With a population of 420, the people have seen and experienced the effects of climate change since the 70s, affecting their way of life including food security and water supply.
Former WWF marine officer and local environmentalist Selarn Kaluwin highlighted that over the years, the villagers have tried to adapt to the impacts of climate change.
Adaptation programs In adapting to climate change, the people have built a traditional seawall using stones and dead logs for protection against coastal flooding.
He added that they’re looking at coastal rehabilitation adaptation and coastal protection to minimise the impact of sea level rise on the coastlines.
MEART is focused on a coastal rehabilitation project which will include sea wall and tree planting with a proposed funding of K40 000.
The rise in sea level is affecting the drinking water source of rural communities therefore the people have ventured into using water desalination solar powered plants to access fresh drinking water.
The desalination solar powered plant project was launched in Manus in 2016 and installed on five island villages including Mbuke where three desalination plants were installed.
Kaluwin said they’re replanting carol polyps which is an approach of managing coral habitat and creating conservation areas.
The community is also putting a lot of effort into mitigation efforts to reduce their carbon footprint by using solar power.
Kaluwin and his team are now working on a solar lighting project as part of their mitigation efforts with a proposed funding cost of K30 000.