Vanuatu is one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to the effects of climate change. The nation is made up of mountainous volcanic islands with steep catchments and narrow coastal plains, with the country already living with the impact of climate change including increases in air and sea temperatures, rising sea levels, and extreme weather events such as flooding and tropical cyclones. Most of the population throughout the islands depend on subsistence agriculture and fishing, but these economic lifelines are being severely impacted by climate change induced rainfall patterns, droughts and sea-level rises.

This project will support highly vulnerable rural and coastal communities to increase their resilience to climate change, through targeted community and local adaptation activities in the agriculture and fisheries sectors. The project will also provide access to climate information and early warning systems at the local level. Key activities include establishing local disaster risk reduction committees; protecting and restoring 11,600 hectares of agricultural and fisheries sites; and training smallholder farmers in climate-resilient agriculture techniques and fishers in effective coastal resource management.