Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) of Vanuatu

1. Agriculture and food security

2. Sustaiable tourism development

3. Community based marine resource management

4. Sustaiable forest management

5. Integrated water resource management Out of the 5 top priorities, Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF) financing has been sourced to further elaborate and implement priorities 1 and 5 while a concepts for 2 is being developed. Health, which is among the 6 priorities was not selected for concept development however given interest from key implementing agencies, financing from the LDCF has been secured for concept development and implementation. The NAPA further recognised that the following core issues were relevant to all priorities and should be an integral part of any proposed activities; a. Awareness raising at all levels b. Capcity building including institutional capacity c. Research and development d. Promotion of appropriate traditional knowledge and pracitces e. Technology Transfer f. Education and training g. Mainstreaming of climate change and disdaster risk reduction h. Consideration of marine and terrestrial Biodiversity issues The National Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction Policy identifies 5 key adaptation strategic priorities and associated actions to further enhance the national adaptation efforts and build resilience across sectors. These strategic priorities from 2015 to 2020 include the need for:

1. Climate Change vulnerability and multi sector impact assessments

2. Integrated climate change and disaster risk reduction

3. Community based adaptation

4. Loss and damage

5. Ecosystem based approaches Please see annex for detailed information. Support Needed Financial The Climate Public Expenditure and Institutional Review (CPEIR) report for Vanuatu states that Vanuatu has been receiving a lower share of adaptation funding than most other Pacific island countries. To adequately adapt to the impacts of climate change, starting now, the annual cost is estimated to be 1.5% of a country's GDP. For Vanuatu, this equates to an investment of US$9.5million per year. This is substantially higher than the amount of development funding currently being spent on projects that have Adaptation as their principal objective. In coming years, greater levels of donor funding are likely to be available for climate change adaptation as the economies and budgets of Developed Countries recover from the Global Financial Crisis. As well, as a Least Developed Country, Vanuatu is likely to benefit from the United Nations goal of promoting at least half of these countries to 'Developing Country' status by 2019. To be in a better position to take advantage of CC/DRR funding that will become available, Vanuatu is establishing strong, efficient and sustainable governance arrangements, and demonstrating a track record in maintaining these arrangements. Ministry of Climate Change is also targeting National Implementing Entity (NIE) accreditation, which will also give it direct access to funding from the Adaptation Fund and potentially other sources of funding for climate change such as the Green Climate Fund. Technical A Technology Needs Assessment (TNA) for Vanuatu is needed as a matter of priority to look at implementing a country driven process for identifying and analysing the priority technology needs for mitigating and adapting to climate change. Carrying out the TNA could provide an opportunity to realize the need for new techniques, equipment, knowledge and skills for mitigating greenhouse gas (GHGs) emissions and reducing vulnerability to climate change. Capacity At the policy and legislative levels a number of legislative changes are required to reflect the current climate and disaster governance arrangements and clarify the full range of climate and disaster risk responsibilities. Among these are the National Disaster Management Act and the Vanuatu Meteorology Act. At the corporate level the Ministry of Climate Change needs to develop a long term cooperate plan to guide the implementation of its responsibility and also to further guide the agencies under its remit. Agency level cooperate plans are already in existence but lack strong links between the various departments. At the institutional level the need to streamline and strengthen the NAB and its Secretariat is a priority. At the human resource level, no systematic assessment has been carried out to understand the required skills set, existing skills set and the gaps for implementing CC/DRR initiatives. No human resource development plan has been developed. Most training is ad hoc in nature and not linked to a formal professional development strategy. At the information and knowledge management level, systems exist but are not fully utilised. This makes information sharing and learning of lessons difficult. Further, Vanuatu continues to face several barriers as it strives to meet its UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol obligations. The various obstacles include insufficient institutional and financial resources; lack of research data; information management problems and; inadequate human resources and infrastructure. More must be done to build awareness both within the Government and the community about Vanuatu’s vulnerability to climate change. There is also an apparent need to feed information, knowledge and technologies to enable improved decision-making and environmental management. Monitoring and The monitoring and reporting on the adaptation activities of the INDC Evaluation will be conducted at the Ministry level by the CCDRR PMU in close collaboration with the M&E unit of the Prime Minister’s Office, as is the current practice with projects being implemented under the oversight of the NAB. This will ensure that achievements in the implementation of the INDC priorities are appropriately captured and reported on in the Government's Annual Development Report prepared by the Prime Minister's Office. Fairness, Equity and Ambition Fairness, Equity and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) has been recognised by the Ambition United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as the most vulnerable countries to face the effects of climate change. Vanuatu being a part of SIDS share similar challenges. Vanuatu anticipates many impacts from climate change on its society, economy, environment and human health and Vanuatu through the Ministry of Climate Change is actively cooperating with United