Suva, Fiji, July 26, 2024 – Led by the Climate Change Division (CCD), of Fiji’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) conducted a workshop titled ‘Building Resilient Communities: Integrating Adaptation Strategies into Local Level Planning’. “A recent World Bank report shows Fiji is losing approximately USD 71 million annually to climate-induced disasters. Without urgent action, losses could exceed USD 675 million in 50 years,” noted Dr. Sivendra Michael, Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, Fiji, at the workshop. Funded by the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the workshop aimed to enhance local capacity and collaboration for effective climate adaptation planning in Fiji.

GGGI has been supporting the Government of Fiji in increasing climate resilience and facilitating the implementation of the National Adaptation Plan since last September through the GCF project ‘Mainstreaming Adaptation Planning at Local Level in Fiji’. “While Fiji’s 2018 National Adaptation Plan outlines a total of 160 adaptation actions, there is a lack of local capacity in integrating adaptation into development planning,” Norbert Maass, GGGI’s Country Representative for Fiji, Kiribati, Tonga and Vanuatu, said. “In addition, there is often absence of clear guidelines for local climate financing of resilient investment projects at the local level,” he added.

The project aims to help attract financing for adaptation investments by building capacity and implementing effective investment planning for resilience. This will be accomplished through the development of investment plans and the completion of diagnostic and feasibility studies, which will guide the development of concept notes for investment in local-adaptation measures.

The project also focuses on sharing knowledge and strengthening increased cooperations to further enhance Fiji’s resilience to climate change. “This workshop and its focus are closely aligned with the Government’s efforts to ensure public infrastructure and localized planning efforts in Fiji take into account climate and disaster risks,” Dr. Sivendra Micheal said. Furthermore, the workshop helps to ensure the consideration of these risks are reflected and integrated into the design of public infrastructure, local planning processes, and construction guidelines,” he added.

To support implementation of Fiji’s National Adaptation Plan and Low Emissions Development Strategy, GGGI will continue to support Pacific Island Countries in the region in enhancing policies, plans, regulatory frameworks, and institutional capacities to achieve green growth outcomes.

About Mainstreaming Adaptation Planning at the Local Level in Fiji

In collaboration with the Climate Change Division (CCD) of the Fiji Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, the project aims to improve the Fiji’s climate resilience and facilitate implementation of the National Adaptation Plan (NAP) by mainstreaming adaptation at the local level focusing on four sectors: coastal resilience, resilient infrastructure including for water, coastal fisheries, and climate smart agriculture. The project, funded by the Green Climate Fund (GCF), will run for two years and conclude in September 2025.

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For more information, visit:  https://gggi.org 

(GGGI Pacific)

Trevor Galgal, Readiness Programme Officer

trevor.galgal@gggi.org

(GGGI Seoul HQ) 
Mona Laczo, Communications & Knowledge Sharing Unit Head 
mona.laczo@gggi.org 

© Photo Credit GGGI