Pacific Islands: Building Resilience to Climate Change

Pacific Island countries are experiencing the severe impacts of climate change, such as rising sea level, increasing drought and storm frequency and intensity, ocean acidification, and consequent damage to coral reefs and fisheries. Preparing for and responding to climate change impacts places additional pressures on existing funding sources and government structures. Many governments within the Pacific region seek support to address these negative impacts.

The USAID Climate Ready Project works with target Pacific Island Countries to achieve their climate change adaptation goals and become more climate resilient in ways that are country-driven, coordinated, inclusive, and equitable. Headquartered in Suva, Fiji, with regional offices in Pohnpei, Federates States of Micronesia (FSM) and Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea (PNG), USAID Climate Ready supports Pacific governments to develop climate change adaptation policies and legislation. Furthermore, the project looks to strengthen their resiliency through capacity building, trainings, and the provision of technical assistance in order to improve access to climate finance and better protect the lives and livelihoods of their citizens.

The ultimate outcome of USAID Ready will be tangible progress toward the implementation of an increased number of adaptation interventions that are aligned with PICs’ National Adaptation Plans, so that these countries become more resilient to climate change and disaster risks. Ready works with target countries to ensure that policy frameworks and capacity are in place to effectively access and manage the additional funds by assisting them to:

• Draft, legislate and implement national, sub-national and sectoral policies, regulations, and legal frameworks required to achieve adaptation goals, as identified in national adaptation plans
• Access adaptation finance by developing and submitting fundable adaptation proposals to accredited Regional or Multilateral Implementing Entities, and where appropriate, pursue National Implementing Entity status
• Improve the skills and systems of relevant governmental entities and private sector project implementers to effectively manage, monitor, and report on the implementation of funded adaptation projects. Through a partnership with the University of the South Pacific in Fiji, the Project offers a variety of accredited courses in project management, resilience, climate change adaptation project preparation and cost benefit analysis, and asset management to participants who represent government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector

Achievements to date include:

• Provided support for 18 climate change policies addressing climate resilience
• Supported 42 institutions that now have improved capacity to address climate change
• Mobilized $476 million for climate resilience
• Facilitated access to climate finance for 77 projects
• Trained 2,498 people (including 1,298 women) in global climate change adaptation