Nations agencies and international partners to assess these effects and develop appropriate plans through climate change adaptation and mitigation. Vanuatu’s adaptation plans and programmes intends to support progress towards the country’s national development priorities and the goal of environmental sustainability, by ensuring that a focus on reducing vulnerabilities and risks is incorporated into planning and activities across all sectors of the economy and society. Vanuatu is also keen to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels for the energy needs. The National Energy Road Map, which sets out a clear strategy and action plan for the development and use of alternative and sustainable energy sources, has an ambitious goal of reducing the country’s high reliance on imported fossil fuel by meeting 65% of its electricity needs from renewable energy sources. Vanuatu’s past emissions have been miniscule and have only become locally significant in the past decade or two. In general development issues dominate rather than climate change mitigation. Vanuatu is a small developing nation with absolute levels of CO2 eq emissions very small at under 0.0016% of world emissions. The country is also one of the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change and has much to lose should the worst predictions from increased temperature levels eventuate. As such the country will do its best to mitigate but would require financial, technical and capacity building support to do so. Annex National Adaptation Programme of Action - Priorities  Agriculture and food security  Development of resilient crop species including traditional varieties  Land use planning and management  Water resource management  Sustainable forest management  Marine resource management and aqua culture  Climate change and infrastructure  Sustainable livestock farming and management  Integrated coastal zone management  Sustainable tourism development  Vector and water borne disease management Strategic Priority – Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction Strategy Actions Climate Vulnerability and Enhance efficiency and effectiveness of adaptation action Multi- Sector Impact and design action to address explicit climate impacts in Assessment specific sites through:  Vulnerably assessments and risk mapping using multi-hazard approaches as the basis of all adaptation action, conducted prior to implementation with communities and in a participatory, free and informed way  Adaptation, appropriate to local communities, being a research priority for all actors, including scientific research, farmer-based trials, traditional indicators and observation systems and demonstration sites  Selecting and prioritizing actions based on criteria including effectiveness, efficiency, efficacy, and cost effectiveness using internationally recognized tools (e.g. environmental impact assessment, cost benefit analysis) and locally utilized processes  Adaptation decisions being based on relevant data and information using already available data, statistics and processes  Data and information on adaptation being shared with and incorporated into centralized systems (eg NAB portal) Adopt multi-sectoral approaches and address complex impacts through:  Considering adaptation information from multiple sectors and knowledge systems to avoid maladaptation that may result from a narrow, single sector adaptation focus  Considering urban and rural adaptation issues equally and fairly in national adaptation planning and action based on vulnerability criteria Integrated Climate Change Relevant initiatives and programs must include an integrated Adaptation and Disaster Risk climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction Reduction approach through:  Strategic documents at all levels including both climate change and disaster risk elements in an integrated and compatible way (e.g. government policies, provincial plans, community strategies, municipal plans, donor project designs, budget frameworks)  Government agencies, CSOs, private sector and academia taking responsibility for identifying their adaptation priorities and incorporating these into their policy, strategic documents, and budgets to implement adaptation and disaster risk reduction action  Initiatives endorsed by NAB adhering to an integrated approach  Formal and non-formal education programs and curriculums incorporating an integrated approach Community Based Adaptation action in communities addresses real, current Adaptation and priority vulnerabilities through:  Community vulnerability assessments and comprehensive profiles being undertaken prior to project implementation  The community being fully engaged in, participate in and lead vulnerability assessment process in an appropriate language (e.g. colloquial languages, Bislama) Build on and strengthen traditional and customary systems by:  Building on and working within traditional knowledge and values so that these systems become more robust, with linkages and synergies with scientific knowledge, thereby avoiding maladaptation Adaptation is owned and driven by communities through:  Adaptation implementation plans and actions being developed and driven by the community itself, following its own planning processes that are context specific  Existing community engagement, governance and implementation structures and traditional systems being adhered to and strengthened through adaptation initiatives Ecosystem Based Support ecosystem function and services through action and Approaches planning by:  Embedding action and planning within an ecosystem, strengthening all interrelated parts and components (social, biological, economic)  Prioritizing action incorporating threats and solutions from the ridge to the reef of island communities (e.g. waste management)  Adaptation action building on and incorporating taboos, conservation areas and locally managed areas and protects vulnerable habitats and ecosystems and carbon sinks will be prioritized  Quantifying and building into adaptation planning and budgeting the value and benefit of ecosystem services  Identifying and minimizing negative impacts on the environment from adaptation activities under Vanuatu’s legislation and international practices  Developing advocacy and educational programs for all stakeholders at all levels around the value of ecosystem based adaptation  Implementing sound land use planning approaches and policy documents (eg Land Use Planning Policy, Foreshore Development Act, Physical Planning Act)