USP/EU GCCA Climate Change Adaptation Project

The USP-EU GCCA project finalized and signed in December 2010 is a 4 year project allocating 8 million Euros to meet the challenges of climate change in the 15 pacific ACP countries (Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, East Timor (Timor Leste), Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu) through Capacity Building, Community Engagement and Applied Research.

The objective of this project is to develop and strengthen the Pacific ACP countries' capacity to adapt to the impacts of climate change. This objective will be achieved through the training of local, national and regional experts on climate change and adaptation and the development and implementation of sustainable strategies for community adaptation to climate change, based on improved understanding of impacts of climate change and variability in the Pacific region. It is also expected that the project will contribute to the establishment of a network of local, national and regional specialists on climate change who will support communities, governments within PACP countries, NGOs, and regional organizations in their efforts to address the effects of climate change through a long-term, sustainable approach.

This project has three components and they are Capacity Building, Community Engagement and Applied Research components.

The Capacity Building component covers both non-formal and formal training.The non-formal training will organise capacity building workshops and training of trainers to improve the knowledge and skills of the climate change practitioners in the region.

The Community Engagement component will help about 40 communities (demonstration sites) within the 15 Pacific ACP countries to adapt to climate change. The adaptation projects realised in the communities will cover the vulnerable sectors identified in each country by the NAPA and/or the National Communication.

The research projects of the students will also be related to the Applied Research Component. The goal of this component is to provide data and tools to help with a better understanding of the impacts of climate change in the region and with the determination of adaptation strategies best adapted to these impacts.

The project is specifically supportive of the following two objectives stated in the Memorandum of Understanding of the Joint Pacific-EU Initiative on Climate Change:
•    Strengthen research cooperation and technological development on climate change and 
•    Strengthen research and development and capacity building efforts to build human capital in PACP countries to address and sustain climate change programmes in the Pacific.