The Kiwa Initiative presented as a relevant funding opportunity to reinforce climate action in the Indo-Pacific region
Ahead of COP 26, the EU-Indo-Pacific High-Level Conference on Climate Change (7-8 October) aimed at enhancing climate resilience ambition in the Indo-Pacific region.
Dr Paula Vivili, Pacific Community’s (SPC) Deputy Director-General Science and Capability, was given the opportunity to present the Kiwa Initiative as a fund to strengthen climate change adaptation.
He presented the objectives and ambitions of this regional funding opportunity, as well as SPC’s involvement in providing technical support to local communities in addressing climate change issues.
As part of the implementation of the new EU Strategy for cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, the EU-Indo-Pacific High-Level Conference on Climate Change (07-08 October) gathered policy-makers, community leaders, experts and the wider public to exchange views on the regional impacts of climate change and challenges for adaptation.
The event provided a unique opportunity to understand how countries can work together to maintain the 1.5 °C objective within reach and to which extent local actors could promote investment in enhancing resilience and adaptation on the ground.
To answer these questions, the Kiwa Initiative was presented as a relevant funding opportunity to reinforce climate action in the region. Financed by the European Union, France, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, it aims at strengthening the resilience of 19 Pacific countries and territories’ (PICTs) ecosystems, economies, and communities.
Implemented by the French Development Agency (AFD), with the technical support of SPC, the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), this initiative includes a long-term strategic plan to ensure continuity of the activities initiated bilaterally by these donors. It is recognised as one of the few projects to exclusively finance Nature-based Solutions in the region.
“Although the Kiwa Initiative is still at an experimental stage to some extent, it will save time and increase efficiency for every Pacific country once it reaches a cruising speed. With a total budget of €41million (US$47 million) to tackle climate and biodiversity challenges in the Pacific, it will create the conditions for growth and opportunity.” explained Dr Paula Vivili, SPC’s Deputy Director-General Science and Capability.
To achieve this regional goal, SPC is committed to supporting its Member States in mainstreaming sustainable projects. In May 2021, the first Kiwa Initiative’s project was signed and granted to SPC’s Land Resources Division. A few months later, the 2022 call for regional ideas has been launched, SPC being committed to support its Member States in the submission and implementation of new projects.
In the long term, the Kiwa Initiative will provide a common framework to ensure that Nature-based Solutions can fully support Pacific countries to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. By developing each country’s assets and expertise and bringing all stakeholders together into a community of common values, it will contribute to an inclusive, caring and resilient Pacific.
This story was published at SPC on 12 October 2021, reposted via PACNEWS.
