Tag Archives: climate change

Joint national action plan for Kiribati

Kiribati will soon have a national integrated action plan on climate change and disaster risk management.

Kiribati National Experts Team leading the development fo the KJIP with members from regional organisations. Photo: Contributed.

Kiribati is adapting the process for developing a joint national action plan for climate change and disaster risk management (JNAP) by developing a Kiribati Joint Implementation Plan (KJIP) to facilitate the implementation of the recently endorsement Disaster Risk Management Plan and the National Framework for Climate Change and Climate Change Adaptation Framework.

Through the KJIP cohesive actions to improve resiliency to climate change and disasters will be prioritised for action consistent with national development goals.

The KJIP development is led by the Government of Kiribati, which has established a core group of national experts from the various sectors including civil society and community groups.

“The KJIP process is nationally led and we’re pleased to be working with the national expert team,” said Dr Netatua Pelesikoti, the Director of Climate Change, Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).

“The process is equally important as the product (the KJIP) as the process demonstrates participatory approaches, careful assessment and analysis of vulnerability, prioritisation and costing. However, the implementation expected to follow once the plan is completed and approved, is highly anticipated by the experts group and the people of Kiribati”.

This view was also raised during a meeting with Kiribati Parliamentarians where Parliamentarians called for a focus on implementation, in particular, the need to ensure that national and community capacities are strengthened to enable timely responses to climate change impacts, thus reducing disaster risks.

SPREP is leading a regional support team made up of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, GIZ, United Nations Development Programme and Australia AID. The team was in Kiribati during the first two weeks of February to start the process.

As a key part of developing the KJIP, stakeholder and community views and development aspirations are collected and discussed together with a literature review that includes studies and reports on climate change impacts, exposure to hazards and vulnerability.

It is expected that the Kiribati Joint Implementation Plan will be finalised by the end of this year.

Climate Change Public Hearing 2013

MEDIA RELEASE (April 2013, Office of The President)

A new chapter in the history of Kiribati will unfold this Friday when a first-ever National High-level Public Hearing on Climate Change gets underway at the nation’s capital, Bairiki.

Post-event story available now

Themed as “Let’s work together to build national resilience against Climate Change impacts”, the public hearing will see panel members address the nation on the issue of climate change as well as respond to questions from the public.

‘Like us’ on Facebook to view pictures of the event
Listen to His Excellency’s interview with Radio Australia’s Pacific Beat on the morning of the event
Download the Climate Change Official Programme (PDF, 628KB, print double-sided for best results)
Who are the panel members for the Public Hearing?
Background information on Parliament Select Committee on Climate Change
Parliament of Kiribati website

Initiated by the Parliament Select Committee on Climate Change, whose one-year tenure comes to an end in August this year, the panel will involve key figures in the nation namely the Head of State and President, Heads of Faith-Based Organizations, Head of Gender-based organizations, Leaders of Political parties, Representatives of Youth, Independent Local Scientists and regional scientific organizations and, concerned citizens.

“The overarching aim in conducting a public hearing as such is to keep citizens informed and to consolidate a national shared hope and vision for a better future of the people of Kiribati while adapting to the impacts of climate change,” MP Rimeta Beniamina, Vice Chairman of the Select Committee on Climate Change and an MP from the island of Nikunau, said.

Mr Beniamina added the public hearing hopes to enhance the understanding of the general public about the issue of climate change and their responsibilities as citizens to complement the Government’s efforts to implement adaptation programs and also to encourage national leaders to jointly work together to prepare their people to be able to adapt to the impacts of climate change.

The National High-level Public Hearing on Climate Change will be aired live on national radio and will see panelists delivering their respective statements on the issue and responding to questions from the general public on the ground, through telephone calls and also via a Facebook page.

The public hearing is on Friday, 19 April 2013 at the Bairiki Square starting from 9.30 am and will be broadcast live across Kiribati on BPA National Radio.

The general public is invited to participate in this national event. For those who can’t attend, voice your questions on our Facebook page (NOW CLOSED) and a select number will be submitted to the panel on the day.

