Search the SPREP Catalogue

Climate change creates a serious challenge for sustainable development, with scientific projections indicating that billions of people will face food and water shortages, increased exposure to diseases, losses of homes, assets and livelihoods, and forced migration. Recognising the urgency of the issue, the international community has pledged significant funding for adaptation and mitigation in developing countries, and a wide range of mechanisms and institutions for climate finance are rapidly developing. In order to maintain progress - or even current achievements - towards the MDGs, it is imperative that these funds be spent effectively and not be diminished or lost through corruption.

Disaster occurrence and losses associated with extreme and increasingly not so extreme climate events have increased dramatically in recent years. While many of the emerging patterns of disaster risk are associated with natural hazards that show no tendency to increases in magnitude and recurrence, human interventions in the natural\ environment are generating new socio-natural hazards, mainly associated with climate events. In many incidences of new flooding, landslide, drought, forest fire and coastal erosion, environmental degradation has transformed natural resources into new hazards. At the same time, the social, economic, territorial, physical and political vulnerability of populations in many developing countries continues to worsen, weakening their capacity to absorb the impact of and recover from extreme climate events.

Climate change adaptation is vital for Pacific SIDS. Long-term effects, including the increasing frequency and severity of extreme events such as high rainfall, droughts, tropical cyclones, and storm surges are affecting the people in this region. Coupled with non-climate drivers, such as inappropriate land use, overexploitation of resources, increasing urbanization and population increase, development in the region is increasingly undermined. For the low lying atolls, the likely economic disruption from climate change pressures could be catastrophic and potentially lead to population relocation and therefore social and cultural disruption and disproportion. Failure to reduce vulnerability may result in loss of future risk management opportunities when impacts may be greater and options fewer.

Pacific island nations have obligations for the conservation and sustainable use of critical marine habitats and species under a number of legally and non-legally binding international instruments. Foremost among these are the Convention on Biological Diversity, the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the Framework Convention on Climate Change and the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and Apia Conventions. These instruments emphasise the linkages between the protection of the marine environment, sustainable management of coastal and marine resources and human development. It is not possible to consider the conservation and sustainable use of critical marine habitats and species separately from wider social and economic issues

Natural and anthropogenic exploitation of natural resources led to the increasing rate of biodiversity loss. Concern was expressed by the international communities about the loss of biodiversity. In an effort to address the biodiversity crisis the United Nations Convention of Biological Diversity (UNCBD) was opened for signature at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992. The UNCBD was opened together with two other conventions namely the United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). These conventions are known as the “Three Rio Conventions”. Tonga acceded to the UNCBD, on the19th May 1998. As a party to the UNCBD, Tonga is required to take measures to ensure biodiversity conservation, sustainable use and the equitable sharing of benefits from the use of its biological diversity. The articles of the Convention also require adhering to. Tonga identified seventeen obligations under the UNCBD to be fulfilled.

Increasing recognition of the changes in the natural environment as a result of human interference has lead to the international community agreeing on a number of multi-lateral environmental agreements (MEAs). At the 1992 Earth Summit, world leaders agreed on a comprehensive strategy for "sustainable development" – meeting our needs while ensuring that we leave a healthy and viable world for future generations. Three key agreements from the Summit are the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. These three are known as the Rio Conventions.

Adaptation to climate change is a complex topic that presents a number of challenges. Indeed, one important challenge lies in defining adaptation and understanding the full scope of its implications. Adaptation is currently the topic of numerous studies that offer a range of definitions. The IPCC offers a starting point by providing a broad definition of adaptation: adjustment in natural or human systems to actual or expected climatic stimuli or their effects, which moderates harm or exploits beneficial opportunities. However, adaptation is increasingly difficult define in practical and operational terms. To aid in this effort, some key points can be identified to provide a helpful framework for understanding the complex nature of adaptation.

The main purpose of this paper is to help policy makers, particularly those in developing countries, think about the national policy instruments needed to contribute to the fight against climate change, how such needs can be articulated in order to seek internal and external financial resources and how these needs may be reflected in negotiations of a future climate change agreement. This paper is an input to a series of workshops which the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) will organize in developing countries with the aim of improv- ing their capacity to respond to climate change.

Climate change is one of the greatest threats to our planet and its people. Reducing emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) is called mitigation. Responding to the impacts of climate change is called adaptation. A certain amount of adaptation will be necessary, no matter what we do. But, there will come a point where it will not be possible to adapt our way out of the problem.

In 2007, the UNFCCC Secretariat prepared a report on "Investment and Financial Flows to Address Climate Change".11 The report covers mitigation and adaptation in various sectors over the period to 2030. The report defines an investment as the initial (capital) cost of a new physical asset with a life of more than one year, such as the capital cost of a gas-fired generating unit or a water supply system. A financial flow is an ongoing expenditure related to climate change mitigation or adaptation that docs not involve physical assets, such as research or health care. These investment and financial flows arc NOT the same as the cost of addressing climate change; changes to the operating costs of investments arc not considered nor arc damages due to climate change estimated.