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The constraints to development faced by PICs are well known and have been discussed in numerous studies for several decades. These include small, highly dispersed land areas and populations; distances far from world markets; narrow resource bases and primary production options, and vulnerability to natural disasters such as tropical cyclones and droughts, the last two to being especially problematic for atoll countries. In the smallest, most resource-poor PICs, a sustainable future with an improved quality of life for a growing population will be difficult to achieve.

This report is an outcome of a series of studies conducted under the framework of the Pacific Islands Renewable Energy Project (PIREP) – a climate change mitigation partnership of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environmental Programme (SPREP) and Pacific Islands countries (PICs)