Regional five year climate change adaptation project reviewed in Fiji

The wide-ranging impact of the Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change Project was highlighted this morning at the opening ceremony of a meeting of all partners, the final multi-partite review. The project ends in December this year.

It's a project with much to celebrate and to learn from, having impacted positively upon over 54,000 people from 80 villages in all Pacific island countries.

"This review, the final one for the project, is not any ordinary review that has been conducted as part of this project. This is the grand finale of all reviews, given that the project is due to end in December, 2014. This meeting is therefore a very significant event," said Dr. Mahendra Kumar, Director of the Fiji Climate Change Division, during his keynote speech.

"I wish you all a productive week of deliberations and look forward to the results of the review as well as the launThe Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change Project is the culmination of a partnership funded by the Global Environment Facility and the Government of Australia. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the implementing agency and SPREP is the implementing partner, responsible for coordination and overall project management.

The project has three key components; to help effect policy change through strengthening mainstreaming of climate change; carry out demonstration projects and; develop tools and resources.ching of publications and technical reports emanating from this project."

"PACC is the largest regional climate change adaptation project that has enabled implementation of practical and tangible results on the ground," said Dr. Netatua Pelesikoti, Director of Climate Change of SPREP at the opening of the meeting.

"PACC has also helped to establish the necessary enabling environments, including mainstreaming of climate change and climate variability into policy and development planning."

The PACC project has been the impetus for new improved water reservoir and management systems in the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Tonga, Tuvalu and Niue. It was also the catalyst for the launch of a renovated harbour in the Cook Islands and new climate change resilient food crops in Fiji and the Solomon Islands.

All PACC countries have new infrastructure in place as part of their demonstration projects, with Tuvalu, Tonga, Marshall Islands and Nauru now replicating these.

http://www.sprep.org/climate-change/regional-five-year-climate-change-adaptation-project-reviewed-in-fiji-this-week