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This UNDP-supported, GEF-LDCF funded project, "Vanuatu Coastal Adaptation Project (VCAP)", is working to build resilience through improved infrastructure, sustained livelihoods, and increased food production.
These efforts (with National Government as Key Collaborators) aim to improve the quality of life in targeted vulnerable areasor communities in the coastal zone of the island nation.
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The Effectiveness of Formal and Traditional Learning about Climate and Disaster Resilience in Vanuatu
by Charles Andrew Evan Pierce
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The Government of Vanuatu, with the guidance of the Recovery Operations Centre (ROC) conducted a Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) with support from the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the Pacific Community (SPC). The PDNA, which took place during the months of April and May 2023, was implemented in collaboration with ADB, FAO, UNFPA, UNWOMEN, UNICEF, WHO, ILO, the World Bank.
The purpose of the PDNA was to identify the damage and loss caused by TC Judy and Kevin across all sectors, to assess the macro-economic and human impact of these disasters, to estimate the recovery needs in all sectors, and to inform Vanuatu’s short-, medium- and long-term recovery and reconstruction process through a well-planned Recovery Plan aligned to the country’s National Sustainable Development Plan 2016-2030. This report presents the final results of the PDNA.
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The Secretariat of the Pacific Environment Programme (SPREP) is implementing the Climate Information Services for Resilient Development in Vanuatu (CISRD), or Vanuatu Klaemet Infomesen blong redy, adapt mo protekt (Van-KIRAP) Project. As the first part of this project, Tonkin & Taylor International Ltd (T+TI) has been engaged to provide technical expertise on the Van KIRAP Project and the Department of Water Resources to review and update existing flood mitigation guidelines for the Sarakata catchment in Espiritu Santo Island, and to support the development of flood early warning systems in Sarakata.
This report provides a review of the existing Flood Mitigation Guidelines for Sarakata, Pepsi and Solwei Areas (2011) including the evaluation and identification of gaps in terms of early warning systems and long-term climate change considerations. The review has identified the gaps across governance, institutional arrangements, observations, risk knowledge, warning dissemination, and preparedness and response. The following recommendations are provided to address the identified gaps and to inform the development of updated flood mitigation guidelines:
• Strengthened governance and institutional arrangements, relating to:
− Strengthened policies and institutional frameworks at the provincial level including clear roles and responsibilities.
− Clear standard operating procedures for flood early warning system management. − Development of forums to enable coordination and partnerships.
− Update and finalise the Sarakata Flood Management Plan, including establishment of a monitoring and evaluation plan to ensure effective and coordinated governance of flood disaster risk reduction and to foster sustainable development.
• Strengthened observation, monitoring, analysis, and forecasting, relating to:
− Additional observational equipment and supporting services and capacity.
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Project description: [Brief description of project, key activities and outputs, how will it be implemented?]
Description of Project: The proposed project is an initiative of the Department of Environmental Protection and Conservation (DEPC) under the Ministry of Climate Change (MoCC), to enhance waste management at the Bouffa Landfill. Bouffa landfill is managed by the Port Vila City Council (PVCC) that is under the Department of Local Authorities (DLA). This proposal seeks the support of the GCF Framework to:
Procure a landfill weighbridge tobe stationed at the Etas Bouffa Landfill in efforts to enhance waste monitoring overtime to ensure that our reporting obligations in waste management are met at the national, regional and international level.
Establishment of an office at the landfill including the gate house.
Institutional strengthening and capacity building for DEPC at the Landfill facility.
Fencing the 57 Hectares of land where Etas Bouffa Landfill is located.
Key Activities and Implementation: There are only four key activities of the project:
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Van-KIRAP will support VGMD to provide five target sectors, including the Department of Agricultureand its stakeholders with climate information ready to be used in current and planned activities. Asector Coordinator in the Department of Agriculture will co-ordinate the Agriculture and ClimateAction and Communication Plan to advance the mainstreaming of climate information services intoagricultural policy, planning, design and delivery.
This document reviews existing information on climate and climate change as they affect Vanuatu’sagriculture sector and summarises current policies, strategies and frameworks. It provides theAgriculture Climate Action Plan and Communication Plan developed through a collaboration betweenthe Department of Agriculture and the Vanuatu Meteorology and Geohazards Department (VMGD).
