Preparations for the most significant regional gathering on climate change this year are well underway at the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).
The Pacific Climate Change Roundtable (PCCR) will this year be held in Nadi, Fiji from 3 to 5 July and is expected to host over 100 participants from across the region and internationally.
SPREP Director General, Mr David Sheppard says the event is the premiere climate change coordination mechanism for the Pacific - "The PCCR meeting was established to coordinate climate change dialogue and networking in the region. PCCR also facilitates linking global and regional stakeholders with the national and community levels."
School children perform for participants at the 2011 Pacific Climate Change Roundtable hosted by the Government of Niue.
The PCCR coordination role directly supports the monitoring and reporting on progress made in the Pacific Islands Framework for Action on Climate Change (PIFACC) at the national and regional levels.
The meeting will strengthen regional organisations' coordination in supporting climate change priorities of Pacific Islands Countries and Territories.
This year the meeting will focus on building resilience to climate change through collaboration.
"The PCCR steering committee decided on this theme as it speaks to the Pacific emphasis on using Pacific approaches to building resilience to climate change through collaboration and partnerships between national and regional stakeholders and agencies" Sheppard said.
Sessions at the meeting will include discussions on increased resilience against climate change impacts and disaster risks, innovative tools for adaptation and mitigation, the "Green and Blue economy" and sustainable development, and climate change financing.
Group work during the 2011 PCCR in Niue
PCCR is coordinated by SPREP in partnership with the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS), the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) and the University of the South Pacific (USP) with funding provided by Switzerland, the European Union Global Climate Change Alliance (GCCA /SPC- PSIS) project, AusAID, the British Government and Germany's International Cooperation agency (Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Internationale Zusammenarbeit GIZ). The Pacific Climate Change Roundtable 3 – 5 July is held alongside the Pacific Meteorological Council 1 – 5 July, in Fiji. These take place before the Joint Meeting of the Pacific Platform for Disaster Risk Management and the Pacific Climate Change Round Table 8 – 11 July, 2013.