Policy Brief 2: Building Community Resilience

Building resilience in Ocean Cities of the Pacific region is key to converting challenges and risks communities face into opportunities for systemic transformation toward sustainable development. Island settlements at the nexus of ocean health, climate change and urban development will need to build anticipatory, adaptive, absorptive and transformative capacity in the face of complex stressors. The interlinked challenges and resource constraints in rapidly growing Ocean Cities in the Pacific means that the ability to absorb shocks and bounce back relevant partners and stakeholders to promote equitable opportunities for all people in urban communities to access resources and use them sustainably, and to apply standardized methods contextualized for the Pacific to assess the relative vulnerability of communities in Ocean Cities. It also recognizes the importance of promoting stronger governance regimes within urban communities, aligning these with the policies of local government, and encouraging partnerships between urban and rural communities. This second policy brief in the Ocean Cities series offers guidance in this direction

Special Report on Global warming of 1.5°C (SR15) - Chapter 5:Sustainable Development, Poverty Eradication and Reducing Inequalities

The Special Report on 1.5°C assesses three main themes: • What would be required to limit warming to 1.5°C (mitigation pathways) • The impacts of 1.5°C of warming, compared to 2ºC and higher • Strengthening the global response to climate change; mitigation and adaptation options The connections between climate change and sustainable development and efforts to eradicate poverty are discussed throughout the report. This chapter takes sustainable development as the starting point and focus for analysis. It considers the broad and multifaceted bi-directional interplay between sustainable development, including its focus on eradicating poverty and reducing inequality in their multidimensional aspects, and climate actions in a 1.5°C warmer world. These fundamental connections are embedded in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The chapter also examines synergies and trade-offs of adaptation and mitigation options with sustainable development and the SDGs and offers insights into possible pathways, especially climate-resilient development pathways towards a 1.5°C warmer world

An overview of the information presented in nationally determined contributions (NDCs) for Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu

The Paris Agreement requires that signatories develop and communicate their post 2020 climate actions in the form of Nationally Determined Contributions. This paper encompasses an overview of the nationally determined contributions communicated by the Pacific Small Islands Developing States with a focus on the four (4) Melanesian countries; Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. It identifies the gaps and challenges the nationally determined contributions potentially entail and is a contribution to the development of discourse on nationally determined contributions for the four (4) Melanesian countries. The methodology used is a situational analysis of the NDCs communicated by Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. The paper explores the questions ‘are the current nationally determined contributions communicated by the four (4) Melanesian countries consistent, comprehensive and feasible?’ and ‘what can be done to improve the information provided in these nationally determined contributions?’ The paper proposes key mitigation and adaptation interventions for NDC enhancement and is intended to be used by the four (4) countries to enhance the implementation of their nationally determined contributions

Policy Brief 1: The Ocean and the City

Ocean Cities are where landscapes and seascapes meet, where human behaviour and urban development have a profound impact on marine health and climate change. Marine and coastal ecosystems are the largest carbon sink in the world and a vital source of livelihood, employment, nutrition and economic growth in cities and islands. Yet, the capacity of these ecosystems to balance our climate, protect our coastlines, and sustain human development is acutely threatened. Marine pollution and urban run-off, unsustainable coastal development and poor marine governance, rising sea levels, ocean warming and acidification endanger the health of our ocean and erode the very foundation Ocean Cities are built on. For Pacific island settlements, the nexus between urban development, climate change and the ocean is of critical importance since most island communities are coastal, with some smaller island and atoll nations under five meters of elevation. Together with their regional partners, Ocean Cities of the Pacific islands can pioneer ocean-focused, climate resilient solutions for sustainable development. Recognizing and understanding the interconnections and interdependent futures between cities and the ocean will catalyse integrated responses to increase resilience, protect ecosystems, and meet the challenges of rapidly urbanizing island societies. This policy brief outlines the challenges of unplanned rapid urban expansion and deteriorating ocean health, urban resilience and climate impacts on Ocean Cities. Associated opportunities for ocean friendly climate responsive urban development in Pacific islands are discussed in policy briefs two and three of this series. Even if global warming is limited to 2°C, sea levels could continue to rise by over 5 meters over the following centuries, posing a serious threat to low-lying Ocean Cities of the Pacific islands as most urban areas are located ≤5 meters above sea level

Impacts of COVID-19 on agriculture and food systems in Pacific Island countries (PICs): Evidence from communities in Fiji and Solomon Islands

