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The Bureau of Cultural and Historic Preservation Disaster Risk and Climate Change Survey has assessed fifteen site as part of Phase I of the Project. Sites at the following ten locations are discussed in this comic to illustrate the range of threats facing cultural heritage sites in the Republic of Palau and the project's recommendations for risk reduction based site management.

This project - Disaster Risk Reductino and Climate Change Impact Survey if Cultural Sites in the Republic of Palau: Reconnaissance Survey is the first phase of a longer-term initiative to examine archaeologically and culturally significant sites across the archipelago and assess their vulnerability to climate change, including but not limited to modelled projections of rising sea levels and sedimentation and erosion of sites vis-a-vis tidal inundation and rainfall.

The blue economy is an approach put forward by the international community to take into account the health of the oceans and seas as we strive to balance the three dimensions of sustainable development: economic, social and environmental. This concept promotes economic growth, social inclusion and improved livelihoods at the same time as ensuring the environmental sustainability of oceans and seas. It defines a new paradigm of ocean economy, one that is in balance with the long-term capacity of the assets, goods and services of marine ecosystems, and that considers social inclusiveness.

The UNEP Adaptation Gap Report 2020 finds that while nations have advanced in planning, huge gaps remain in finance for developing countries and bringing adaptation projects to the stage where they bring real protection against climate impacts such as droughts, floods and sea-level rise. Public and private finance for adaptation must be stepped up urgently, along with faster implementation. Nature-based solutions – locally appropriate actions that address societal challenges, such as climate change, and provide human well-being and biodiversity benefits by protecting, sustainably managing and restoring natural or modified ecosystems – must also become a priority.

The ocean on which Earth depends for relatively predictable weather, temperature and provisioning of goods and services is now changing more rapidly than it has for millions of years.

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are areas of the ocean set aside for long-term conservation aims.| MPAs support climate change adaptation and mitigation while providing other ecosystem services.| Currently 6.35% of the ocean is protected, but only just over 1.89% is covered by exclusively no-take MPAs.| Most existing MPAs do not have enough human and financial resources to properly implement conservation and management measures.| Increased political commitments can help boost the governance of and resources available to MPAs.

There are opportunities to capture more experience from initiatives at the local level, which can support objectives of the NBSAP and strengthen national reporting. Further research on gender and biodiversity can usefully build on the knowledge base on gender and environment themes, and gender and climate change in particular. Research and sharing of experience are also needed to promote and strengthen understanding and awareness of the relevance of gender to biodiversity conservation and sustainable use in the nation context.

Ocean warming may well turn out to be the greatest hidden challenge of our generation. Whilst some may be aware of the challenges a warming ocean presents to coral reefs, few know about the other consequences this holds for the ocean. Ocean acidification emerged as a new story around 2004, with problems already being encountered due to changes in ocean chemistry, and yet add ocean warming and there is a far bigger story to tell. In this report, we assess the scale of the challenge and explore this issue from a range of different perspectives – oceanography, ecosystems and species. We also look at the impacts ocean warming might have on the every-day benefits we derive from the ocean – its ‘goods and services’. This is a very timely report. We know the ocean is warming. Until very recently, the debate on climate change has focused on specific themes such as land surface temperatures, melting ice caps in Greenland and Polar Regions, and shrinking glaciers in mountain ranges. It has only occasionally mentioned the ocean. When the ocean was included, the issues discussed generally related to dramatic changes to coral reefs, as we have seen in 2016 when water temperature rises turning beautifully-coloured reefs a ghostly white from bleaching.