SPC And GIZ Announce Assistance To Pacific Coastal Fisheries

SPC press release

Thursday 24 November 2011, Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), Suva, Fiji '

Pacific Islanders have long depended on the marine environment as a vital part of their social and economic development. The majority of Pacific Islands are atolls and small islands surrounded by coral reefs, where the principal targets are coastal fish species associated with coral reefs and lagoons. However, rising populations, limited land areas and low profiles of atolls increase the vulnerability of communities to the effects of climate change and challenge the ability of governments to respond.

The Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) and Deutsche Gesellschaft f'r Technische Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) today signed two financing agreements, both committed to assisting coastal communities to adapt to climate change effects and to improve conservation and sustainable use of oceanic fisheries resources in the Pacific Island region.

Left to right: SPC Director-General Dr Jimmie Rodgers and GIZ Country Director (Philippines and the Pacific) Mr Robert Kressirer at the signing of the SPC GIZ finance agreement in Suva.

SPC Director-General Dr Jimmie Rodgers and GIZ Country Director (Philippines and the Pacific) Mr Robert Kressirer, signed the finance agreements at SPC's regional office in Suva, Fiji. Together, the agreements provide ' 700,000 to two separate projects that will:

' assist coastal communities to adapt to climate change effects through a holistic approach covering marine based natural resources in the Pacific region; and

' increase the capacity of SPC member Pacific Island countries and territories (PICTs) to adapt to climate change by providing them advice on the likely changes in tuna stocks and their distribution based on building on and extending fisheries models.

Under the agreements, the two organisations will work closely to ensure enhanced delivery of services to their 12 common members: Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tahiti, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea.

'Starting in 2012, SPC and GIZ will support the implementation of the community-based management activities of mutual interest, including, but not limited to, infrastructure and human resources capacity development, which have an impact on the fisheries and agriculture sectors,' said Dr Rodgers.

The two organisations are committed to developing greater synergies and cooperation in their planned and existing activities to provide better delivery of services at national and regional levels.

'SPC and GIZ will work together to help address the priorities of Pacific Island countries and territories in marine and land resource sectors, with the focus on climate change,' he said.

Mr Kressirer added, 'The GIZ project regional national planning workshops conducted in July 2011 under the 'Coping with Climate Change in the Pacific Islands Region' project showed that countries identified the need for adaptation to climate change effects as a key focal area.' This programme will focus on working with communities to identify locations to establish pilot sites and run trials of adaptation techniques.

Director of SPC's Division of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Marine Ecosystems Mr Mike Batty believes that 'the SPC/GIZ programme will strengthen the fisheries sector in PICTs by supporting successful adaptations of strategies to protect coastal communities from the effects of climate change and provide scientific data, modeling and advice on oceanic fisheries to assist SPC member governments and regional organisations. The challenges brought about by climate change demand a coordinated response from our region, working under one overarching approach to achieve one common goal ' the sustained resilience of Pacific Island communities to climate change.'

ENDS

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