COVID-19 mitigation measures including border lockdowns, social distancing, de-urbanization and restricted movements have been enforced to reduce the risks of COVID-19 arriving and spreading across PICs. To reduce the negative impacts of COVID-19 mitigation measures, governments have put in place a number of interventions to sustain food and income security. Both mitigation measures and interventions have had a number of impacts on agricultural production, food systems and dietary diversity at the national and household levels. OBJECTIVE Our paper conducted an exploratory analysis of immediate impacts of both COVID-19 mitigation measures and interventions on households and communities in PICs. Our aim is to better understand the implications of COVID-19 for PICs and identify knowledge gaps requiring further research and policy attention. METHODS To understand the impacts of COVID-19 mitigation measures and interventions on food systems and diets in PICs, 13 communities were studied in Fiji and Solomon Islands in July-August 2020. In these communities, 46 focus group discussions were carried out and 425 households were interviewed. Insights were also derived from a series of online discussion sessions with local experts of Pacific Island food and agricultural systems in August and September 2020. To complement these discussions, an online search was conducted for available literature. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS Identified impacts include: 1) Reduced agricultural production, food availability and incomes due to a decline in local markets and loss of access to international markets; 2) Increased social conflict such as land disputes, theft of high-value crops and livestock, and environmental degradation resulting from urban-rural migration; 3) Reduced availability of seedlings, planting materials, equipment and labour in urban areas; 4) Reinvigoration of traditional food systems and local food production; and 5) Re-emergence of cultural safety networks and values, such as barter systems. Households in rural and urban communities appear to have responded positively to COVID-19 by increasing food production from home gardens, particularly root crops, vegetables and fruits. However, the limited diversity of agricultural production and decreased household incomes are reducing the already low dietary diversity score that existed pre-COVID-19 for households. SIGNIFICANCE These findings have a number of implications for future policy and practice. Future interventions would benefit from being more inclusive of diverse partners, focusing on strengthening cultural and communal values, and taking a systemic and long-term perspective. COVID-19 has provided an opportunity to strengthen traditional food systems and re-evaluate, re-imagine and re-localize agricultural production strategies and approaches in PICs

Impacts of COVID-19 on agriculture and food systems in Pacific Island countries (PICs): Evidence from communities in Fiji and Solomon Islands.

Funder: International Fund for Agricultural DevelopmentCONTEXT: COVID-19 mitigation measures including border lockdowns, social distancing, de-urbanization and restricted movements have been enforced to reduce the risks of COVID-19 arriving and spreading across PICs. To reduce the negative impacts of COVID-19 mitigation measures, governments have put in place a number of interventions to sustain food and income security. Both mitigation measures and interventions have had a number of impacts on agricultural production, food systems and dietary diversity at the national and household levels. OBJECTIVE: Our paper conducted an exploratory analysis of immediate impacts of both COVID-19 mitigation measures and interventions on households and communities in PICs. Our aim is to better understand the implications of COVID-19 for PICs and identify knowledge gaps requiring further research and policy attention. METHODS: To understand the impacts of COVID-19 mitigation measures and interventions on food systems and diets in PICs, 13 communities were studied in Fiji and Solomon Islands in July-August 2020. In these communities, 46 focus group discussions were carried out and 425 households were interviewed. Insights were also derived from a series of online discussion sessions with local experts of Pacific Island food and agricultural systems in August and September 2020. To complement these discussions, an online search was conducted for available literature. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Identified impacts include: 1) Reduced agricultural production, food availability and incomes due to a decline in local markets and loss of access to international markets; 2) Increased social conflict such as land disputes, theft of high-value crops and livestock, and environmental degradation resulting from urban-rural migration; 3) Reduced availability of seedlings, planting materials, equipment and labour in urban areas; 4) Reinvigoration of traditional food systems and local food production; and 5) Re-emergence of cultural safety networks and values, such as barter systems. Households in rural and urban communities appear to have responded positively to COVID-19 by increasing food production from home gardens, particularly root crops, vegetables and fruits. However, the limited diversity of agricultural production and decreased household incomes are reducing the already low dietary diversity score that existed pre-COVID-19 for households. SIGNIFICANCE: These findings have a number of implications for future policy and practice. Future interventions would benefit from being more inclusive of diverse partners, focusing on strengthening cultural and communal values, and taking a systemic and long-term perspective. COVID-19 has provided an opportunity to strengthen traditional food systems and re-evaluate, re-imagine and re-localize agricultural production strategies and approaches in PICs