9 July 2013, Nadi, Fiji - The tiny island of
Kosrae is gaining a reputation as a shining example of climate change
adaptation measures.
Last year Simpson Abraham who is running the Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change (PACC) pilot project
in Kosrae spoke at the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of Parties in Qatar.
Only five countries were invited to present on their adaptation projects. The
Association of Pacific Island Legislators recently asked him to come to Hawaii
in order to do presentation on the project but because he was already scheduled
to give a presentation at the Joint Meeting of the 2013 Pacific Platform for
Disaster Risk Management and Pacific Climate Change Roundtable he had to
decline.
He presented on Kosrae's project at the joint meeting this morning.
The project he has
been talking about is the Tafensak road project. In a presentation given by
SPREP's Director General, David Sheppard also praised the project and called it
an excellent example of "climate change proofing of infrastructure".
Abraham said that in 2008 a king tide rolled over the Tafensak
area, burying the six mile long Tafensak roadway under several feet of water
and also flooding nearby homes. It was quite the wakeup call for the island of
the Sleeping Lady.
In 2009 the Asian Development bank funded an assessment of roads
which also made recommendations on what could be done to "climate
proof" the roadways.
Kosrae approached SPREP and asked if they could be one of the PACC pilot
projects. The project started three years ago and has one year left.
Construction of culverts and drainage systems has begun and is being carried
out by four local contractors, all of it funded by the Global Environment Fund.
Abraham's salary at KIRMA (Kosrae Island Resource Management Authority) is also
paid by the GEF. KIRMA is the lead agency on the PACC.
The Kosrae PACC is one of 14 PACCs in the Pacific Region funded
by GEF.
Through the PACC Abraham conducted educational campaigns, worked with
landowners, developed plans and lobbied for enabling legislation.
In 2009 the FSM developed a National
Climate Change Policy. In 2011 Kosrae
passed Climate Change legislation and next week a small amendment is scheduled
for a reading at the Kosrae Legislature. If it passes it would add climate risk
reduction and climate change adaptation measures as a requirement before any
development project could be approved. Abraham said that Kosrae is also
updating its Environment Impact Assessment Guidelines. He also said that Kosrae
is trying to develop a building code.
By the time the PACC ends next year the government will need to
have made a decision as to whether they would be willing to take ownership of
the PACC for further climate risk projects.
In a related but separate program, GIZ (German financial assistance) funded a
study of coastal erosion that also made recommendations to protect against
further coastal erosion in Kosrae. 80 percent of Kosrae coastline has eroded
and some home are now right next to the ocean. Kosrae developed a shoreline
management plan, and Abraham says that he is currently in the process of
negotiating to fund the implementation of that plan.
The PACC Project is designed to promote climate change adaptation as a key
pre-requisite to sustainable development in Pacific Island countries. Its
objective therefore is to enhance the capacity of the participating countries
to adapt to climate change and climate variability, in key development sectors.
The Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change (PACC) project is
funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the Australian Government
(AusAID), with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as its implementing
agency and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme
(SPREP) as implementing partner. The project is from 2009 to 2013.
The PACC project
covers 14 participating countries and helps develop three key areas that build
resilience to climate change in Pacific communities: Fiji, Palau, Papua New
Guinea and the Solomon Islands focus on Food Production and Food Security; Cook
Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Samoa, Tokelau and Vanuatu are
developing Coastal Management capacity; and Nauru, Niue, Republic of Marshall
Islands, Tonga and Tuvalu are looking to strengthen their water resource
management.
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