Speeches
Reverend
Our chief guest, The Government of Fiji, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation;
Director Climate Change Unit, Dr Mahendra Kumar.
Representative of the Australian Government, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
UNDP Samoa Multi Country Office Resident Representative; Ms. Lizbeth Cullity
Representative of GIZ Pacific Office – Ms Marita Manly
Senior Government Officers from PICs agencies that oversee and coordinate the PACC project
PACC Coordinators
Representative from line agencies that support PACC
Ladies and Gentlemen
Dr Netatua Pelesikoti : Director - Climate Change Division, SPREP
It is my pleasure on behalf of SPREP's Director General to greet and to welcome you not to just another PACC MPR or Board Meeting but to a landmark PACC MPR and Board Meeting, as this is most probably the last one, as we take stock what we have achieved, the results and outcomes of PACC since its inception in mid-2009.
Apart from a few national coordinators such as Kosrae, FSM, Tonga and Samoa who have started with the project shortly after inception; the rest of us don't have that privilege apart from Gabor from UNDP.
Before I continue with my speech could I ask the coordinators from Kosrae, Tonga, Samoa and Gabor from UNDP to please stand up as you deserve special acknowledgement as we reached this last MPR.
You have wealth of experiences both national and regional of how we responded to the challenges of climate change through PACC, thank you.
On the outset, this is the nature of processes both at the national and regional level – staff turnover; contracts end and start, capacity changes, new ideas and views come in; projects start and end, one inherits projects mid-way or towards the end and must run with indicators and outcomes developed prior to their time – but the common thread that binds us together despite all these changes is that I believe every single one of us that owns PACC or related to PACC or friends of PACC (when we join PACC doesn't matter!) did our BEST in the given situation.
We are also the ones that are closing PACC and PACC plus and have the responsibility to wrap this flagship project successfully.
Since its inception, delivery of the GEF funds as of 30th June 2014 = USD12,403,025, a delivery of 94% of the total GEF funding. This is out of a total of USD13,125.000.
Delivery of the funds from the Government of Australia as of June 2014 = USD5,894,312, a delivery of 75% of the total AUSAID funding. This is out of a total USD7,859,082.
The total delivery as of June 2014 = USD 18,297,337, the percentage delivered was 87% of total PACC funding. Total PACC and PACC plus funding USD20,984,082
Cumulative results of the project against its strategic results framework has so far been satisfactory. This is the first adaptation project that has allowed you to carry out tangible implementation on the ground – a move away from prior climate change projects that focused on capacity building and establishment of enabling environments.
A mid-term evaluation was carried out in 2012. Recommendations considered, planned and implemented, projects in the 14 Pacific Island Countries have completed, completed and replicated, or about to complete.
Outcome 1 has been met. Outcome 1 is to effect policy changes that deliver immediate vulnerability-reduction benefits in context of emerging climate risks in all 14 PACC/PACC+ countries:
• An average of 2 policy changes have been effected at the national level per country. This has major impacts on the institutional capacities within government to address climate change as you will see in country presentations.
• 24 national policies, legal instruments (bills, acts), policy frameworks, institutional establishment strategies have been developed, amended, further amended
• 17 sector-focused strategies, frameworks and sector-based regulations, and sector-based institutions have been developed, debated and evolved as a result of the PACC project.
• 31 community development plans, guidelines, by-laws in regulating and controlling natural resource use have been developed with active participation of men and women of grass-roots communities. These plans consider climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction amongst other key sectors for the communities such as agriculture for example.
Outcome 2 - for the COASTAL countries, Cook Islands, Samoa and FSM have completed their demonstration activities. FOOD countries - Fiji and Solomon Islands have completed their demonstrations with monitoring now ongoing. PNG and Palau have just picked up their implementation. WATER countries - Tuvalu, Tonga, Marshall Islands, Niue and Nauru have completed their activities. Tuvalu, Tonga, Marshall Islands and Nauru are now moving into replication activities.
