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Coastal Erosion on Tegua Island, Torres Group
NIS by The Vanuatu National Advisory Committee on Climate Change Vanuatu signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at its launching in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992, and ratified it in 1993. The UNFCCC marked the beginning of global effort to stabilize the global climate system. In 1997 the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC negotiated the Kyoto Protocol, which further detailed the magnitude of reduction by developed country Parties of the climate system destabilizing agent greenhouse gases. Vanuatu ratified the Kyoto Protocol on 17 July 2001.
The National
Implementation Strategy outlines Vanuatu's national development roadmap in the
climate change front. It provides guidance to the government departments and all
stakeholders on the way forward, through a unified system of work, to maximize
sustainable development opportunities, minimize vulnerabilities of rural
population as well as to meet Vanuatu's reporting requirements to the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Scientific studies have
concluded that global climate changing and that the change is caused by
greenhouse gases, which are gases in the earth's atmosphere the absorb and
re-emit infra-red radiation (heat). The increase the concentration of these
gases has been blamed on additional emissions through human induced processes,
particularly burning of fossil fuels such as diesel, petrol, coal, and other
oils, in cars, factories and other fuel consumptive processes, as well as
through deforestation activities. The increased concentration of greenhouse
gases are enhancing the naturally occurring greenhouse effect and enabling it to
trap more heat causing the world to become warmer. Already the signs of global
warming are being felt. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the
scientific arm of the UNFCCC recently released its latest Third Assessment
Report (TAR) on the climate change, stating that the 1990s was the warmest
decade in instrumental records since 1861 with 1998 being the hottest year in
the history of instrumental record. During that year weather damages worldwide
were high. People's lives were disrupted, homes swept away and crops destroyed
by unprecedented droughts, floods, storms and fires. Many renowned citizens of
on the planet, including Dr. Godwin Obasi, Director General of the World
Meteorological Organization (WMO), recognize the seriousness of the climate
change issue, stating it is now "the most environmentally challenging issue
of our time".
IPCC The IPCC TAR states
that the earth’s surface temperature has increased by 0.6oC ±
0.2oC over the 20th century (1), and further predicting
temperature increase to range between 1.4-5.8oC over the period
between 1990-2100. Their analysis on the resulting effect shows that Sea Levels
are likely to increase between 0.11-0.77 meters and extreme events would become
a common feature, particularly intense precipitation, and more hot days, likely
to bring in heat waves. Thus, a lot depends on
the success of national, regional and global programmes where Governments, Non
Government Organizations and the Private Sector are taking action to reverse the
human induced climate change. The reversal action can only
be achieved by reduction of fossil fuel combustion in factories, power stations,
all fossil fuel dependent machines, such as cars, planes, ships, etc. According
to the IPCC a 60 - 80 percent reduction of greenhouse gases is required to
stabilize the climate system. In the Kyoto Protocol though, the Developed
Country Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
are only required to reduce their emissions by 5% below their 1990 levels by
2008-20012, the first commitment period. This is hardly enough to stabilize the
global climate. Scientists also warned that even with immediate reduction of
greenhouse gases the climate is likely to take centuries to stabilize. While talks are
continuing internationally, actions are slow in coming and some of the world's
biggest polluters are disinterested in the process. Thus climate is most likely
to continue to change and the resulting shifts in the global environment and
inundation of low coastal land areas are most likely to occur. An unfair situation is
emanating where small island states will be the first and the hardest hit by
climate change, though their contribution to the cause of global warming is
insignificant. With small climate sensitive economies and many low-lying areas,
small island states' ecosystems and peoples wellbeing will be at the frontline
of climate change impacts.
A community Village in Tegua Island (Torres) whos slowly sinking. Water intruding their Houses during high tide. For Vanuatu, the
national socio-economic development is likely to face serious adverse
consequences from the impacts of climate change. Already the costs of climate
related disasters have become a recognized burden on national development. Among
them, tropical cyclones Uma, Anne and Bola that hit Vanuatu during 1987-1988,
caused a major disruption to peoples lives, killing 50 people, sinking 40
coastal trading vessels, massively damaging the copra and tourism industry, and
destroying properties valued at approximately 152 million US dollars (2). In
1999, rainy tropical cyclone Dani caused infrastructure damages (mainly roads
and bridges), particularly on Efate Island, and accrued some 800.000.000 vatu in
repair costs ((2) Unpublished reports from the Department of Meteorological
Services). Droughts have been known to
cause water stress in many small islands resulting in significant decrease in
food production, increase in livestock mortality, and inducing heat waves and
its subsequent stress related diseases. During such times natural forests are
threatened by the possibilities of wild fires. The foreseeable adverse
impacts of climate change is likely to exacerbate these climate related disaster
costs, presenting a greater challenge for national policy makers, the private
sector and, particularly, the vulnerable local communities. These challenges
call for a unified approach in dealing with climate change as the impacts are
foreseen to be cross-sectoral and potentially accumulative in nature, affecting
agricultural production, quantity and quality of water resources, coastal zone
and offshore fisheries, health, coastal settlements and infrastructures and the
tourism sector.
Land Slide on Paama Island (Photo by Nelson) Thus, the development
of the National Implementation Strategy (NIS) on Climate Change by Vanuatu
demonstrates a commitment and a way forward in bearing her fair share of the
worldwide effort to combat climate change. The Government of Vanuatu recognizes
the greater benefits in acting now, and the importance of institutionalizing
appropriate sustainable development structures, which shall facilitate an
integrative approach to meet both the immediate and longer-term needs necessary
for improving the standard of living for all her citizens. The National Implementation
Strategy on Climate Change realizes that: ¨
Vanuatu can not bear the full costs of addressing the
issues of her national mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions and adaptation to
climate change programmes. Opportunities for financial assistance under the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change financial mechanism, the
Global Environment Facility (GEF), and bilateral and multilateral assistance are
necessary for the implementation of most of the activities detailed in the NIS. ¨
Effective national effort in addressing climate change
concerns depends largely on the success of human resource development
initiatives (training programmes), institutional maturity and effective science
- policy interactions. ¨
Adaptation is an on-going process over this century and
beyond and requires Government, Private Sector and Non-Government Organization
commitment. The process should be pursued in light of the sustainable management
plans of Vanuatu, and for the benefit of the local communities in the longer
term. ¨
Public and community awareness and participation is
requisite for an effective national effort to address climate change. ¨
Mitigation of anthropogenic Greenhouse Gases is
important for countering the current trade imbalance due to importation of large
quantities of fossil fuels. ¨
Through further research and improved documentation and
dissemination of information, training and mainstreaming initiatives, Vanuatu
will be in a much better position than she presently is, to put in place
measures to reduce vulnerability and to foster adaptation to climate and sea
level change, as well as mitigating GHGs. ¨
The time lag between cause and effect of human induced
change on environmental systems should not becloud the significance of pursuing
sustainable development practices at all levels.
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