Vanuatu NAB Search
Shefa Province is one of the six provinces of Vanuatu, located in the lower centre of the country and it includes the islands of Epi, Efate and the Shepherds Group. It has a total population of 79,212people based on latest estimate by Vanuatu Statistics Office and an area of 1,455 km². Its capital is Port Vila, which is also the capital of the nation.
Epi Island is located in the northeast corner of the province. The Epi Sub-District Office, an integral part of the Shefa Provincial Government Council is located at Rovo Bay, in the Vermali Area Council.
At the time of the 2009 Census, the total population of Epi Island was 5,647 people, which includes the population of offshore Lamen Island. There are four Area Councils on Epi: Vermaul, Vermali, Varsu and Yarsu, collectively containing over 25 villages.
Epi receives an abundance of precipitation, ranging from 2.9m annually in the centre of the island to 2.2m annually on the northwest coast. The temperature on the island varies during hot and cool seasons, but averages approximately 24.9°C at the coast and is a few degrees cooler in the centre of the island.
Epi is seasonal and is warmer from November until April. Like the rest of Vanuatu, the island’s weather is strongly influenced by the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycles. During the El Nino (warm phase) the country is subject to long dry spells. During the La Nina (cool phase) Vanuatu has prolonged wet conditions. Climate change predictions suggest that the intensification of the ENSO cycle will result in more intense wet and dry seasons. While the island has been affected by cyclones in the past, cyclones rarely hit the island. The last cyclone in Epi was in 1994. Cyclone frequency is not expected to increase with climate change.
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As of the 2009 Census, the total population on the island of Santo was 39,606 people. Santo is the second highest populated island in Vanuatu, second only to Efate. Luganville, with a population of 13,167 is the second largest town in Vanuatu and is located on the southern coast of the island, approximately a 1.5 hour drive from the project site. According to the 2009 Census, the annual population growth rate for Santo is 2.4%.
As the largest island in Vanuatu, Santo has an extensive mountain range along its southern & western coasts with many large rivers and creeks extending into the uplands. The eastern coast is relatively flat in comparison and is primarily used for agricultural purposes. A large natural harbor is present in the north called Big Bay, where a significant portion of the island’s population islocated. The interior of the island is inaccessible and populated sparsely by tribes of Ni-Vanuatu living traditional subsistence agrarian lifestyles, many of whom do not speak Bislama or wear Western clothing. A majority of the offshore islands in Sanma Province are located off of the southeast corner of Santo.
There is substantial road access throughout the vast island of Santo, although there are many areas where road access is poor or there is no road access whatsoever and where communities rely only on footpaths or boats for transportation. The road from Luganville to Port Olry, which spans the eastern coast of Santo, is in excellent condition with tar-sealed bitumen and drainage provided through funding from the US government through the Millenium Challenge Corporation and was recently completed in 2011. The wide roads in the main town of Luganville are in good condition despite the need for minor repairs in certain areas and were originally built by the American armed forces during World War II when Santo served as a base for American troops.
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Malampa is one of the six provinces of Vanuatu, located in the centre of the country and consisting of three main islands namely Malekula, Ambrym and Paama. It also includes a number of smaller offshore islands – the small islands of Uripiv, Norsup, Rano, Wala, Atchin and Vao off the coast of Malekula and the volcanic island of Lopevi near Paama (currently uninhabited). Also included are the Maskelynne Islands and other small islands suck as Akam and Avock along the south coast of Malekula. The total population of Malampa Province is 36,722 (2009 census) people and it contains an area of 2,779 km².
Malekula is the most populated and developed island in the province and houses the provincial capital named Lakatoro. Malekula receives an abundance of precipitation. The temperature on the island varies during the hot and cold seasons, but averages approximately 24.9°C at the coast and is a few degrees cooler in the centre of the island. Weather in Malekula is seasonal, and warmer from November until April and cooler and dryer period typically from May to October. Like the rest of Vanuatu, the island’s weather is strongly influenced by the El Nino Southern Oscillation cycles. During the El Nino (warm phase) the country is subject to long dry spells. During the La Nina (cool phase) Vanuatu has prolonged wet conditions.
Malekula is located on active geological faults. The southeastern side of the island experienced major earthquakes as recently as the 1990s and the land, e.g. Akam Island, was reported to have subsided by up to a depth of 1 meter. There are three active volcanoes located within Malampa Province: twin peaks on Ambrym Island and one located on Lopevi Island. The entire province is at a severe risk of tsunamis and earthquakes.