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Van-KIRAP will support VGMD to provide five target sectors, including the Department of Agricultureand its stakeholders with climate information ready to be used in current and planned activities. Asector Coordinator in the Department of Agriculture will co-ordinate the Agriculture and ClimateAction and Communication Plan to advance the mainstreaming of climate information services intoagricultural policy, planning, design and delivery.
This document reviews existing information on climate and climate change as they affect Vanuatu’sagriculture sector and summarises current policies, strategies and frameworks. It provides theAgriculture Climate Action Plan and Communication Plan developed through a collaboration betweenthe Department of Agriculture and the Vanuatu Meteorology and Geohazards Department (VMGD).
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Pacific Tool for Resilience
PARTneR will enable Pacific government Ministries and stakeholder organisation to effectively developed and used risk-based information to support development decision making on DRR & DRM
PARTneR will tailor RiskScape, a disaster impact mapping and modelling software developed jointly with New Zealand NIWA and GNS science.
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The ‘Coping with climate change in the Pacific Island Region (CCCPIR)’ programme aims to strengthen the capacities of Pacific member countries and regional organisations to cope with the impacts of climate change. The programme is funded by the government of the Federal Republic of Germany through the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented through GIZ working in partnership with SPC and SPREP.
The programme commenced its activities in 2009 working with Fiji, Tonga and Vanuatu. In 2011 the program was expanded to another nine Pacific Island Countries, namely the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and the duration has been extended until 2019. The programme brief available at http://www.spc.int/lrd/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=478&Itemid=44 gives further details.
At the regional level, the programme aligns with the Framework for Resilient Development in the Pacific (FRDP). The programme will support countries in implementing key strategic priorities in the area of climate change including, where relevant, their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), National Adaptation Programmes for Action (NAPA), National Communications to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and other relevant national strategies, polices and plans.
The overall objective of the programme is that ‘the capacities of regional organisations in the Pacific Islands region and its member states to adapt to climate change and mitigate its causes are strengthened’. This objective will be achieved through six components highlighted below.
Component 1: Strengthening regional advisory and management capacity
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The Government of Vanuatu recognises that effective institutions and the inter-relationships between them are at the heart of its ability to respond to growing climate and disaster risks. To this end, a comprehensive analysis of climate and disaster risk governance is undertaken.
A critical precursor is the development of a risk profile for Vanuatu that identifies the key risks and vulnerabilities that Vanuatu's risk governance institutions must address. Currently there is no single, up-to-date and easily accessible document that summarises the major studies of risk undertaken to date.
This “Profile of risks from climate change and geohazards in Vanuatu” report describes the activities and results of the risk profiling
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The Mini Census was conducted in response to the recent disasters affecting the country, to update the list of households affected by the disasters. The Mini Census also provide an opportunity to update basic counts of certain government programs and policies.
Apart from basic count of population and households, information such as the birth certificate registration, the electoral card registration, the RSE/SWP participation and people with bank accounts can be found in the report. Other household information include disaster related information, use of telecommunication network, agriculture, fisheries and livestock information, use of solar lighting and value adding activities. There is information on water, sanitation and many more.
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The Government of Vanuatu has decided to develop an oceans policy, which aligns with recommendations from theCommonwealth Secretariat.This report summarises the main findings1 of an analysis and assessment of 69 instruments of legislation andsubordinate policies and plans that are relevant to management and use of Vanuatu’s territorial waters and thereforerelevant to the development of the national oceans policy. The review of Vanuatu’s legislation, policies, strategies andplans relating to oceans management is part of the Marine and Coastal Biodiversity Management in Pacific IslandCountries (MACBIO) project.The approach to the review involved an analytical framework comprising three components:1. Individual analysis of legislation, policies, strategies and plans;2. Integration of individual analyses into an assessment table for comparative analysis and assessment; and3. A report which provides an assessment narrative based on the individual analyses and the information from theassessment table.