Outcome 3
Publications Completed a slew of visibility materials for the project (2009 - 2013) distributed through media campaigns, local, national, regional, international lobbying and advocacy
Completed 3 'Vital Series' documentaries - (Vital Food - Fiji, Vital Waters - Tuvalu, Vital Roads - Vanuatu) 2010-2012
Completed PACC Country Brief Sheets and folders
Completed PACC Booklets briefs targeting high-level decision and policy makers
Launched PACC Technical Report Series - Planned for min. 24 to be published in 2014
Launched PACC Experiences Series - Planned min. 22 to be published in 2014
Minimum of 2 success stories online monthly, featured on Portal, CC Matters newsletters - distributed online and published since 2012. Expected to publish minimum 24 success stories for 2014
Finalizing 4th installment - Vital Harbors - Cook Islands 2014, to be launched at the SIDS meeting in September 2014
Developing 3 Sector-Based Documentaries, 2 more country documentaries (Samoa, Tokelau)
PACC Tools Developed
Practical Mainstreaming Guide
Pacific Gender & CC Toolkit (in partnership with GIZ, SPC, UNDP, UN WOMEN, PIFS)
CBA
SEA
In summary PACC and PACC+ is impacting more than 54,000 beneficiaries (men, women, boys and girls) from 80 villages in all 14 PICTs
PACC like any other project had ISSUES. And I would like to mention a few of those issues:
There were organizational changes in PACC.
2014: Recently Fiji Tuvalu and Regional office resignations (Taito, Api and Loia). We remember with gratitude the contributions made by Taito, Api and Loia)
2013: Palau - changed IP (implementing partner) from OERC to PCCC-CRE.
2013: Finance Officer on board Regional office
2012: PNG - change of coordinator positions of NPC from Mika to James to Mika.
2009-2011: PNG institutional arrangements by government
Climate related events:
2014: Marshall Islands - northern atolls - drought
2014: Solomon Islands - flash floods
2013: Palau - Typhoon/TC Hyan
2013: Marshall Islands - Drought Emergency
2012: Samoa - TC Evan,
2012: Palau - Typhoon Bopha
2011: Tuvalu & Tokelau - severe drought
2009 - 2010 - 2012: Fiji - Inundation floods
Geological Related Event:
2009: Samoa - Tsunami
Financial and institutional risks and key questions to ask at every level:
Regional – are other regional climate change projects considering lessons learned from PACC and PACC plus?
National – Are national outcomes, lessons learned and new projects building on PACC and PACC plus? Incorporate lessons learned, issues of maintenance, and capacity building?
Has other projects capitalize on the capacity and institutional arrangements established by PACC?
Need to implement remaining activities and commit and use remaining funds in the next few months, knowledge products and participate fully in the final evaluation report
We have many acknowledgements we must make
GEF, UNDP, Government of Australia, Government of Fiji, Governments of the all participating PACC and PACC plus countries
PACC retaining consultants
SPREP staff
We'd like to thank you all for helping to make the PACC and PACC+ a successful reality.
Our chief guest, The Government of Fiji, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation;
Director Climate Change Unit, Dr Mahendra Kumar.
Representative of the Australian Government, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
UNDP Samoa Multi Country Office Resident Representative; Ms. Lizbeth Cullity
Representative of GIZ Pacific Office – Ms Marita Manly
Senior Government Officers from PICs agencies that oversee and coordinate the PACC project
PACC Coordinators
Representative from line agencies that support PACC
Ladies and Gentlemen
Dr Netatua Pelesikoti : Director - Climate Change Division, SPREPIt is my pleasure on behalf of SPREP's Director General to greet and to welcome you not to just another PACC MPR or Board Meeting but to a landmark PACC MPR and Board Meeting, as this is most probably the last one, as we take stock what we have achieved, the results and outcomes of PACC since its inception in mid-2009.
Apart from a few national coordinators such as Kosrae, FSM, Tonga and Samoa who have started with the project shortly after inception; the rest of us don't have that privilege apart from Gabor from UNDP.
Before I continue with my speech could I ask the coordinators from Kosrae, Tonga, Samoa and Gabor from UNDP to please stand up as you deserve special acknowledgement as we reached this last MPR.
You have wealth of experiences both national and regional of how we responded to the challenges of climate change through PACC, thank you.
On the outset, this is the nature of processes both at the national and regional level – staff turnover; contracts end and start, capacity changes, new ideas and views come in; projects start and end, one inherits projects mid-way or towards the end and must run with indicators and outcomes developed prior to their time – but the common thread that binds us together despite all these changes is that I believe every single one of us that owns PACC or related to PACC or friends of PACC (when we join PACC doesn't matter!) did our BEST in the given situation.
We are also the ones that are closing PACC and PACC plus and have the responsibility to wrap this flagship project successfully.
Since its inception, delivery of the GEF funds as of 30th June 2014 = USD12,403,025, a delivery of 94% of the total GEF funding. This is out of a total of USD13,125.000.
Delivery of the funds from the Government of Australia as of June 2014 = USD5,894,312, a delivery of 75% of the total AUSAID funding. This is out of a total USD7,859,082.