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Penama Province, Vanuatu is comprised of the three islands of Pentecost, Ambae and Maewo. It has a total population of 30,819 people based on the latest Census by the Vanuatu Statistics Office and a total land mass surface area of 1,193 km². The provincial capital is located on the island of Ambae at Seratamata.
Pentecost Island is the largest and most populated island in Penama Province with an area of 490 km² and a total population of 16,843 people according to the 2009 Census with an annual population growth rate of 1.8%. The island stretches north to south a distance of around 60 kilometres with an average width of less than 10 kilometres. There are four Area Councils on Pentecost: (from North to South) North Pentecost, Central Pentecost 1 (CP1), Central Pentecost 2 (CP2) and South Pentecost, which collectively contain over 50 villages with populations exceeding 100 people. The VSO recorded over 250 communities in total living in Pentecost, with populations ranging from a single household up to 307 villagers.
Underneath the four Area Councils on Pentecost, there are 23 Ward Councils, which are collections of “nakamals” or chiefly associations. There are 190 “nakamals” on Pentecost as reported by the Penama Provincial Government Council.
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The Invasive Species Flipchart is designed to support community groups working to address the issue of invasive species in Vanuatu. These groups can include farmers, NGOs and other agencies. Government ministries, high schools, universities and colleges may also find the chart useful.
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This book is about how you can use trees and gardens together to reclaim land that has been overrun by Big Leaf Rope. This approach has many benefits. Most importantly, it will allow you to make use of otherwise wasted land, and turn it into a fertile and productive garden. Techniques outlined in this book will allow for an increased crop yield and overall profit, helping to better support you and your family. It will help to increase the variety of crops you can grow, and provide further opportunities down the road selling timber from trees. Equally, trees and wildlife that are often supressed by Big Leaf Rope will also have a chance to grow back again, helping to restore Vanuatu’s rich biodiversity. Using this technique, ongoing efforts to maintain your plot and keep it free from Big Leaf Rope will decrease, making it easier to keep your garden and surrounding environment healthy and productive. We believe that by following the approach described here, you will see benefits for your community, your environment, and even to your income. This step by step guide aims to help you in setting up your own ‘agroforestry garden’ either on your own, or as a community.
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Suva, Fiji – A major new report, Reviving Melanesia’s Ocean Economy: The Case for Action, launched today, has revealed that the ocean is a much larger part of Melanesia’s economy and future prosperity than previously understood.
Melanesia is a large sub-region in the Pacific that extends from the western end of the Pacific Ocean to the Arafura Sea, and eastward to Fiji. The region includes Fiji, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu.
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The Invasive Species Media Guide targets journalists, reporters, photographers, environmental writers and other people working within, or having an interest in, media and communication roles in Vanuatu. It aims to heighten awareness within the media and communications sector about the issue of invasive species in Vanuatu.
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The Ocean is a natural and dynamic bridge that connects continents to continents and oceanic islands to islands. It is also a bridge between the living and the dead and between people and the marine resources upon which they rely. It is the bridge of life.
Our ancestors used the sea as a passageway to move from their place of origin to where we are today. From their voyage in the sea they learned and believed that there exists a God of the sun, a God of the wind and a God of the Sea – our God. When they arrived safely to our shores they gave thanks and revered the sea as a sacred place. They built their livelihoods around it and finally established a culture of the ocean. A culture that protects and respects the God of the ocean.
In this Modern age, people have access to advanced technology and use it to explore and exploit the ocean and its resources more and more effectively and efficiently. The population of the modern age is also growing and the global and local demand to further explore and exploit the ocean resources is very high.
For the sake of humanity and all living things on land and in the sea, each atoll island, oceanic island and continent must play its part to ensure that our ocean bridge continues to function and the ocean continues to sustain life. Vanuatu is an ocean state and is geared to play its part in managing the oceanfor our people and contributing also to the planet’s future.
Vanuatu’s maritime jurisdiction comprises 98% of the nation and includes living and non-living marine resources that contribute significantly to the country’s economy, that are fundamental to the wellbeing of its citizens and are an integral part of our. While the economic potential of many of the resources in this area remains un-assessed and under-utilized, some are being overexploited ordamaged and there is an urgent need to resolve Vanuatu’s territorial disputes and maritime boundaries.
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This report assesses adaptive capacity in the Tegua island community in northern Vanuatu and examines the role of the ‘Capacity Building for the Development of Adaptation Measures in Pacific Island Countries’ (CBDAMPIC) relocation project in shaping it.
