13 Pacific Island Countries under the Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change (PACC) project meet in Port Vila this week to discuss progress of the regional project which coordinates 'on the ground' adaptation activities. Its' three years since the countries first met to begin the PACC which provides funds and support for national climate change adaptation projects in the different areas of coastal management, food production and security and water resources management.
Port Vila, Vanuatu is host of the second multi partite review, which brings together participating countries and all supporting partners from 8 to 12 August. "We look forward to this stock take which will help us gauge how we can provide further support to our member countries," said Taito Nakalevu, the Project Manager of PACC. "We plan for this meeting to be one to help the project be successful in terms of the work carried out in the different countries as well as the policy, technical and operational processes that must be adhered to." The US$13 million PACC project is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and implemented by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Marshall Islands, Niue, Tuvalu and Tonga are implementing projects to address water resources management. Fiji, Palau, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands are working towards helping food production and food security in the face of climate change and the Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Samoa and Vanuatu have embarked on projects that strengthen coastal zone management. Over the duration of the week countries will be making presentations to share experiences and lessons learnt. Sessions during the week will also look at knowledge management, adaptation implementation and climate change economics. Countries will also have individual meetings with the project partners to assess where further specialised assistance is required to help strengthen this project. "This project is a first in that it is actually doing work on the ground to address the impacts caused by climate change. We want to ensure its' success, as ultimately any activity that helps Pacific people to adapt to the effects of climate change will contribute to the survival of our region," said Nakalevu For more details please contact: