By Bradford Theonomi for Island Sun, Honiara
PACIFIC ADAPTION to Climate Change (PACC) Project completed its Vulnerability and Adaptation Assessment on the impacts of climate change on food production and food security in Ontong Java.
A team comprising of staff from the National PACC Project Management Unit, Ministry of Environment, Meteorology and Conservation, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Fisheries and local consultancies carried the assessment.
Food security and food production is the 
thematic area of the PACC intervention for the pilot sites that has been experiencing food insecurity problems associated with tropical cyclones and coastal erosion and inundation of agricultural lands, and the assessments of the food situation indicate an urgent priority for PACC Solomon Islands.
PACC Project National Coordinator Casper Supa said the vulnerability and adaptation assessment done was one of the primary aims of the project targeting especially the low lying atolls, and Ontong Java is one of the pilot sites under the project.
Supa stressed the importance of the assessment as it helps identify ways the project can proceed to the next stage of implementation on the ground.
"Moreover, it will provide valuable information that will be useful to other relevant government departments and stakeholders to see where they fit in to help address climate change in the country."
He added, the typical assessments carried out are household survey and Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA). This includes community participation in groups involved in evaluation, discussions and raising of issues affecting them in relation to climate change.
Supa said the assessment findings will be forwarded to the information steering committee responsible for the PACC project.
The committee will then deliberate on the outcomes of the findings and a final report into the assessment will be made before active approach will be done on related matters.