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This proposal has been prepared by the Ocean and Islands Programme (OIP) within the Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC) in collaboration with the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA). It has been prepared in response to an invitation1 from the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) to assist the Cook Islands in deriving coastal related information to underpin and inform climate change adaptation decisions for coastal areas of Mangaia Island.

Technical report

The Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change initiative is a regional effort that brings the Pacific nations together to enhance the capacity of countries to increase resilience and reduce vulnerability to the adverse effects of climate change.Known simply as PACC, this regional effort constitutes an implementation framework, which caters for a long term approach to adaptation measures by strengthening policy frameworks, instituting design guidelines, and improving capacity with technical expertise. PACC projects are implemented nationally in any key areas; food production and food security, coastal management and water resource management.

. It is acknowledged by academics and development practitioners alike that many common strategies addressing community based disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation duplicate each other. Thus, there is a strong push to integrate the two fields to enhance aid effectiveness and reduce confusion for communities. Examples of community based disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation (CCA) projects are presented to highlight some of the ways these issues are tackled in the Pacific. Various approaches are employed but all aim to reduce the vulnerability and enhance the resilience of local communities to the impacts of climate change and disasters. By focusing on three case studies, elements of best practice are drawn out to illustrate how DRR and CCA can be integrated for enhanced aid effectiveness, and also look at ways in which these two often overlapping fields can be better coordinated in ongoing and future projects. Projects that address vulnerability holistically, and target the overall needs and capacity of the community are found to be effective in enhancing the resilience of communities. By strategically developing a multistakeholder and multi-sector approach, community projects are likely to encapsulate a range of experience and skills that will benefit the community. Furthermore, by incorporating local knowledge, communities are far more likely to be engaged and actively participate in the project. From selected case studies, commonly occurring best practice methods to integrate DRR and CCA are identified and discussed and recommendations on how to overcome the common challenges also presented.

Case studies on the Pacific Islands: Capacity Building for the Development of Adaptation Measures in Pacific island countries project - PACIFIC ISLANDS

Interest in the world’s forests has grown to unprecedented heights, especially with growing awareness of their role in the global carbon cycle. The possibility of mitigating climate change by reducing carbon emissions caused by deforestation and forest degradation, and by increasing carbon uptake through afforestation and sustainable forest management, highlights the essential role of forests in supporting life on Earth.

Integrating community based disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation (CCA) is identified at the policy and practical level as crucial to aid effectiveness. Successful integration reduces both duplication of efforts and confusion at the community level. This research focuses on Pacific community based DRR and CCA initiatives, and draws upon the knowledge and insight of key stakeholders from multiple backgrounds to develop an understanding of the current status of DRR and CCA in the region. Additional understanding is gained through detailed case studies of current projects in Fiji and Samoa which highlight the challenges and best practice methods used to integrate DRR and CCA in current community based projects.