Small Island Developing States

Tuvalu is the first country in which residents have been forced to evacuate because of rising sea levels. Nearly 3000 Tuvaluans have already left their homelands. In support of their crisis, the New Zealand government has established an immigration program called the Pacific Access Category, which currently sees seventy-five residents migrate to NZ each year. The PAC also allows 75 citizens of Kiribati, 250 citizens of Tonga, and 250 citizens of Fiji to emigrate to New Zealand each year.

The Red Cross of Trinidad and Tobago recently started the RC/RC Climate Centre’s Preparedness for climate change program. The first step was taken in September 2006, when a workshop was held to assess the nationwide threats posed by climate change and identify Red Cross priorities in response. The Ministry of Education, in partnership with the Trinidad and Tobago Red Cross, will develop both a climate change information and activity booklet to be used in schools. To reach children further, the national society will set up school projects, a website and a kids club.

The village of Vailoa Palauli depends on coastal springs for drinking water. During floods, this water is made dirty and undrinkable, and during droughts, the water source dries up. The residents have no alternative water source.The aim of this project is to help villagers manage water in such a way that they have access to this resource regardless of climatic variation.

The village of Lepa depends on coastal springs for drinking water. During floods, this water is made dirty and undrinkable, and the residents have no water source. The aim of this project, led by Lepa - Komiti Tumama, is to help villagers store water during non-flood periods to provide a source of clean drinking water during floods.

This project is an effort by the residents of Matafa’a village to conserve the local mangrove ecosystem in response to fears that the growing population of the village will encroach upon the mangrove. The village wishes to protect the mangrove because of its ecological value and its role in protecting the community from strong storm surges.

Samoa: Mangrove Restoration in Vaiusu Bay

The overall goal of the Vaiusu Bay Restoriation Project is the replanting of the mangrove area along the whole of Vaiusu Bay, as part of a large restoration project, which is intended to cover the neighboring villages of Vaigaga.

The Implementation of Adaptation Measures in Coastal Zones (GEF) Project aims to support efforts by Dominica, Saint Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines to implement specific (integrated) pilot adaptation measures addressing primarily the impacts of climate change on their natural resource base, especially on biodiversity and land degradation along coastal and near-coastal areas. The project also seeks to produce knowledge of global value on how to implement adaptation measures in small island states that can be applied in other countries in the region and the world.

The overall goal of this project, conducted by the Caribbean Community Secretariat, is to facilitate the creation of an enabling environment in the small islands and coastal developing states of the Caribbean Community Secretariat (CARICOM) for climate change adaptation.

The goal of this project, implemented by the Environment Care Association, is the overall sensitization of the population to care for the environment and to instill a sense of environmental stewardship. This project consists of three parts. The first part will involve the delivery of about 300 talks/presentations to primary schools, colleges, youth organizations, women organizations, and fisher organizations so as to sensitize them on various topics related to the protection of the environment and the conservation of natural resources, with emphasis on the problems of climate change.

Fiji: Friends of the Reef

The impact of climate change and El Niño is increasingly causing coral reefs to bleach. WWF’s Friends of the Reef project is an effort to protect Asia Pacific’s coral reef ecosystems, which are the source of new coral recruits for reefs throughout the region and a source of livelihood for coastal people, especially in the fishery and tourism sectors. Friends of the Reef engages local stakeholders and decision makers in developing, testing, and implementing plans to increase coral reef resilience to major threats in the region, including climate change.