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There has been a continuous global concern regarding the disastrous impacts of climate change, sea level rise and climate related hazards. Scientific findings revealed that the global climate system is being adversely affected due to the accumulation of Greenhouse Gases (GHG) in the atmosphere. This has been scientifically proved to be caused by anthropogenic activities.

The Kingdom of Tonga (Tonga) is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to climate change due to its geographic location, status as a SIDS, and the importance of natural resources to its main economic sectors of fisheries, agriculture and tourism. The World Risk Report 2017 has ranked Tonga as the second most at-risk country in the world for natural hazards, including cyclones and flooding, as well as sea level rise. Although Tonga makes a negligible contribution to global GHG emissions, there is no doubt that climate change is already affecting Tonga’s development and the livelihood of its people and future

This NDC review process was designed to provide a formal framework within which governments would increase the ambition of their actions against climate change and reduce its GHG emission over time, with the intention that each successive NDC would represent a progression beyond a country’s current NDC and ultimately allow to meet the aims of the Paris Agreement goal .

Keynote address for the Acting Prime Minister of Tonga, Hon. Siaosi 'O Sovaleni, at the Whale in a Changing Ocean Conference, Vava'u, Tonga

The International Waters Project (IWP) aims to strengthen the management and conservation of marine, coastal and freshwater resources in the Pacific Islands region. It is financed through the International Waters Programme of the Global Environment Facility, implemented by the United Nations Development Programme, and executed by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), in conjunction with the governments of the 14 participating independent Pacific Island countries.