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FSM Undertakes Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment of Atolls

Palikir, Pohnpei (FSM Information Services): March 15, 2010 - The FSM Government will be conducting a climate change vulnerability and adaptation assessment of relevant sectors in selected atolls in Pohnpei, Chuuk and Yap States. This assessment is a component of the FSM's obligation to report to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, as a party to this international Convention. The sectors that will be assessed include food security, marine resources, water, forest, and other issues that are relevant to these sectors. The assessment will be carried out by a team of technical experts from the FSM National and State governments, local NGOs, Pacific regional and international agencies with FSM Office of Environment and Emergency Management as team leader and supported by FSM Department of Resources and Development. GEF/UNDP provides the bulk of the funding for the trip with contributions from National and State Governments, NGOs and other external donors. Because of the limitation of funds and time, only eleven atolls will be visited by the team.

The information to be gathered in this assessment will help the FSM formulate proper responses to the impacts of climate change and will create a valuable data base in developing project proposals for adaptation and mitigation to climate change in the atolls that could target local and external sources of technical and financial assistance. The new field information will of course be added to existing ones to broaden the data base.

An important component of this trip will be sharing and exchange of information on climate change through public meetings to be held in communities on the atolls being visited. It is anticipated that such meetings would serve as forums for a two-way exchange of ideas and lessons learned from comparable communities around the world to help empower the communities to build their resilience to the destructive effects of climate change.

The trip is planned to start in Pohnpei on the 17^th of March and end in Yap on the 12^th of April. The MV Caroline Voyager will be used for transportation for more than 60 technical staff members to visit each of the selected islands for two days. Experts from different organizations within and outside the FSM including SPC (Secretariat of the Pacific Community), SOPAC (the Pacific Island Applied Geosciences Commission), the International Organization of Migration, and the Natural Resource Conservation Service will be going on this trip to assist in the assessment.