Climate change is rapidly transforming life in the Pacific.
While Pacific people have adapted to environmental variation for thousands of years, the scale and speed of climate change today presents unique challenges to resilience at the community level, especially the adaptation to more intense natural hazards.
Through the Climate Resilient Islands Programme, we are working with rural communities in Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu, PNG, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu to strengthen community resilience to the impacts of climate change through nature-based approaches. Building on work that has already been done on climate resilience, Live & Learn is forging partnerships with relevant government agencies and stakeholders, and using nature-based solutions to build resilience through:
- restoration and protection of community managed ecosystems
- support for resilient food systems, including household food access and food-based livelihoods
- disaster planning that complements sub-national government strategies.
Communities engaged in the Climate Resilient Islands Programme are developing community resilience profiles that reflect their lived experience concerning ecosystems, natural hazards, resilient food systems, market opportunities and priorities for the future.
Climate Resilient Islands then provides the following potential pathways for communities:
- Intergenerational Indigenous land management
- Ecological resilience
- Restoration and strengthening of resilient local food systems
- Access to small resilience grants to strengthen or establish community livelihoods
- Disaster preparedness training
The Climate Resilient Islands Programme will also publish tools that promote action-based, effective and creative learning models and teaching methodologies for a wide range of stakeholders.
Climate Resilient Islands is a New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade initiative, implemented by Live & Learn with funding from the New Zealand Government.