Education key to Kiribati’s future

Australia Network Pacific Correspondent Sean Dorney’s article on Kiribati President His Excellency Anote Tong’s recent interview with Australia Network’s Newsline and joint statement with Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Bob Carr to the UN Security Council …

The President of Kiribati says education is the key to the future of his people threatened by climate change.

President Anote Tong told Australia Network’s Newsline that if some of the Kiribati population has to relocate he wants them to qualify as skilled migrants, not climate refugees.

President Tong made a joint statement to the United Nations Security Council with Australia’s foreign minister, Bob Carr.

“We are asking for assistance from Australia to try and put this across… to the international community, to make the point that… climate change for some countries is a very serious security issue,” he said.

President Tong said his government’s purchase of land in Fiji is an investment for the future.

Read the full story at ABC News Online

Human health in a warmer future

What effect will climate change have on health in the Pacific? ABC News Australia environment journalist Sarah Clarke is exploring this question in a five-part series for the ABC…

With climate change forecasts showing the Pacific will face hotter days and more extreme weather in the future, climate scientists and medical authorities say the implications could be serious for human health.

The (Australian) Federal Government’s Climate Commission is predicting a warmer Pacific will produce more heart attacks, strokes, exhaustion and more heat-related deaths.

Pacific countries are already copping the brunt of climate change, with water and food problems causing displacement.

The report also says there is the potential for a greater spread of disease transmitting mosquitoes as rainfall patterns change.

“It’s not only mosquitoes that will thrive in warmer and wetter conditions but it will also be influenced by their natural host populations before they spill over into humans,” he said.

Read the full story at abc.net.au/news

Indifference and effects of COP18

Indifference and effects of COP18: have we missed the boat on climate change? Psychotherapist Rosemary Randall calls for more focus in an opinion piece for The Guardian …

Psychotherapists aren’t fond of making predictions. The individual psyche is too full of conflicts, too labile and too contrary to make prediction a rewarding move. Is sustainability any easier to predict? I doubt it. There are as many conflicting currents in the bigger psychological landscape as in the individual one.

The interaction between political events and individual psyche is complex. Although public events can seem remote, we experience them emotionally – with anxiety, amusement or disgust for example, depending on what is featured and what we allow to affect us. These moods feed back into the actions of powerful players and produce what I call a public psychological landscape. There is the sense of an overall terrain – desert, pasture, mountain or wilderness – populated by features that come and go as you travel through it.

If sustainability is the landscape, then within it we will find competing moods, broad sweeps of feeling, forbidden subjects and repressed desires. We might trudge through miles of unspoken anxiety, knock up against pockets of paranoia, rest for a while in the sunshine of optimism or struggle in a fog of indifference. The landscape looks different, depending on where you are standing. And the weather can change without warning.

Missing the boat

Three years ago, in December 2009, my son returned home from Copenhagen. He had been at COP15 with UNFairplay, the organisation he and some friends set up to help small countries who could not fund enough delegates to attend the flood of meetings or digest the mass of paper. He worked with the delegation from Kiribati, a small island in the Pacific, already experiencing the effects of climate change. He was pale, exhausted and quiet, the failure of the conference etched on his face. The train to the ferry port had been delayed. “We nearly missed the boat,” he said. For Kiribati, there was no “nearly”. COP15 was the day the world missed the boat and the political and psychological landscape changed.

This year, news from COP18 at Doha has been sparse. Even the Guardian hasn’t reported the outcome in its print edition (though its online coverage has been good). In the three years that separate these two conferences, the public appetite for news of climate change has vanished. The psychological landscape appears to be one of indifference. Concern seems to have evaporated. Lobbyists for a third runway and for new roads express confidence. Oil exploration companies are chipper and unashamed. Among the middle classes it is OK to fly again.

Read the full article at guardian.co.uk

Kam na mauri and welcome

On behalf of the Government and people of Kiribati I am pleased to welcome you to this website, which is designed to bring you information and updates on our situation in Kiribati.

You will be aware that our small country is facing critically difficult times with regard to climate change issues & its impact on our future. We hope the content and links from this site will assist you in understanding more clearly our situation. I am also pleased to refer you to the short video clip “Kiribati – A Call to the World” here on this page which very much represents the concerns and feelings of our people.

