The first of the overall MESCAL project’s four outcomes is to produce national baseline information about climate change scenarios, use and values of mangroves and associated ecosystem.

This review aims to identify recent climate change projections (particularly sea level) and assess their likely impacts on mangroves and associated ecosystems and community livelihoods for the five MESCAL pilot countries.

This report explores the opportunities that recognising blue carbon could bring to Vanuatu. Commissioned by the Government of Vanuatu from the Commonwealth Secretariat, it sets out the opportunities, supportive arguments, and issues and potential barriers around incorporating blue carbon as part of their overall climate change adaptation and mitigation strategy.

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.

This documet contains the following VCAP Annex:

Malampa is one of the six provinces of Vanuatu, located in the centre of the country and consisting of three main islands namely Malekula, Ambrym and Paama. It also includes a number of smaller offshore islands – the small islands of Uripiv, Norsup, Rano, Wala, Atchin and Vao off the coast of Malekula and the volcanic island of Lopevi near Paama (currently uninhabited). Also included are the Maskelynne Islands and other small islands suck as Akam and Avock along the south coast of Malekula.

Penama Province, Vanuatu is comprised of the three islands of Pentecost, Ambae and Maewo. It has a total population of 30,819 people based on the latest Census by the Vanuatu Statistics Office and a total land mass surface area of 1,193 km². The provincial capital is located on the island of Ambae at Seratamata.

This Urban Risk Management Strategy (the URMS or the Strategy) provides a response to the hazards,  risks and urban growth trends identified for Vanuatu’s two urban areas, the greater Port Vila Urban Area and Luganville. It is Stage 3 of the Risk Mapping and Planning for Urban Preparedness Project (the Project) being undertaken by the Vanuatu Meteorology and Geo-Hazards Department (VMGD) as part of the broader Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction Project.

This report assesses adaptive capacity in the Tegua island community in northern Vanuatu and examines the role of the ‘Capacity Building for the Development of Adaptation Measures in Pacific Island Countries’ (CBDAMPIC) relocation project in shaping it.

The Invasive Species Media Guide targets journalists, reporters, photographers, environmental writers and other people working within, or having an interest in, media and communication roles in Vanuatu. It aims to heighten awareness within the media and communications sector about the issue of invasive species in Vanuatu.

The Invasive Species Flipchart is designed to support community groups working to address the issue of invasive species in Vanuatu. These groups can include farmers, NGOs and other agencies. Government ministries, high schools, universities and colleges may also find the chart useful.

Suva, Fiji  – A major new report, Reviving Melanesia’s Ocean Economy: The Case for Action, launched today, has revealed that the ocean is a much larger part of Melanesia’s economy and future prosperity than previously understood.

Melanesia is a large sub-region in the Pacific that extends from the western end of the Pacific Ocean to the Arafura Sea, and eastward to Fiji. The region includes Fiji, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu.

This book is about how you can use trees and gardens together to reclaim land that has been overrun by Big Leaf Rope. This approach has many benefits. Most importantly, it will allow you to make use of otherwise wasted land, and turn it into a fertile and productive garden. Techniques outlined in this book will allow for an increased crop yield and overall profit, helping to better support you and your family. It will help to increase the variety of crops you can grow, and provide further opportunities down the road selling timber from trees.

As of the 2009 Census, the total population on the island of Santo was 39,606 people. Santo is the second highest populated island in Vanuatu, second only to Efate. Luganville, with a population of 13,167 is the second largest town in Vanuatu and is located on the southern coast of the island, approximately a 1.5 hour drive from the project site. According to the 2009 Census, the annual population growth rate for Santo is 2.4%.

Shefa Province is one of the six provinces of Vanuatu, located in the lower centre of the country and it includes the islands of Epi, Efate and the Shepherds Group. It has a total population of 79,212
people based on latest estimate by Vanuatu Statistics Office and an area of 1,455 km². Its capital is Port Vila, which is also the capital of the nation.

Epi Island is located in the northeast corner of the province. The Epi Sub-District Office, an integral part of the Shefa Provincial Government Council is located at Rovo Bay, in the Vermali Area Council.

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.

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.

“Adaptation to Climate Change in the Coastal Zone in Vanuatu” or the Vanuatu Coastal Adaptation Project (VCAP), will provide a valuable opportunity to the Vanuatu government to increase the resilience of its communities to future climate change induced risks such as declining coastal and marine resources and intensifying climate related hazards.

Vanuatu 2030 is our National Sustainable Development Plan for the period 2016 to 2030, and serves as the country's highest level policy framework. It is founded on our culture, traditional knowledge and Christian principles, and builds on our development journey since Independence in 1980. We have already achieved a great deal,as we have encountered many difficulties and setbacks, some from natural disasters. Our most recent national plan, the Prioritiesand Action Agenda 2006-2015 sought to deliver a just, educated, healthy and wealthy Vanuatu.

The Climate Council is an independent, crowd-funded organisation providing quality information on climate change to the Australian public. This factsheet contains useful information about the influence of climate change on tropical cyclones, coastal flooding, storm surges, etc.

Below is an extract of the Minister's Forward from the MCCA 2016 Annual Report: