ECOPAS (European Consortium for Pacific Studies) is a multidisciplinary project designed to provide coordination and support to research and policy communities on issues connected to climate change and related processes in the Pacific Islands region, in order to define better options for sustainable development.

The Pacific is notable for the discrepancy between the contribution of its small economies to global climate change, and the severity of climate change effects experienced by its peoples. Linkages between research networks and policy interfaces will contribute to more context-sensitive EU external action, and will set a future research agenda for social science and humanities in the Pacific.

It is the first-ever network to develop extensive, durable collaboration between European and Pacific scholarly institutions, as well as between research institutions and local, national and international political agencies. While the emphasis of ECOPAS is on developing a long-term strategy for SSH research on the Pacific, strong links are also forged with climate research in the natural sciences.

Built on seven interrelated and complementary Work Packages, ECOPAS aims to define and strengthen the potential of European research in the Pacific by creating a platform and portal for knowledge exchanges, a long-term plan for capacity building, and a strategic plan for Pacific state and non-state involvement.

ECOPAS is hosted by four European university centres of excellence on Pacific research, in Norway, France, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands (BPS – Bergen, CREDO – Aix-Marseille, CPS – St. Andrews and CPAS – Nijmegen), and by two major Pacific institutions (the University of the South Pacific – Fiji and the National Research Institute – Papua New Guinea).