NEWS

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is providing a $24.25 million grant to help Papua New Guinea (PNG) build up its resilience and responsiveness to the impacts of climate change.

The project grant, from ADB’s Strategic Climate Fund, will help PNG’s Strategic Program for Climate Resilience integrate climate risk and resilience planning into development policies. It will also help PNG raise its development planning capacity, allowing the government to scale up investments in climate resilience.

The program aims to mainstream climate resilience into development planning in vulnerable communities in 21 vulnerable islands and atolls in the provinces of Bougainville, East New Britain, Manua, Milne Bay, and Morobe.

“The target areas for support were identified through a participatory process considering risk factors in the most vulnerable sectors of infrastructure, natural resources, health and agriculture,” said Marilou Drilon, Senior Natural Resources Economist, in ADB’s Pacific Department.

The project outputs include conducting climate change and vulnerability assessments and preparing adaptation plans for vulnerable communities; piloting sustainable fishery ecosystems and food security investments in some target areas; and establishing a framework for climate-resistant infrastructure. An early warning system linked to PNG’s National Disaster Center will be improved.

According to ADB’s Economics of Climate Change in the Pacific, report, PNG’s economy is likely to suffer the biggest losses in the Pacific from climate change impacts. The report estimates that severe failures in sweet potato and other agricultural crops, as well as land losses due to a rise in the sea level, and other impacts from climate change, could trigger a loss of up to 15.2% of PNG’s GDP by 2100.

ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Established in 1966, it is owned by 67 members – 48 from the region. In 2014, ADB assistance totaled $22.9 billion, including co-financing of $9.2 billion.