Port Vila, Vanuatu, June 13, 2024 – In support of Vanuatu’s Forestry Sector Investment Strategy, the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) and the Regional Pacific NDC Hub, in collaboration with government organizations, private sector entities, and NGO stakeholders active in the productive sector convened this week at the Grand Hotel to deliberate and recommend project priorities to be articulated into the work. This initiative aims to translate forest sector mitigation commitments, as reflected in Vanuatu’s NDCs, into bankable and implementable projects. These projects once implemented will not only fulfill Vanuatu’s global commitments under the Paris Climate Agreement but also enable, alternative national sustainable and resilient development pathways in the productive sector, offering multiple socio–economic and environmental co-benefits.
Speaking on behalf of the Director General of the Ministry of Agriculture, Mr. Godfrey Bome, the Acting Director of the Department of Forests stated, “both the Vanuatu NDC and the workshop this week, emphasize the critical role of forestry as well as the greater productive sector in Vanuatu’s national resilience building processes and in particular, the pivotal role the sector plays, as a platform for strategic interventions that could contribute to achieving the Country’s NDC targets, whilst also contributing to the shared Global Goals of the Paris Agreement”.
In highlighting the commitment and readiness of the productive sector to engage in this important undertaking, Mr. Bome alluded to the suite of existing policy and strategic frameworks under the Ministry, including the Department of Forests have already provided a solid basis to build and achieve the Investment Strategy. Key amongst these is the National Productive Sector Policy, the National Forest Policy, the Forest Landscape Restoration Strategy and the National REDD Strategy.
Mr. Nelson Kalo, the Acting Director of the Department of Climate Change, conveyed the full support of his office for the development of the investment strategy and expressed his aspirations to see an increased flow of climate financing to the forestry and productive sector in order to bolster the Country’s mitigation efforts at the national level, in the context of the NDC. He stated, “forestry related mitigation investments will generate great wins at many levels for Vanuatu given that multiple adaptation co-benefits will be derived from the interventions selected for the sector”.
Delving into GGGI’s commitment, Mr. Mohammed Shaikh Ali, GGGI Deputy Country Representative remarked, “GGGI is committed to green growth and resilient development through its ongoing collaboration with Vanuatu and in this regard, we are happy to support the development of the Forest Sector NDC Investment Strategy as a means to operationalize the NDC through strategic and prioritized project pathways”. Mr. Ali further added Vanuatu became a GGGI member country in 2014 and since then, GGGI has been supporting the Government of Vanuatu through various projects across multiple sectors including climate finance, energy water and it is now making inroads into the productive sector through this initiative in the forestry sector.
The Vanuatu Forest Sector NDC Investment Strategy is planned for delivery by August. The Regional Pacific NDC Hub is request driven by the Pacific for the Pacific and serves as a one-stop platform for the Pacific region, facilitating the exchange of best practices, providing technical assistance, and building capacities to tackle challenges posed by climate change. It offers a comprehensive and collaborative approach to support the implementation of climate commitments outlined in the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) of 14 Pacific Island Countries. Guided by the principles of the Paris Agreement, the hub receives funding from the Governments of Germany, Australia, New Zealand, and the European Union.
(GGGI Seoul HQ)
Mona Laczo, Communications & Knowledge Sharing Unit Head
+82 10 9530 0358
mona.laczo@gggi.org
© Photo Credit GGGI