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The El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) drives substantial variability in tropical cyclone (TC) activity around the world1–3 . However, it remains uncertain how the projected future changes in ENSO under greenhouse warming4–8 will aect TC activity, apart from an expectation that the overall frequency of TCs is likely to decrease for most ocean basins9–11. Here we show robust changes in ENSO-driven variability in TC occurrence by the late twenty-first century. In particular, we show that TCs become more frequent (∼20–40%) during future-climate El Niño events compared with present-climate El Niño events—and less frequent during future-climate La Niña events—around a group of small island nations (for example, Fiji, Vanuatu, Marshall Islands and Hawaii) in the Pacific. We examine TCs across 20 models from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5 database12, forced under historical and greenhouse warming conditions. The 12 most realistic models identified show a strong consensus on El Niño-driven changes in future-climate large-scale environmental conditions that modulate development of TCs over the o-equatorial western Pacific and the central North Pacific regions. These results have important implications for climate change and adaptation pathways for the vulnerable Pacific island nations.
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Coastal fisheries provide staple food and sources of livelihood in Pacific Island countries, and securing a sustainable supply is recognised as a critical priority for nutrition security. This study sought to better understand the role of fish for Pacific Island communities during disasters and in disaster recovery. To evaluate community impacts and responses after natural disasters, focus group discussions were held with men and women groups at ten sites across Shefa, Tafea, Malampa and Sanma provinces in Vanuatu. The combined impacts of category 5 Tropical Cyclone Pam (TC-Pam) in March 2015 and prolonged El-Niño induced drought have had a profound impact across much of Vanuatu. Terrestrial systems had been disproportionately impacted with substantial shortages in drinking water, garden crops, cash crops and damage to infrastructure. Localized impacts were noted on marine environments from TC-Pam and the drought, along with an earthquake that uplifted reef and destroyed fishing grounds in Malampa province. Communities in Malampa and Shefa provinces also noted a crown-of-thorns outbreak that caused coral mortality. The significant reduction in terrestrial-based food and income generation capacity generally led to increased reliance on marine resources to cope and a shift in diets from local garden food to rice. However, limited market access, lack of fishing skills and technology in many sectors of the community reduced the capacity for marine resources to support recovery. A flexible management approach allowed protected areas and species to be utilized as reservoirs of food and income when temporarily opened to assist recovery. These findings illustrate that fish and fisheries management is at the center of disaster preparedness and relief strategies in remote Pacific Island communities. High physical capital (e.g.
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In 2013, the Government of Vanuatu and UNDP requested technical assistance from the USAID funded Adapt Asia-Pacific Project to support four specialists, including an International Gender Advisor, to prepare the “Adaptation to Climate Change in the Coastal Zone in Vanuatu Project” (VCAP). The USAID Adapt Advisors worked closely with the UNDP funded consultants and staff from all implementing partner (IP) agencies including the Ministry of Climate Change (MCC), the Department of Local Authorities (DLA), the Public Works Department (PWD) and the Vanuatu Meteorological and Geohazards Department (VMGD) in preparing the project. In-country design work, including visits to all proposed V-CAP sites, was carried out in late 2013.
The aim of the project is: “To improve the resilience of the coastal zone in Vanuatu to the impacts of climate change in order to sustain livelihoods, food production and preserve/improve the quality of life in targeted vulnerable areas”.
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This vocabulary was created as part of the Griffith University Pacific iClim Project. The Project has been funded by the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade initiative Government Partnerships for Development Program to support SPREP in implementing a regional approach to climate change data and information management throughout the Pacific.
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Released by the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO), this document provides definitions in the three working languages of the Republic of Vanuatu (Bislama, English, and French) for six natural hazards: cyclones, earthquakes, floods, landslides, tsunamis, and volcanoes.
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The Increasing Resilience to Climate Change and Natural Hazards Project (IRCCNH) is a program of works for Vanuatu to improve the resilience of smallholders and communities to the impact of climate variability and change on food, household water security and livelihoods. The project has been effective since April 2013, but in February 2017 the Government of Vanuatu (GoV) requested a restructure to simplify the project and focus on community-level investments following Tropical Cyclone (TC) Pam.
The revised Project Development Objective is to strengthen disaster risk management systems and pilot investments in select villages in the Recipient’s territory to increase resilience to the impacts of natural hazards and climate variability and change. The proposed support will focus on resilient livelihoods through increased access to fresh water and improved agricultural methods, and will be implemented by the Project Management Unit in the Vanuatu Metrology and Geo-hazards Department (VMGD).
This is the Resettlement Policy Framework for this project.
