Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change and Resilience Building (PACRES)

Vanuatu Project: Restoration of the Tagabe River watershed and key urban and peri-urban areas in Port Vila

PACRES Newsletter Volume 4 (February 2022)

PACRES Newsletter Volume 5 (August 2022)

Introduction

Vanuatu is one of five Pacific ACP countries where the €12 million EU funded Intra-ACP1 GCCA+ Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change and Resilience Building (PACRES), proposes to scale up adaptation/ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) pilots.

PACRES aims to ensure better regional and national adaptation and mitigation responses to climate change challenges facing Pacific ACP countries. It is being implemented jointly by the Secretariat of the Pacific Environment Programme (SPREP), the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS), the Pacific Community (SPC) and the University of the South Pacific (USP).

The Project is provisionally entitled: ‘Restoration of the Tagabe River watershed and key urban and peri-urban areas of Port Vila Project’ (the Project). The Project is being developed in two stages, to be implemented in parallel between late 2019 and mid-2022.

The Department of Climate Change is continuing working in collaboration with its sectoral partners: the department of Water Resources, department of Forestry and the department of Environment for carrying out the following tasks:

1. Desktop review of the status of Tagabe River watershed, watershed management plans and adaptation pilots.
2. Reviewing a Term of Reference for a consultant to explore and implement local eco-friendly technology, materials and alternatives for riverbank stabilization and riparian zone rehabilitation.
3. Finalized a Term of Reference for a local nursery expert or consultant to extend the existing nursery at the Forestry department to establish appropriate riverbank and riparian plant species seedlings and establish and manage a nursery for coastal plan species seedlings.
4. Continuing the consultation with the department of Local Authorities about the Urban Greening Master Plan in Port Vila.
5. Develop a Term of Reference for a consultant to review the institutional framework and operation inter-sectoral mechanism that support Ecosystem –Based Solutions. This review will undertake gaps analysis of existing arrangements, mandates, roles and responsibilities and base on the gaps analysis, recommendations will be made on existing coordination mechanisms and the roles of the National Advisory Board as a mechanism to address inter-sectoral Ecosystem Based Solutions (EBS) coordination issues.

Summary

The Department of Climate Change is working in alliance with the government stakeholders/departments, especially the department of Water Resources, department of Forestry and the department of Environment with the project plan and strategizing how best to implement the PACRES activities. This is done in close partnership with the Project Partners including the Non-Government Organizations, Aid Donors, Non-State actors, Private Sectors, Tagabe River Water Committee, and the communities who are living along Tagabe River. Focus is on implementing a ‘build-on’ strategy to what the current and past ecosystem-based adaptation projects have been doing at Tagabe River in terms of riverbank stabilizations and riparian zones rehabilitation.

The Department of Climate Change is looking forward to work closely with the international and local consultants who are and will be recruited by the project to assist the department and its stakeholders for implementing PACRES project plans successfully during the duration of the project.