The total delivery as of June 2014 = USD 18,297,337, the percentage delivered was 87% of total PACC funding. Total PACC and PACC plus funding USD20,984,082
Cumulative results of the project against its strategic results framework has so far been satisfactory. This is the first adaptation project that has allowed you to carry out tangible implementation on the ground – a move away from prior climate change projects that focused on capacity building and establishment of enabling environments.
A mid-term evaluation was carried out in 2012. Recommendations considered, planned and implemented, projects in the 14 Pacific Island Countries have completed, completed and replicated, or about to complete.
Outcome 1 has been met. Outcome 1 is to effect policy changes that deliver immediate vulnerability-reduction benefits in context of emerging climate risks in all 14 PACC/PACC+ countries:
• An average of 2 policy changes have been effected at the national level per country. This has major impacts on the institutional capacities within government to address climate change as you will see in country presentations.
• 24 national policies, legal instruments (bills, acts), policy frameworks, institutional establishment strategies have been developed, amended, further amended
• 17 sector-focused strategies, frameworks and sector-based regulations, and sector-based institutions have been developed, debated and evolved as a result of the PACC project.
• 31 community development plans, guidelines, by-laws in regulating and controlling natural resource use have been developed with active participation of men and women of grass-roots communities. These plans consider climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction amongst other key sectors for the communities such as agriculture for example.
Outcome 2 - for the COASTAL countries, Cook Islands, Samoa and FSM have completed their demonstration activities. FOOD countries - Fiji and Solomon Islands have completed their demonstrations with monitoring now ongoing. PNG and Palau have just picked up their implementation. WATER countries - Tuvalu, Tonga, Marshall Islands, Niue and Nauru have completed their activities. Tuvalu, Tonga, Marshall Islands and Nauru are now moving into replication activities.
Outcome 3
Publications Completed a slew of visibility materials for the project (2009 - 2013) distributed through media campaigns, local, national, regional, international lobbying and advocacy
Completed 3 'Vital Series' documentaries - (Vital Food - Fiji, Vital Waters - Tuvalu, Vital Roads - Vanuatu) 2010-2012
Completed PACC Country Brief Sheets and folders
Completed PACC Booklets briefs targeting high-level decision and policy makers
Launched PACC Technical Report Series - Planned for min. 24 to be published in 2014
Launched PACC Experiences Series - Planned min. 22 to be published in 2014
Minimum of 2 success stories online monthly, featured on Portal, CC Matters newsletters - distributed online and published since 2012. Expected to publish minimum 24 success stories for 2014
Finalizing 4th installment - Vital Harbors - Cook Islands 2014, to be launched at the SIDS meeting in September 2014
Developing 3 Sector-Based Documentaries, 2 more country documentaries (Samoa, Tokelau)
PACC Tools Developed
Practical Mainstreaming Guide
Pacific Gender & CC Toolkit (in partnership with GIZ, SPC, UNDP, UN WOMEN, PIFS)
CBA
SEA
In summary PACC and PACC+ is impacting more than 54,000 beneficiaries (men, women, boys and girls) from 80 villages in all 14 PICTs
PACC like any other project had ISSUES. And I would like to mention a few of those issues:
There were organizational changes in PACC.
2014: Recently Fiji Tuvalu and Regional office resignations (Taito, Api and Loia). We remember with gratitude the contributions made by Taito, Api and Loia)
2013: Palau - changed IP (implementing partner) from OERC to PCCC-CRE.
2013: Finance Officer on board Regional office
2012: PNG - change of coordinator positions of NPC from Mika to James to Mika.
2009-2011: PNG institutional arrangements by government
Climate related events:
2014: Marshall Islands - northern atolls - drought
2014: Solomon Islands - flash floods
2013: Palau - Typhoon/TC Hyan
2013: Marshall Islands - Drought Emergency
2012: Samoa - TC Evan,
2012: Palau - Typhoon Bopha
2011: Tuvalu & Tokelau - severe drought
2009 - 2010 - 2012: Fiji - Inundation floods
Geological Related Event:
2009: Samoa - Tsunami
Financial and institutional risks and key questions to ask at every level:
Regional – are other regional climate change projects considering lessons learned from PACC and PACC plus?
National – Are national outcomes, lessons learned and new projects building on PACC and PACC plus? Incorporate lessons learned, issues of maintenance, and capacity building?
Has other projects capitalize on the capacity and institutional arrangements established by PACC?
Need to implement remaining activities and commit and use remaining funds in the next few months, knowledge products and participate fully in the final evaluation report
We have many acknowledgements we must make
GEF, UNDP, Government of Australia, Government of Fiji, Governments of the all participating PACC and PACC plus countries
PACC retaining consultants
SPREP staff
We'd like to thank you all for helping to make the PACC and PACC+ a successful reality.