Regional policy development on Climate and Sea Level changes in the Pacific Region

It is a great challenge to convert scientific knowledge of climate and sea level change to information that is useful to policy makers. This process is especially important in the South Pacific where many small island nations are already facing the effects of climate change. This paper will address the following topics: the importance and priority of oceanography and science policies: the type of scientific results necessary for the policy process: whether the policy development is externally driven: communication between scientists and policy makers: and the vulnerability of small island states in the face of changing environmental conditions.