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Samoa, like other Least Developed Countries (LDCs) inherits high vulnerability to natural disasters and to external economic and trade developments for which it has no control. These natural disasters include tropical cyclones, prolonged periods of drought, extreme flooding, pests and sudden outbreak of diseases, storm surges and sea level rise. Climate change and sea level rise are serious concerns given that 70% of Samoa’s population and infrastructure are located on low-lying coastal areas. Samoa’s economy largely depends on its natural resources, which must rely on favorable climatic conditions for growth and sustenance.

This report presents an overview of the Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change (PACC) Project, from inception to the present day. In addition to providing a baseline, the report also describes and comments on the arrangements, plans and ways forward for the Project.

This report serves as the proceedings of the PACC Technical Meeting that was held at the Institute of Applied Sciences Conference Room, University of the South Pacific, Suva on the 5th – 9th October 2009. It hopes to encapsulates in summary form the different technical presentations provided by workshop facilitators and country delegates. Detail presentations will also be made available through the PACC website for further information and clarification if so needed by the reader.

As per the PACC ProDoc, the first six (6) months of the PACC project is considered as the Inception Phase (IP), stretching between April to the end of September 2009. The IP provides an opportunity for the Project Management Office (PMO) to become acquainted with the Project – its agreed strategy, expected outputs and outcomes, the stakeholders, the risks etc. It is also an opportunity for the stakeholders and partners to provide input on the work plan and to confirm implementation arrangements both at the regional and national levels. It also provides an opportunity to finalize any outstanding implementation details and present them to UNDP and SPREP for clearance. The IP also brings new momentum to the project after the relatively quiet period during the project approval process. In addition it includes a review of the ProDoc. Such review is of particular importance in this case due to the very significant time lag between initial project design and actual implementation, i.e. thus there is a need for adaptive management to reflect major changes in the present project environment.