The challenges of funding climate change adaption in the South Pacific

This paper discusses the financial barriers to implementation of the National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPAs) in small island states in the South Pacific, with a particular focus on Tuvalu and Kiribati. There are significant issues in these places including extreme weather events and deteriorated ecosystems that require urgent adaptation. However, Pacific island states have extremely small economies and poor governance and the implementation of NAPAs is expensive and requires well-organized institutions. Weak governance and dependent economies amongst small islands in the Pacific are barriers to the implementation of adaptation strategies. Because of this, there are doubts about the feasibility of NAPAs in terms of project cost and implementation. This paper explores external funding options (e.g. Green Climate Fund) for adaptation in small island states and advocates Community Based Adaptation (CBA) projects as a way to build the sustainability of communities in the South Pacific. The CBA approach may be an effective solution to delivering adaptation programs at low cost whilst strengthening the resilience, and building the capacity of local communities to adapt to climate change