This case study illuminates the opportunities for, and barriers to, adaptive capacity in the Tegua island community in northern Vanuatu, using a Pacific-specific analysis framework developed by a collaborative effort between the University of the South Pacific (USP), the Red Cross and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC). It examines the experiences of the community in a pilot project involving relocation and water resource management as part of the regional Capacity Building for the Development of Adaptation Measures in Pacific Island Countries (CBDAMPIC) program for climate change adaptation. In particular, it examines the impacts of the CBDAMPIC pilot project in shaping adaptive capacity in this community.
This report was supported by funding from the Australian Government under the Pacific Australia Climate Change Science and Adaptation Planning (PACCSAP) program.
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This annex report captures and describes the various community engagement tools and approaches utilized while facilitating community based vulnerability assessments and CCAPlanning activities for the project “Adaptation to Climate Change in the Coastal Zone in Vanuatu” known as VCAP (Vanuatu Coastal Adaptation Project). V-CAP is a 5-year climatechange adaptation project supported by the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF) managed by the Global Environment Facility. The Government of Vanuatu is implementingVCAP through partnership with UNDP.
Component 1 of VCAP, which consists of integrated community approaches to climate change adaptation, is the largest component of the project and will be implemented in all 6provinces of Vanuatu. This component will focus at both the community and Area Council levels. In 2015, this component focused on implementation in three provinces: Tafea, Shefaand Penama provinces (*see Project Board Meeting minutes from June 18, 2015 for more information).
The VCAP Project Board Minutes from June 18th, 2015 contain reference to the Project Board endorsing vulnerability assessment and CCA planning missions with communities onPage 3: “DG Napat states that in the interim, Request for Service from UNDP may be necessary to start initial engagement with communities, as the government has beenpreoccupied with early recovery efforts from TC Pam and political instability. When Project Implementation Unit is hired and functioning within PMU, it will be easier to take the lead inthis NIM but it is important not to fall behind now”.
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With this project IUCN Oceania seeks to address the key challenges of mangrove management to increase the resilience of the Pacific people to climate change and improve livelihoods.
THE PROJECTWith the MESCAL project IUCN Oceania seeks to address the key challenges of mangrove management to increase the resilience of the Pacific people to climate change and improve livelihoods. By working with five Pacific Island Countries (Fiji, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Tonga) IUCN Oceania will promote an adaptive co-management approach as well as the restoration of mangrove ecosystems.
BACKGROUNDPacific Islanders are at the forefront of climate change; experiencing its varying impacts on coastlines, biodiversity, economy and most importantly on livelihoods. The conservation of mangroves and associated ecosystems is a key natural adaptation strategy and mitigation measure to climate change. Mangrove ecosystems provide goods and services highly valued by the people of the Pacific. However, this unique ecosystem faces continuing threats from overharvesting, degradation and land reclamation.
SITUATIONProtection of mangrove ecosystems will in turn safeguard the livelihoods of Pacific Island communities, especially for coastal dwellers. Weak governance, disconnect between formal and traditional management systems, limited baseline information, weakening traditional management, lack of awareness and limited capacity are the key challenges of mangrove management in the Pacific.
DONORGerman Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) under its International Climate Initiative.
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A Report for the MESCAL Project, IUCN Oceania Office, Suva Report No. 13/24 May 2013.
This report documents important findings from the program of works for 2012-2013 directed by Dr Norm Duke with each of the five MESCAL country teams involving their training, support and consultation, prescription of methodology and approach, as well as the compilation and preliminary assessment of data received.
This report adds to previous progress reports summarising new findings and observations about biodiversity, structure and condition of mangrove ecosystems in the five MESCAL countries, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands. These new data specifically provide for the derivation of estimates of living biomass and preliminary carbon values in all five countries. While prior reports addressed biodiversity of mangrove plants and the discovery of new species for each country, this report focuses on the biomass and potential carbon stores present in key vegetation units of mangrove habitats of the region.
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Le changement climatique est l'un des sujets dont on parle le plus dans le monde parce qu'll affecte le quotidien de tous les habitants de la planete, y compris ceux qui vivent dans les iles du pacifique. Les scientifiques disent que lechangement climatique pourrait rendre les saisons chaudes plus longues et amener beacoup de pluies durant la saison humide.
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The Forty-Seventh Pacific Islands Forum was held in Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia from 8 – 10 September 2016 and was attended by Heads of State and Government of Australia, the Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Nauru, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. The Solomon Islands was represented by their Deputy Prime Minister, the Republic of Fiji, Niue and the Republic of Palau by their Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Kiribati by a Special Envoy. The Forum Leaders’ Retreat was held at FSM Congress Chamber in Palikir on 10 September 2016.
