PICRC partners with Pacific RISA to implement climate change adaptation in Palau

The Palau International Coral Reef Center (PICRC) has signed a project award of $269,535 funded by the US Department of Commerce: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), under the project titled, “Supporting WMO Region V and the Pacific Islands Regional Climate Assessment (PIRCA) through Climate Indicators Monitoring, Early Warning Systems Development, and Capacity Building”.  The two-year project will implement PHASE 2 of the PIRCA with Pacific Research on Island Solutions for Adaptation (Pacific RISA), the NOAA Climate Adaptation Partnership team for the US Pacific Islands region that supports communities in adapting to the impacts of climate variability and change.

PICRC’s work will be guided through close partnership with the Palau National Office of Climate Change and regional and U.S. based partners Arizona State University’s Global Institute of Sustainability and Innovation, and Pacific RISA. The goal of the project is to focus on research and engagement that enhances capacity of state-level stakeholders for climate change adaptation in Palau. The funding will also support a Senior Specialist position that will be based at PICRC and will be a member of the Pacific RISA program.

The project’s primary focus will be to prepare informational decision-support products for Palau state governments and translate technical climate information into formats understandable by non-technical audiences. Additionally, the project will coordinate and host engagements in several states in Palau to deliver evidence-based information about climate change and engage with the National Office of Climate Change to align activities with the National Climate Change Policy Update and other initiatives (such as CLEWS—Climate Early Warning Systems). Outputs and tools should help state-level stakeholders incorporate climate change stressors and hazards such as flooding, coral bleaching, wildfire, drought, or other related events into planning processes. 

“Even though climate adaptation measures need to take place at the local community level, the National and State levels play key roles in developing policies to guide adaptation. Working together with both Palau National Office of Climate Change and State governments can help reduce the current or expected impacts of climate change,” says Geraldine Rengiil, Director of the Research Department at PICRC. Communicating research and technical climate information through community, State, and National engagements will raise awareness and support informed policy decisions to adapt to the impacts of climate change in Palau.

For further information on the project contact Director of Research Department, Geraldine Rengiil at [email protected] or (680) 488-6950.