As part of the awareness component to the Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change Project (PACC), students of Mangaia College in the Cook Islands competed in an essay competition to help build their knowledge and awareness on the issue of climate change and how they can adapt.
Mangaia Island is a PACC Project pilot site with the focus to enhance its adaptive capacity in the Coastal Zone Management Sector.
The initiative held at the Mangaia College hall brought together over 20 senior students to share their views on climate change with the PACC Regional and National Project Management Unit.
School students of Mangaia College
Students were asked to research three questions to present an essay – what is climate change? What changes are evident on Mangaia over the last 10 years due to climate change? And in your view how do you think we can adapt?
"Dried up swamps on Mangaia today has changed the way people plant taro," presented Katherine Ruatoe aged 15.
"I am concerned that we are losing time to make a difference, climate change and its effects may be permanent if we do not educate our people today, " read Grace Matapo aged 16.
Mr Vaipo Mataora the PACC Cook Islands Coordinator said he was impressed by the level of understanding from the essays presented.
"The outcome of the competition was very good and evidently very comprehensive research was undertaken by the students."
Mr Mataora said that PACC Cook Islands has plans to continue working with schoolchildren in the Cook Islands.
Mangaia College Principal, Ms. Sue Ngatokorua said this activity helped reinforce to the students that climate change is a big issue.
"It helped make them aware that climate change is happening, and that we in Mangaia can have a role to play by changing our behaviour in order to help stop climate change and bring a sustainable environment."
In preparation for the competition, Mangaia College Principal, Ms. Ngatokorua said that students researched news articles from the recent Pacific Island Forum Leaders Meeting in Auckland, video footage of Tokelau building seawalls, and through consultation with their older family members who recalled days when seasons on Mangaia Island were predictable and cyclones were not as frequent.
Mr. Taito Nakalevu, the regional PACC Project Manager of the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) said that hearing from the students as to what they think climate change is, is a very important initiative.
"This is part of building the capacity of young people and we hope from now on to continue to slowly build that knowledge and awareness on what climate change is and how it is affecting them and their families."
The PACC project consists of 14 member countries with the focus to enhance adaptive capacity in the areas of Water Resource Management, Food Production and Food Security Sector and the Coastal Zone Management.
It is nationally executed by Cook Islands Ministry of Infrastructure and Planning, regionally implemented by SPREP in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme.
PACC is funded by the Global Environment Facility and the Australian Agency for International Development with support from the United Nations Institute for Technical Assessment Research C3D+ Programme.