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Ocean warming may well turn out to be the greatest hidden challenge of our generation. This report represents the most comprehensive review to date on ocean warming. To build up the report, leading scientists from around the world were invited to join with colleagues to contribute individual chapters. It contains many recommendations from the scientists on capability gaps and research issues that need to be resolved if we are to tackle the impacts of ocean warming with greater confidence in the future. The focus of the report is on gathering facts and knowledge and communicating this to show what is now happening in and to the ocean. There is purposefully much less focus on political ramifications. We hope that this report will help stimulate further debate and action on such issues.
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This report uses these generic methods to provide recommendations for climate resilient development in the PICs in the following sectors: coastal protection, flood management, water resources management, protection of infrastructure against changes in temperature and precipitations, protection of buildings against cyclone winds, and adaptation in the agriculture sector.
A new World Bank report has highlighted the need for Pacific Island countries to better incorporate climate and disaster risk management into planning and development, while proposing priority investments and policies to boost resilience to the year 2040.
Launched in Fiji today at the Symposium on Climate Change Adaptation in the Pacific Region, Pacific Possible: Climate and Disaster Resilience considers the economic costs of climate adaptation, and proposes adaptation strategies for areas including infrastructure and buildings, coastal protection, water resources, flooding and agriculture, with special consideration given to the unique challenges of atoll islands.
“Climate change and extreme weather events have the potential to adversely affect coastal zones, water resources, health, infrastructure, agriculture and food security,” said Denis Jordy, Senior Environmental Specialist at the World Bank. “And if new investments are not properly planned, they risk exacerbating the impacts of natural hazards and climate change by increasing the vulnerability and exposure of those at risk.”
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Minister of Climate Change’s Preamble
It is with pleasure that I hereby submit to Parliament the 2015 Annual Report of the Ministry of Climate Change Adaptation (MCCA), Meteorology & Geo-Hazards, Energy, Environment and National Disaster Management Office.
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process of preparing the 2015 Annual Report has provided a very valuable opportunity for the Ministry team to look back to the year that has passed, reflect on achievements and challenges but also analyse issuesso as to be better prepared and resourced to pre-position the Ministry and Vanuatu for the challenges that will no doubt arise in the new year of 2016.
In 2015 the nation of Vanuatu faced two extreme events: the Category 5 Cyclone Pam and then the strongest El Nino since 1952. These two occurrences tested the capacity of a new Ministry established in December 2013. Government of Vanuatu Ministries and agencies worked together with international and regional partners, donors and Non-Government Organisations to provide critically important expertise. The strong support of the public and private sectors in Vanuatu and internationally must be recognised. A world-wide FLASH Appeal provided valuable financial assistance to response and later, Recovery and Reconstruction Programs.
Cyclone Pam provided valuable lessons for all stakeholders – particularly the natural resilience and knowledge of our people who over hundreds of years developed traditional coping mechanisms to face natural disasters. We realised that the National Disaster Management Office needed better resourcing and operational frameworks – human, legal, policy, technical and budgetary – so that this office is more strongly positioned to carry out its critically important coordination role. As the world’s most vulnerable nation to natural disasters, we must ensure we are better prepared for future emergencies.
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Climate Adaptation Methodology for Protected Areas (CAMPA) Coastal and Marine is designed to build the resilience of protected areas and associated ecosystems based on a thorough understanding of their vulnerability to climate change and a participatory agreement on the best ways to respond to these threats. With minor adjustments the methodology could be adapted to terrestrial and freshwater protected areas.
CAMPA does two main things:
• It provides practical and scientifically sound guidance to facilitate climate change vulnerability assessments of coastal and marine protected areas (CMPAs).
• Based on an understanding of that vulnerability, it then facilitates decisionmaking on the most appropriate adaptation actions.
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The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF)2013-2021 is designed to safeguard the Earth’s biologically rich and most threatened regions known as biodiversity hotspots. It is a joint initiative of Conservation International (CI), l’AgencieFrancaise de Developpment (AFD), the European Union (EU), the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the Governemnt of Japan, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the World Bank. CEPF is a unique funding mechanism in that it focuses on high-priority biological areas rather than political boundaries, and examines conservation threats on a landscape scale. It is from this perspective that CEPF seeks to address conservation needs through coordinated regional efforts. Its fundamental goal is to ensure civil society is engaged in biodiversity conservation. CEPF’s US$9 million investment in the East Melanesian Islands hotspot was launched in 2013 and will continue until 2021. As we near the mid-term phase of CEPF’s investment in EMI (2017)
Vanuatu has been identified to be within the East Melanesian Islands Hotspot The hotspot is one of the most biologically important regions in the planet in terms of species richness and especially endemism. CEPF’s investment will be targeted where it can make the greatest and most sustained contribution to the conservation of globally important biodiversity.
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