Participants from three small North Pacific island countries: Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands and Palau, joined development partners last week (23-27 April 2018) to share experiences from the 2015-2016 severe El Niño drought and explore ways to work with communities to secure food and water resources ahead of the next drought.
In his opening remarks, the Team Leader, Climate Change, Energy, and Circular Economy, Delegation of the European Union for the Pacific, Mr Adrian Nicolae, emphasized the EU’s support for the Framework for Resilient Development in the Pacific.
“The EU encourages the North Pacific countries to invest in long term solutions that promote climate and disaster resilient development through the opportunities presented by the RENI project and other interventions” he said.
Officer-in-charge of the SPC Micronesia Office, Ms Maire Dwyer, noted that communities are at the heart of the RENI project as evidenced by its people-centred approach.
“This is one of the first times that SPC’s Regional Rights Resources Team and Social Development Programme have combined their skills and expertise to mainstream a rights-based approach into a climate and disaster resilience project,” she said.
The RENI project also addresses the needs of outer island communities and a panel session on “Outer island migration – a socio-economic or climate change issue – or both?” was one of the highlights of the meeting.
“Outer island people are very resilient and they have been practising a traditional and sustainable lifestyle for thousands of years,” the Secretary of the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Emergency Management, FSM, Mr Andrew Yatilman said.
It was observed that outward migration, especially to the United States mainland, increased during times of economic hardships in 1992 and 1997.
Background: The European Union (EU) – North Pacific – Readiness for El Niño (RENI) project is about communities working to secure food and water resources ahead of drought.
More information about the project is available online.