Women will lead a new €4.8 million (around VT656 million) regional climate project launched in Port Vila to strengthen climate resilience and restore ecosystems across four Pacific Island countries.
The Kiwa Pacific CIRCLE (Pacific Community Inclusion for Resilient Climate and Ecosystems) project will support women, young people and people living with disabilities in Vanuatu, Fiji, Tonga and Kiribati to lead nature-based solutions that help communities adapt to climate change.
The three-and-a-half-year project will restore ecosystems and strengthen livelihoods through activities including mangrove regeneration, sustainable agriculture and fisheries.
In Vanuatu, ActionAid Vanuatu will implement the project in communities across Malekula, Erromango and Tanna, focusing on agroecology, climate-resilient agriculture and coastal and marine ecosystem restoration.
Pacific CIRCLE Program Manager Dr. Kish Urs said the initiative is the first of its kind to place women, alongside young people and people with disabilities, at the centre of climate action.
“This is the first project of its kind to include women as well as young people and people with disabilities in implementing nature-based solutions against climate change in the Pacific Islands. Communities will identify the challenges they face because of climate change and work together to solve them through nature-based solutions.”
Deputy Head of Programs at ActionAid Australia, Carol Angir, said the project is expected to reach around 6,000 women across the participating islands.
“We hope this project will reach approximately 6,000 women. They will work with their communities to implement nature-based solutions that strengthen ecosystems, improve food security and recognise women’s leadership.”
Speaking at the launch, French Ambassador to Vanuatu Dr. Jean-Baptiste Jeangène Vilmer said climate action is most effective when communities lead the solutions.
“Climate solutions can only be truly effective when they are driven by the people who live closest to their lands and ecosystems.”
ActionAid Australia Executive Director Michelle Higelin said the project will benefit entire communities while promoting gender equality, disability inclusion and social justice.
The €4.8 million project is funded through the Kiwa Initiative, supported by the European Union, Agence Française de Développement, Global Affairs Canada, Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
