Three main varieties of traditional irrigation can be found in the Pacific: swampland, pit cultivation and true (canal) irrigation. The advantages which made irrigation an attractive agricultural technique for Pacific peoples are discussed in this
paper. Since European contact, use of irrigated gardens has declined in many parts of the Region, but a recent trend in some places (Solomons, Vanuatu, Hawaii) has been the revival of traditional irrigation technologies. The paper examines why traditional irrigation remains viable today and may remain so in the future.