Climate change vulnerability and adaptation assessment for Fiji

All nations, including Fiji, that are signatories to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change(UNFCCC) are obliged to provide National Communications to the Conference of Parties (COP) of the UNFCCC. The COP4 stressed the need for parties to the Convention to take into account the need for establishing implementation strategies for adaptation to climate and sea-level changes. As such, Fiji is required to submit a National Communication document that shall include information on climate change vulnerability and adaptation implementation policies and strategies. The methodology used in this assessment is based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) technical guidelines (Carter et al, 1994) for assessing climate change impacts and adaptation. Firstly, the present conditions are examined and key sectors identified. Then, future climatic and non-climatic scenarios are used to examine the possible effects of climate and sea-level changes on the various sectors identified. These then form the basis for identifying possible adaptation response measures for endorsement, adoption and implementation by the Fiji government. Because of the many gaps in present knowledge, and the fact that this study is focussed only on Viti Levu, the recommendations in this report should be seen as starting point for an on-going process of vulnerability and adaptation assessment in Fij

Technical documentation on exposure-response functions for climate-sensitive health outcomes

Climate change and climate variability influence human health in a variety ofways, and it may be important for the public health sector to consider these threats.Understanding the current and future burden of climate-sensitive diseases maybenefit planning and response activities. As part of the Climate-Ready States andCities Initiative (CRSCI), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)introduced the five-step iterative Building Resilience Against Climate Effects(BRACE) Framework (Figure 1) designed to help the public health sector plan for and adapt to climate-related hazards (http://www.cdc.gov/climateandhealth/BRACE.htm).Part of BRACE Step 1 is focused on identifying potential climate impacts andassociated health effects. Although this framework is considered to be an iterativeprocess, each subsequent step builds on Step 1. Therefore, having a firm foundation,including an understanding of current risk and vulnerabilities, is key to subsequentsteps, such as estimating current and projecting future disease burden.In order to provide technical assistance and share best practices, the BRACE Methods Community of Practice (CoP) was developed to facilitate collaboration among CRSCI grantees and other partners interested in the connection between historic and future climate-sensitive health outcomes (e.g., heat-related illness [HRI], asthma, and vectorborne diseases). The purpose of this CoP is to explore methods to (1) quantify associations between climate-related environmental hazards and health outcomes, (2) incorporate these associations into projections of climate-sensitive health outcomes, and (3) develop best practices for public health agencies for assessing the future disease burden due to climate change.Publication date from document properties.ExposureResponseFunctions_508.pdf201