1. Climate Change Adaptation Developing institutions and communities ability to adapt and respond to climate variability and long term climate change Taito Nakalevu South Pacific Regional Environment Programme

2. Presentation Format • Climate change - people’s perspective; • Impacts; - Financial Implications ; • Adaptation; • CIDA funded and SPREP executed project ; • Gaps

4. Climate is Changing • Climate – impacted positively & negatively on PICs since time immemorial; • Influences how: plan, built & grow; • Impacted on crop yields and ocean harvest; • It has impacted on the basic livelihood of the people of the Pacific.

5. Climate is Changing • Anecdotal information - general consensus that climate is changing; • Frequency & severity of storms, increasing; • Not a very clear distinction of dry-cold-winter vis-à-vis hot-wet-summer;

7. Impacts of a changing climate • Drought of 1997 – 1998 • Fiji overall impact equivalent to 3% GDP • Tonga - squash seriously affected • PNG aid money approx $A30 million • Marshall severe water shortage, led US to bring in desalinization machines reduce water shortage • FSM crops & water supply severely affected

8. Impacts of a changing climate • Kiribati – flooded: • 13-14th December 2001; • on 28th February; • 1st March 2002 • October 5th– 7th 2002 • (Sea Level prediction at the time 2.8mm but due to storm surges – SL level rose to 2.9mm ) • Flooding, sea wall collapse & agricultural crop damages could cost millions of dollars; • Frequency & Intensity – no longer abstract

9. Impacts of a changing climate • Letua village in the Torres Group of Islands in Vanuatu is silently facing sea water inundation. • People suffered, and suffered in silence; • How much is the cost ?

10. Estimated Average Annual Incremental Costs of Climate Change in Viti Levu, Fiji, 2050 (in the absence of adaptation)

11. Estimated Average Annual Incremental Costs of Climate Change in Tarawa Atoll, Kiribati, 2050 (in the absence of adaptation)

12. Financial Implications • Increase in % of budgets spent on increased unplanned & unbudgeted events; • Changes to scenic & aesthetic values - it might affect tourism industry: pressure for govts to increase expenditure on natural systems; • Increase overall expenditure on maintenance & damages to infrastructure (e.g. coastal infrastructure, fresh water supply etc.); • Unaccounted costs - increased financial leakage

13. PICs have adapted overtime • Overtime people have adapted - e.g. relocate dwelling houses due to sea level rise and erosion; • Experimented with ways of harnessing water during droughts; • "I've cemented the bottom and sides of this pit to prevent the seawater coming up," he explained. "Now, with this kind of method, you can grow pulaka anywhere in the islands." • Limited resources - need for adaptation to be addressed at a higher level than the community.

14. Regional Response • Pacific Island Climate Change Assistance Programme (PICCAP) – UNDP GEF • Pacific Island Framework for Action; • Climate Change Round Table; • Assist PICs in regional and international negotiations; • Assist PICs to develop 1st National Communication & • Develop in collaboration with PICs project proposals

15. CBDAMPIC PROJECT • CIDA funded initiative to carry out adaptation work in the Pacific; • Donor – CIDA • Executing Agency - SPREP • PROJECT – Implemented in 4 Countries; • Cook Is., Fiji, Samoa and Vanuatu

16. What is SPREP? • SOUTH PACIFIC REGIONAL ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME • Intergovernmental organisation; • Responsible for environmental matters in Pacific Islands region ; • Members-Govt’s and Administration of 21 PICs and territories and four 4 developed countries.

18. CBDAMPIC Project • Project has 4 main components: • Capacity Building; • Policy & Adaptation Strategy Development, • Awareness Material Development, & • Seminar Material Dev. • Methodology Development; • Community V & A • Pilot projects • Mainstream & Implement • Regional linkages

19. THE NEED - PICs • Capacity Building • Technology Transfer • Adaptation Financing

20. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE • Questions