The Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change (PACC) project Solomon Islands through the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development conducted its first national awareness program from the 24th to the 28th October, 2011 during the Solomon Islands Provincial Premiers Conference in the provincial capital Taro, Choiseul.
The week long awareness congregated senior government officials, donor agencies, organisations who have prominence in the province; primary and high school students from Community High Schools and the Provincial Secondary Schools had the opportunity to learn more about the work and focus of PACC in Solomon Islands and throughout the region.
National PACC Coordinator Mr Casper Supa said the turnout was very impressive as almost every delegate from the 9 provinces participated in the event.
Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Awareness Booth
© C. Supa
"This is part of the Ministry's public awareness. The booth that was set up included information posters and brochures, PACC related quizzes on the impacts of climate change on the natural environment and food security. An awareness talk also took place with the assistance of the Ministry's technical officers."
He added, "The message we were consistently putting across is that climate change is not only an environmental issue, it is also a development issue and our people need to understand, be educated and made aware of its impact on our daily lives and especially on our agriculture productions."
Coordinator of the Event Mr Clyde Zoti said, "The students who got involved in the quiz activities found it interesting as it broadened their knowledge on the PACC Project and climate change issues in their communities and throughout the Solomon Islands."
The National Project Management Unit is proposing similar activity in the future targeting the senior government officials and provincial assembly members of the province where the PACC project sites are located in their jurisdiction.
"In this event, we would like to further our outreach to at least few high schools and involve officers from the Ministry of Environment Climate Change and Disaster Meteorology (MECDM)," said Mr Supa.
"A lesson learned from this event is that, there is a great need for the project to work closely with primary and secondary schools in terms of information sharing. This would include providing basic climate change information such as brochures, posters and other learning materials."
PACC Solomon Islands is part of the 14 member countries under the project, with the focus to enhance its adaptive capacity in the Food Production and Food Security Sector.
The PACC Project is a five year project that is planned to finish in 2013. It is nationally implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, with the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Disaster Meteorology as its National Focal Point.
Regionally it is executed by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme and implemented by the United Nations Development Program. It is funded by the Global Environment Facility and the Australian Agency for International Development with support from the United Nations Institute for Training and Research Climate Change Capacity Development Programme.