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The island countries of the Pacific are scattered across an enormous area that makes up nearly one third of the globe. This huge region is nearly all ocean—about 30 million square kilometers of it.

Economic growth and investment in infrastructure go hand in hand. A growing economy needs constantly improved infrastructure to ensure that the production and exchange of goods and services happens as smoothly and efficiently as possible

A rapidly growing population, poor human development indicators, and climate change risk exposure demand a public investment policy that is effective so as to ensure the sustainable growth and development of the Solomon Islands

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development places gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls at the heart of its implementation with its promise to “leave no one behind”.

Port Vila is the capital of Vanuatu. The Port Vila Urban Area (PVUA), defined as the Port Vila Municipality (PVM) and adjoining peri-urban areas, has a population of about 70,000. About 49,300 of these people live in PVM. Per capita gross national income in Vanuatu was approximately 279,402 vatu (Vt) (around $3,073) in 2011.

This document has been developed as part of a research study to assist the project partners – Pacific Disability Forum, Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat and Pacific Region Infrastructure Facility (PRIF) – in their efforts to enhance accessibility in the transport sector and built environment in Pacific countries. The project was initiated by the World Bank through the PRIF Transport Sector Working Group.

The Asia and Pacific region is extremely vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Unabated warming could significantly undo previous achievements of economic development and improvements of living standards. At the same time, the region has both the economic capacity and weight of influence to change the present fossil-fuel based development pathway and curb global emissions. This report sheds light on the regional implications of the latest projections of changes in climate conditions over Asia and the Pacific. The assessment concludes that, even under the Paris consensus scenario in which global warming is limited to 1.5°C to 2°C above preindustrial levels, some of the land area, ecosystems, and socioeconomic sectors will be significantly affected by climate change impacts, to which policy makers and the investment community need to adapt to. However, under a Business-As-Usual (BAU) scenario, which will cause a global mean temperature rise of over 4°C by the end of this century, the possibilities for adaptation are drastically reduced. Among others, climate change impacts such as the deterioration of the Asian “water towers”, prolonged heat waves, coastal sea-level rise and changes in rainfall patterns could disrupt ecosystem services and lead to severe effects on livelihoods which in turn would affect human health, migration dynamics and the potential for conflicts. This assessment also underlines that, for many areas vital to the region’s economy, research on the effects of climate change is still lacking.

In Solomon Islands, the Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change (PACC) project focused on food security, with a goal ‘to contribute to reduced vulnerability and increased adaptive capacity to adverse effects of climate change in Solomon Islands’. The pilot sites for the demonstration projects were the low lying atolls of Ontong Java and, in a second phase, Sikaiana. These atolls are extremely isolated and are highly vulnerable in many respects. Climaterelated threats mainly come from sea level rise and extreme weather events, and impacts on food security include contamination of the freshwater lens affecting crop production. Associated soil salinisation, as well as loss of land through erosion, also have serious implications for subsistence food production in locations that are already stressed.

The Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change (PACC) programme is the largest climate change adaptation initiative in the Pacific region, with activities in 14 countries and territories. PACC has three main areas of activity: practical demonstrations of adaptation measures; driving the mainstreaming of climate risks into national development planning and activities; and sharing knowledge in order to build adaptive capacity. The programme focuses on three key climate-sensitive development sectors: coastal zone management, food security and food production, and water resources management. The PACC programme began in 2009 and is scheduled to end in December 2014. As the first major climate change adaptation programme in the Pacific, PACC has led the way in developing and designing adaptation projects, using a ‘learning by doing’ approach. Many lessons have been learned and better practices developed as the programme has progressed. One of these is the importance of integrating gender into climate change adaptation activities. Gender was mostly overlooked during the initial stages of the programme, but significant efforts have since been made to address this shortcoming and integrate gender across programme activities. This report summarises two key documents produced by PACC as part of the drive to address gender. The first, a Gender Assessment of the programme, was carried out in 2012 to assess the level and degree that the programme addressed gender. The Gender Action Plan, which covers 2013–2014, was developed soon afterwards to address the recommendations arising from the Assessment. Activities in the Plan are currently underway, and will be reported in further PACC publications.