, tourism has prospered: a 24% increase in visitors between 2016-2019, increasing tourism spending (+34%) and boosting employment in the sector (+11%).
Our programmes
- 2014-2020: a budget support programme targeting the tourism sector, a major sector in French Polynesia, (€30.6 million). The two main objectives pursued were (i) the promotion of sustainable, inclusive and smart growth, rich in direct and indirect employment; and (ii) improving the efficiency and governance of the tourism sector.
- The DAOG 2021-2027 multi-year programme for French Polynesia includes new support for sustainable water management in the Territory. This new cooperation programme (€31.1 million) supports the country's first sectoral water policy. The specific objectives are to increase the population's access to public water and sanitation services, to improve the sustainable management of water resources in a context of climate change and to adapt the governance of the sector to ensure the smooth running of the activities of this policy and make it consistent with other local public policies.
- Regional programmes:
- 'Pacific Regional Territories for Sustainable Ecosystem Management (PROTEGE)' promotes sustainable and climate-resilient economic development by relying on biodiversity and renewable natural resources. It is implemented by the Pacific Community (SPC) in the 3 French OCTs of the Pacific (New Caledonia, French Polynesia and Wallis & Futuna) as well as in the former British OCT of Pitcairn. PROTEGE is financed to the tune of €36 million and is co-financed by the 3 French territories with €128,000. The project, which started in 2018, will be completed by the end of September 2024.
- The thematic programme ‘BEST 2.0 & 2.0+’ aims at the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystem services in the OCTs; this program is part of the B4Life initiative. Under the 2020 call for projects of the ‘BEST 2.0+’ phase, 4 projects, mainly focused on the preservation, restoration and enhancement of fragile ecosystems, have been selected for French Polynesia.
- The ‘Green Overseas – GO’ programme (€17.8 million) covers all OCTs and aims to accelerate the energy transition and increase the resilience of beneficiary countries and territories to climate change.
- The Regional Programme for the Pacific OCTs 2021-2027 aims to contribute to the greening and blueing of food systems in the 3 territories. This program is being developed for a scheduled start in 2025.
- The DAOG's intra-regional envelope for the 2021-2027 programming allocates a budget of €1.15 million per OCT. Intra-regional cooperation fosters closer collaboration, with neighbouring countries, outermost regions, and regional organisations, through pilot actions.
All OCTs are also eligible for other EU funding programmes, such as TAIEX/twinning, InvestEU, LIFE, Horizon Europe, Erasmus+, COSME, Creative Europe, Digital Europe, EU4Health, etc. They can also benefit from the thematic strand and rapid reaction actions of the European Union's Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI) and the Humanitarian Aid Instrument (ECHO).