26 March 2024, Funafuti, Tuvalu – The newly appointed Minister of Home Affairs, Climate Change, and Environment of the Government of Tuvalu, Hon. Maina Talia, this morning met with members of the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), the Commonwealth Scientific, Industrial, and Research Organisation (CSIRO) and GHD Consulting to discuss the current progress of the Tuvalu National Adaptation Plan (NAP) Project.
The team from SPREP, CSIRO, and GHD are in the country to conduct a series of stakeholder workshops to present the findings of a Climate Impact, Vulnerability, and Risk Assessment study which focused on the six priority sectors of the Tuvalu NAP – Agriculture, Coastal Protection, Disaster Management, Fisheries, Health, and Water.
The workshops have been held at the Dr. Sir Tomasi Puapua Convention Centre in Funafuti and have been well attended by representatives from each of the priority sectors. It will conclude with a national workshop that will bring together other government departments, non-governmental organisations, and civil society to learn about the preliminary findings of the assessment and the adaptation options identified for each sector.
Ms Filomena Nelson, SPREP Climate Change Adaptation Adviser, provided a brief update of the mission and its objectives, which is to collect feedback on the findings of the CIVRA which can then be taken back to Australia by the CSIRO and Deloitte teams to consolidate the final report. This report will then be used in the development of the National Adaptation Plan.
The Honourable Minister expressed his gratitude to SPREP, CSIRO and GHD for their part in the development of Tuvalu’s NAP, which is a crucial document for the survival of the country, and also a way of showing the world that Tuvalu is fighting back against the impacts of climate change.
Hon. Talia mentioned that a common problem in projects that are implemented in Tuvalu is sustainability and ensuring that the project results can still be useful after the project implementation period ends.
“Sustainability has always been an issue that I see here in Tuvalu and this is something that we should always take into account in terms of project design and implementation. How to maintain that project so that even after the implementation period, our communities can benefit from the results for the next ten to twenty years,” Hon. Talia added.
“I look forward to seeing the NAP in its final stages and also how we can best work together and foster these working relationships going forward,” he concluded.
Hon. Talia is no stranger to SPREP and to the climate change space, having worked with the Tuvalu Climate Action Network and been a part of the Tuvalu delegation to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conferences of the Partiesover the years.
Ms. Nelson congratulated Hon. Talia on his appointment as the new Minister of Home Affairs, Climate Change and Environment, and reaffirmed SPREP’s support for the Tuvalu government in working together for a resilient Tuvalu and Pacific.