We thank you sincerely for your interest, and refer you to this site, or the contacts detailed here, if any further information is required. In closing may I offer our traditional Kiribati blessing—Te Mauri, Te Raoi ao Te Tabomoa—may good health, peace and prosperity be with you all.

Anote Tong
President of the Republic of Kiribati

Secretary-General visits Kiribati

Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma outlines new areas of Commonwealth assistance and support to Kiribati after his recent visit…

Kiribati is a highly valued member of the Commonwealth. The purpose of my first official visit to Kiribati was to have direct exchanges with the leadership as to the country’s priorities, the challenges it faces, and to identify the partnership which the Commonwealth can offer.

I was honoured to be received so warmly during my visit, and I depart with great appreciation and a deeper understanding of Kiribati’s aspirations and the challenges posed by geography, human and natural resource constraints, and climate change.

My discussions covered many areas of the Commonwealth’s work as a trusted and collaborative partner in advancing our core values of democracy, development and respect for diversity.

During this visit, I had the honour of calling on the President, HE Anote Tong, and Vice-President and Minister of Internal and Social Affairs Hon Teima Onorio. I also met the Minister of Communication, Transport and Tourism Development Hon Taberannang Timeon; Minister of Public Works and Utilities Hon Kirabuke Teiaua; Minister of Commerce, Industries and Co-operatives Hon Pinto Katia; and Minister of Environment and Agricultural Development Hon Tiarite Kwong.

I also had meetings with former President Hon Teburoro Tito, and the Speaker of the House of Assembly Hon Taomati Iuta.

Read what the Secretary-General had to say on climate change and Kiribati at thecommonwealth.org

Diarrhoea cases to rise

Climate change exacerbates public health problems in Tarawa and throughout Kiribati.

The incidence of ciguatera poisoning, diarrhoeal disease, malnutrition, and vectorborne diseases, such as dengue fever, rise as a result of increased temperatures and changes in rainfall.

Increased rainfall will likely result in a reduction in the overall rate of diarrhoea due to improved water quality and availability (though flooding may also lead to groundwater contamination). Decreased rainfall—particularly if it resulted in an increase in droughts—would increase the incidence of diarrhoea, as water shortages exacerbate sanitation problems.

However, the projected rise in temperature may increase the incidence of diarrhoea, primarily by increasing the likelihood of spoiled or contaminated food. Sea level rise could also increase the incidence of diarrhoea by decreasing the size of the freshwater lens, exacerbating overcrowding conditions, and disrupting sanitation and water supply.

Ciguatera poisoning ‘highest in the Pacific’
Risk of Dengue Fever to increase

Diabetes rise linked to climate change

Global food inequality is driving type 2 diabetes in the large numbers of people who are malnourished on the one hand and obese on the other, Tim Smedley reports for The Guardian …

The link between diabetes and climate change is highlighted in a new report from the IDF and supported by Bupa, which aims to put non-communicable diseases (NCDs) high on the international agenda.

Climate change is expected to cause people to migrate, increase slum growth, and makes resources scarce.

Rapid migration and urban slums also lead to food shortages and malnutrition which increase the risk of diabetes. In a cruel irony, the world’s poorest one billion people account for just 3% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions but experience the most devastating impacts of climate change. Small island states are at especially high risk and are disproportionately affected by diabetes, with rates of more than 20% in the adult populations of Pacific islands such as Kiribati, Samoa and Tuvalu.

It is a self-perpetuating problem. Where diabetes is caused by sedentary lifestyles, argues the report, there is a rise in GHG emissions from food production and car travel: “A population in which 40% of people are obese requires 19% more food energy than a population with a normal BMI distribution.”

Read the full article at guardian.co.uk

A call to the world

The tiny Central Pacific nation of Kiribati will be among those first affected by the twin effects of climate change and sea level rise. It’s people have been described as “the most vulnerable of the vulnerable.”

Please watch this eloquent and powerful presentation of what this small nation is facing, as its culture, lifestyle, and very sovereignty is under threat.

It is an appeal to the World and COP 15 from those most affected – the Government & people of Kiribati.