Vanuatu Marine Ecosystem Service Valuation SUMMARY & Final report

This study,conducted in 2015, aimed to determine the economic value of seven marine and coastal ecosystem services in Vanuatu. The study forms part of the broader MACBIO project (Marine and Coastal Biodiversity Management in Pacific Island Countries and Atolls) that aims to strengthen the management of marine and coastal biodiversity in Pacific island countries.

This report uses these generic methods to provide recommendations for climate resilient development in the PICs in the following sectors: coastal protection, flood management, water resources management, protection of infrastructure against changes in temperature and precipitations, protection of buildings against cyclone winds, and adaptation in the agriculture sector.

Le changement climatique est l'un des sujets dont on parle le plus dans le monde parce  qu'll affecte le quotidien de tous les habitants de la planete, y compris ceux qui vivent dans les iles du pacifique. Les scientifiques disent que lechangement climatique pourrait rendre les saisons chaudes plus longues et amener beacoup de pluies durant la saison humide.

The Pacific-Australia Climate Change Science and Adaptation Planning (PACCSAP) Program aims to develop the capacity of Pacific Island Countries (PICs) to manage climate risks. Ultimately climate change adaptation involves the management of identified climate change risks. This project is a component of PACCSAP, and aims to increase the capacity of decision makers in PICs to make informed decisions on climate change adaptation using CBA. By investigating two case studies this PACCSAP project has tested the application of CBA for managing climate risks in the Pacific.

The devastating impacts of climate change are already being felt around the globe, threatening sustainable development and resilience, impairing socioeconomic development and reinforcing cycles of poverty. Scientists are increasingly able to confidently attribute the increased intensity and frequency of extreme weather events – such as droughts, heatwaves, floods and cyclones – to human-induced climate change. 

Tropical Cyclone (TC) Pam was one of the worst
natural disasters in the history of Vanuatu. The
country suffered loss and damage to an extent
that vastly overwhelmed its own capacities. A
strong El Niño, in the months following the cyclone, acted
as additional multiplier for existing development problems,
especially with regard to water and food security
in rural areas. In many ways, the cyclone and its impacts
reflect political, conceptual and operational challenges
that lie at the heart of the current debate on loss and

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. 

Republic of Vanuatu’s First Biennial Transparency Report (FBTR)

Under the Vanuatu’s First Biennial Transparency Report to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

Submitted by: Ministry of Climate Change, Republic of Vanuatu

Executive summary

The ambition of this guidebook is to help practitioners and stakeholders integrate gender equality considerations in climate projects and leverage co-benefits between gender equality and climate action for sustainable development. It is divided into three parts: 1) an overview of co-benefits between gender equality and climate action; 2) an introduction to climate finance concepts, sources and instruments, and a discussion of their associated gender dimensions; and 3) a review of mainstreaming methodologies and tools to incorporate gender in climate change projects.

The document contains the Republic of Vanuatu's submission to the Ad-hoc Working Group on the Paris Agreement, specifically on the Annual Focus Area for the Paris Committee on Capacity-building (PCCB). The document contains statements on gender and youth and includes sections about civil society organisations and the Government. It also outlines ways forward and next steps.

Pacific women and girls continue to face significant disadvantages despite Pacific Island Countries (PICs) committing to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), with the exception of Palau and Tonga, Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA), the Revised Pacific Platform for Action on the Advancement of Women and Gender Equality (RPPA), and other relevant regional agreements. Gender inequality and women’s disempowerment are causal factors in why women and girls are disproportionately affected by climate change and disasters.

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).

This document serves to promote gender balance and improve the participation of women in UNFCCC negotiations and in the representation of Parties in bodies established pursuant to the Convention or the Kyoto Protocol. The Republic of Vanuatu acknowledges the great advancement made by Parties at COP18 on gender by adopting the above mentioned decision stating “Promoting gender balance and improving the participation of women in UNFCCC negotiations and in the representation of Parties in bodies established pursuant to the Convention or the Kyoto Protocol”.

This Report is the result of collaboration between the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group.

As the #1 ranked country for vulnerability on the World Risk Index, the lives of men and women in Vanuatu are constantly threatened by climate change and disasters. Following the most devastating cyclone to ever hit Vanuatu – cyclone Pam in 2015 – and widespread drought as a result of a strong El Nino event throughout 2015 and most of 2016, the impacts are growing ever more severe with climate change predicted to increase the intensity and impacts of such events over time.

The World Humanitarian Summit in 2016 provides a unique opportunity for governments, UN agencies and civil society actors to set an ambitious agenda for empowering women and girls as change agents and leaders in humanitarian action and ensuring gender responsive humanitarian programming. However for these commitments to translate into meaningful action, it is critical to respond to the barriers that currently impact women’s leadership in emergencies, and build upon the existing efforts of women first responders and women-led organisations.

Persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or
sensory impairments, which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and
effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.5 Disability may be experienced
by people of any age – children, young and older people.

The Government of Vanuatu is committed to leading in the development and implementation of child protection systems to ensure the protection of children from abuse, exploitation, neglect and violence at national, provincial and community level in line with international and national obligations; and through building on positive customary practice.

This published article on women and climate change in Vanuatu.The research and paper by University of Newcastle (UoN) was undertaken as part of the VanKIRAP Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) work funded by GCF FP035/VanKIRAP project.