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For Pacific SIDS, the need for adaptation to climate change has become increasingly urgent. Long-term climate change, including the increasing frequency and severity of extreme events such as high rainfall, droughts, tropical cyclones, and storm surges are affecting the lives and livelihoods of people in PICs. Coupled with non-climate drivers, such as overexploitation of resources, increasing urbanization and population increase, development in the region is increasingly undermined. For the low lying atolls, the likely economic disruption from climate change pressures could be catastrophic, even to the extent of requiring population relocation to other islands or adding numbers to the Pacific diaspora, with the subsequent social and cultural disruption having unknown proportions. Failure to reduce vulnerability could also result in loss of opportunities to manage risks in the future when the impacts may be greater and time to consider options limited.

The Fourth Assessment Report of the IPCC (IPCC AR4) Working Group II (2007) identifies small island states as being among the most vulnerable countries of the world to the adverse impacts of climate change. Hay, el al.y (2003) in discussing the Pacific's observed climate noted that compared to earlier historical records during the twentieth century, the southern Pacific had experienced a significantly drier and warmer climate (by 15 percent and 0.8°C, respectively). The Central Equatorial Pacific is facing more intensive rain (about 30 percent) and a similarly hotter climate (0.6°C), and sea surface temperatures in both areas have increased by about 0.4°C. These conditions are linked to an increased frequency of El Nino episodes since the 1970s (without alternating La Nina events). Other studies show that climate projections for the South Pacific indicate warming of 0.8 to 1.8°C and precipitation changes that range from -8 to +7 percent by mid-century (Ruosteenoja, el ai, 2003). By the end of the century, projected warming is 1.0 to 3.1°C and precipitation changes range from -14 to +14 percent. Projections of globally averaged sea-level rise range from 0.18 m to 0.58 m in 2090-2099 relative to 1980-1999; while tropical cyclones are likely to become more intense, have higher peak wind speeds, and bring heavier rainfall (IPCC, 2007). Thus, it is clear that there are winners and losers when it comes to climate and food security with mostly the countries in the mid to higher latitudes benefiting from global warming and the small island countries of the Pacific in the warmer latitudes standing to lose the most. The IPCC has concluded that the mounting evidence shows that climate change is unequivocally happening and may worsen in future; there is a need to act urgently to minimize these impacts.

19th SPREP Meeting of Officials, 08-11 September 2008, Pohnpei, FSM : Additional Working papers|Review of support staff salary movements : agenda item 6.4|SPREP support staff remuneration review 2008: terms of reference|SPREP market survey of support staff salaries and terms & conditions in Samoa, July 2008|Annual Reference market data review (Professional staff) : agenda item 6.5|Council of Regional Organisations: annual comparison of reference markets 2008 update|Genetic resources in Pacific region: update on discussion paper from SPREP 2007: agenda item 8.4. paper presented by Australia|Regional Institutional Framework (RIF) Review: agenda item 10.3|Forum Communique: Regional Institutional framework review|Regional Institutional Framework: stage 2 task force, Nukualofa Tonga 2007|Regional Institutional framework- stage 2 RIF task force (June) meeting, PIFS, Suva Fiji 14 June 2007: Chairperson's report - meeting outcomes|The pathway towards quality of service from Pacific Regionalism, September 2007 RIF 2 project team : annex 1|38th Pacific Islands forum, Fiji 24-25 October 2006: Forum communique: Regional Institutional framework review|Reforming the Pacific Regional Institutional Framework, August 2006|39th Pacific Islands Forum, Alofi, Niue 19-20 August 2008: Forum