US launches project to build Pacific island community resilience to climate change

Islands Business (Fiji): The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) launched the Coastal Community Adaptation Project (C-CAP), a new five-year project that will build the resilience of vulnerable communities across 12 Pacific Island countries to climate change.

U.S. Ambassador to Papua New Guinea, Walter E. North, who led the launch, said, “The United States is pleased to support the Pacific region in adapting to climate change, which is crucial in sustaining economic development. This initiative emphasizes our heightened focus on this important region.”

USAID has partnered with the University of the South Pacific (USP) to implement the project via the extensive network of USP campuses throughout the Pacific region. C-CAP will identify communities at risk to increasing global climate change impacts, and assist them in rehabilitating or constructing new, small-scale community infrastructure; build capacity for community engagement for disaster prevention and preparedness; and integrate climate-resilient policies and practices into long-term land use plans and building standards.

USAID Mission Director for the Pacific Islands, Gloria D. Steele, said, “USAID will help vulnerable communities across the Pacific region to strengthen their ability to factor climate change projections into their decision-making processes.”...

Low tide in Fiji, shot by M Sundstrom, Wikimedia Commons via Flickr, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license