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The environment of Vanuatu including its land based resources are extremely vulnerable to climate-related hazards, such as cyclones strong wind gusts, droughts, heats spells, floods and sea level rise/storm surges. Most of these hazards are precipitated by natural weather phenomena and therefore will be exacerbated by the current and future impacts of climate change. This vulnerability is a threat not only to the livelihoods of the people of Vanuatu but also to a healthy and prosperous nation. This national climate change adaptation strategy (NCCAS) lays out an approach to identify and implement efficient and effective activities to manage the existing and anticipated consequences of climate change for the land-based resources sectors in Vanuatu, namely forestry, agriculture, water, livestock, and biodiversity/ natural ecosystems. These sectors play dominant and essential roles in the economy of Vanuatu and contribute to livelihoods and the general well-being of people and the country as a whole.
The NCCAS is aligned with and builds on existing strategies, policies and action plans. For example, it builds on Vanuatu’s National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA), the Priorities and Action Agenda (PAA) or the Disaster Risk Reduction and Disaster Management National Action Plan (NAP) and sector specific documents like the National Biodiversity Conservation Strategy or the National Water Strategy.It is not just a strategy for government, but actively involves civil society including churches, youth organizations and other NGOs working in the land based resources sector in an active process to cope with climate change in a coherent and strategic manner. For each sector it describes adaptation strategies that are usable, practical and implementable.
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Vanuatu ranks as the world’s most vulnerable country due to its high exposure to natural disasters, scattered island geography, narrow economic base, inadequate communication and transportation networks, and limited capacity to cope with disasters including those caused or exacerbated by the effects of climate change. Annually Vanuatu is impacted by a number of cyclones, which are expected to become more intense under current climatic projections, with coastal communities and ecosystems being most vulnerable and impacted by these events. Vanuatu will be heavily impacted by climate change with future scenarios projecting increased temperatures, sea-level rise, and increased severity of cyclones, increased ocean temperatures and ocean acidification. In addition, an increased likelihood of an increase in the frequency of El Niño events will present its own long-term seasonal challenges. These challenges, combined with rapid population growth spread over 80 islands, an agricultural and coastal-based economy facing acute medium-term challenges and inadequate delivery of government services, especially in remote areas will continue to limit the potential for long-term sustainable development and achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.
The Government of Vanuatu has been proactive in global and regional dialogues on climate change and finalised its National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA) in 2007. The project will explicitly address three of eleven priorities identified in the NAPA including:
1) community-based marine resource management,
2) integrated coastal zone management, and
3) mainstreaming climate change into policy and national planning processes.
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The Urban Growth Trends Report forms part of the Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction Project: Risk Mapping and Planning for Urban Preparedness Project being undertaken by the Vanuatu Meteorology and Geo-hazards Department. The report analyses the trend existing urban development, the historical growth trends, teh legislative framework and key drivers that are directly growth in Port Vila and Luganville urban areas.
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Vanuatu is one of the most vulnerable countries to natural hazards on the planet, (World Bank, 2011). More than three quarters of the population are at risk from not just one, but multiple disaster events, including: tsunamis, volcano eruptions, flooding, cyclones and many more. According to the Pacific Catastrophic Risk Assessment and Financing Initiative (PCRAFI), undertaken by SPC and World Bank in 2010, Vanuatu can lose up to VT4 Billion in one year due to cyclone and earthquakes. Against this backdrop, Disaster risk management has become a cross-cutting issue that affects all sectors of Vanuatu and all development priorities and programs. Disaster risk management and climate change have been included into the current Priorities for Action Agenda 2011-2016. In September 2012, Vanuatu launched the National Advisory Board on Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction (NAB) to better manage and coordinate Climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction programs in Vanuatu and facilitate mainstreaming of disaster risk reduction into sectoral policies and planning. The resources provided by this project will strengthen the NAB and assist the Government to conduct thorough hazard and risk assessment in the urban areas and use the data to inform national land use planning policies including the design of a Tsunami warning system for both urban areas.
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The implementation of VCAP this quarter began at Epi sites with the upland and fisheries output activities. The upland team had established one permanent nursery where 2,000 plus fruits and timber trees seedlings are raised for distributing to all farmers in the project sites for reforestation upland at the water catchment areas. The team has also established 3 multi-cropping plots for introducing resilience crops to the farmers and planted vetiver grasses, natangura seedlings, pandanus along the eroded coastlines for reducing the activities for coastal erosions.
