The region's NGOs are in limbo following a cut in funding for the Pacific Islands Association of NGOs.
New Zealand's aid agency, NZAid, was a year into a three-year commitment to provide core funding of just over 700,000 US dollars a year, but ended the funding after an audit revealed mismanagement issues.
A former director of New Zealand's Council for International Development, Rae Julian, says without Piango, there's no leadership of the regional organisations.
"For example, the annual civil society forum that goes alongside the leaders forum, it will be up to the host country to organise that, instead of being organised from the central position. And this year it won't matter so much, because it's in Australia, and the Australian umbrella group is very strong and has the capacity but in other years it could be very serious."
Rae Julian says she thinks the umbrella bodies are likely to try to set up a new organisation at the civil society meeting, due to be held in August.