Fisheries team has deployed some FADs (Fish Aggregated Devices) at Epi as well for improving the marine resources at the reefs. The consultations with the communities and their VDCs (Village Development Committees) have educated the people to preserve their marine resources by introducing preservation areas along the coasts. The people have learned to improved their lively hoods by following these activities carried out by the fisheries and upland teams.
The project will further the implementation of various activities at Pentecost sites, Tafea outer islands sites as part of the recovery program of cyclone Pam which was mandated by the Government. Project Coordinators will further their various activities to other project sites such as South malekula, South Santo and Torres islands in the coming quarters. These output activities include the upgrade of access roads to the market, health and educations facilities.
Furthermore, the project will also assist the Vanuatu Meteorology and Geo-Hazard Department(VMGD) for upgrading the Automatic Weather Stations at the 6 Provinces of the Country including the Integrated Weather Forecasting System at VMGD. These systems will provide the automatic early warning system throughout the Country where dissemination of weather information will reach the people in the communities in good times.
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The “Adaptation to Climate Change in the Coastal Zone in Vanuatu” or the Vanuatu Coastal Adaptation Project (VCAP) has recently recruited several key staff members within its Project Implementation Unit (PIU) and has made steady progress in delivering its Annual Work Plan for 2015 by engaging targeted coastal communities in a series of vulnerability assessments and climate change adaptation planning sessions.
As VCAP will support integrated community based approaches for building climate resilience, the PIU has worked closely with the Department of Local Authorities (DLA) and other various partners to develop a standard approach to performing vulnerability assessments and facilitating community-based climate adaptation plans. This “bottom-up” planning process will be complimented by various technical specialists and national level VCAP stakeholders who will further refine and implement components from these community plans in coming months.
Finally, this reporting period culminated in the VCAP Project Board Meeting, where senior authorities from the Vanuatu government and UNDP made important decisions affecting future project delivery and approved the Annual Work Plan and Budget for 2016.
This progress report details the various activities conducted from July through December of 2015. This is the third VCAP progress report produced to date.
This Report features the following Contents:
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Torba is the most northern and isolated province in Vanuatu. The province has an estimated population of 9,359 people and a land-area of 882 km². Its capital is Sola on the island of Vanua Lava. There are two groups of islands in Torba Province, which are the Banks Group and Torres Groups.
Torba is the perhaps the least developed province in Vanuatu. Transport is irregular and difficult. Communication is challenging. Infrastructure is limited on most islands with a few roads and vehicles present on Vanua Lava, Gaua & Mota Lava. Air Vanuatu provides regular service to Vanua Lava, Mota Lava, Gaua & Loh Island in the Torres Group. Small “banana boats” are relied upon heavily, despite frequent rough seas, to access remaining communities. The difficulty and infrequent level of transport in Torba Province has resulted in a much higher pricing for locals when they purchase commonly used goods and supplies such as fuel and tinned foods.
A missionary doctor, who is also a pilot, lives on the island of Gaua and makes routine visits to the islands in the Banks and Torres groups and transports patients to health facilities in Luganville, Santo and Port Vila, Efate as necessary. Additional landing strips for his small plane have been created on some additional islands as well in Torba Province as well but these are not serviced by Air Vanuatu.
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Tafea is the most southerly province in Vanuatu, consisting of 5 islands, some of which are among the most isolated in Vanuatu. Each island in the province has a diverse array of geographic features and natural resources.
The province has an estimated population of 32,540 people and an area of 1,628 km². The most populated island is Tanna, although its land mass is smaller than that of Erromango.Tanna contains over 80 percent of the Tafea’s population. The provincial capital Isangel is located here along with Tafea’s only municipality and its most developed commercial centre,Lenakel. An active volcano called Mt. Yassur attracts a large quantity of tourists to the island. A majority of the soil quality on Tanna is regarded as very rich and prime for agricultural activity.
The three largest islands in Tafea Province are Melanesian, but the smaller two, Aniwa and Futuna, have a distinct Polynesian influence due to early settlers and missionaries from Samoa. Futuna isrich in marine resources, although its rugged terrain composed of sheer cliffs and steep hillsides along with its strong coastal seas provide many challenges to locals.
Aniwa Island is the only coral island in Tafea, while the other four islands are volcanic and reach much higher elevations. Of the outer islands, it has the closest access to Tanna island and provincial services. Water security is a major concern on the island, although Aniwa is rich in its coastal fisheries, orange plantations and has many sandalwood trees.
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