Most people living or researching in the Pacific Islands region would put ‘climate change’ as perhaps the single greatest livelihood stressor of the 21st century – a ranking that seems set to continue as this century unfolds.

Climate change covers a multitude of single stressors, principally sea-level rise, stronger tropical cyclones, and rising temperatures, each of which impacts particular aspects of livelihoods. Taken together, these present formidable and ongoing challenges to water and food security, coastal living, and economic growth. Understanding the precise nature of these challenges in particular parts of the Pacific Islands region (for not all parts are the same) is something worthy of the efforts of ACPIR members wherever they are.

Research projects

• Water security for locally relocated coastal communities in the western Pacific region
• Regenerative Agritourism Vanuatu
• Traditions of Artificial-Island Construction in the Western Pacific Islands
• Scoping study to assist in ACIAR's re-engagement in cross-disciplinary research in Tuvalu
• Our Vanua Project: Climate-smart regenerative ridge to reef landscapes for sustaining livelihoods of communities on custom land and food security in Vanuatu
• The Pacific Agriculture Scholarships, Support and Climate Resilience Program (PASS-CR)
• Supporting climate change adaptation planning in remote contexts

Vanuatu's rural communities are grappling with the impacts of climate change on their 'Vanua', as well as challenges related to population pressures, food consumption, local governance structures, leadership, and the increasing tendency to view land more as a commodity than as a vital social and natural resource. In this context, 'Vanua' represents the interconnectedness of the land, its people, traditions, customs, beliefs, values, and the various institutions established to foster harmony, solidarity, and prosperity within a specific social framework.

'Our Vanua Project' aims to use Critical Participatory Action Research (CPAR) to empower communities in Community Conservation Areas (CCA’s) to develop regenerative climate-smart plans for ridge-to-reef landscapes and food systems. The research will establish a model and engage with other non-community, higher-level stakeholders to enable multi-scaling, which will include a policy engagement process and plan to communicate the model to next users. Case studies with three communities, using an iterative and interdisciplinary approach, will build models based on local knowledge to address climate change impacts on livelihoods and food security within the CCAs. 

The project seeks to improve the well being of the people, economic benefits and biodiverse ecosystems of Vanuatu's rural communities (Vanua). Goals include improving Vanua members' health, fostering sustainable livelihoods, and empowering diverse groups for informed decision-making. The project team envision collaborative planning and management led by Vanua communities, supported by government, NGO, and private sector partners. A final aim is to influence NGOs and government departments across the Pacific to adopt a Vanua-led model, integrating traditional knowledge with current research for a novel approach to conservation.

ACPIR partnered with the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) to continue ACIAR’s capacity building work for students from Pacific Island countries undertaking postgraduate studies in agricultural fields. 

The PASS-CR program is a multi-university capacity building program providing scholarships and support to postgraduate students and academics at the University of the South Pacific (USP) and Fiji National University (FNU). Scholarships are offered in the Pacific, to Pacific Islanders, enabling scholars to research agricultural problems within the context that the solutions need to work, to build professional networks which will be relevant post-study and to remain close to family and culture.

ACPIR provides additional academic support to PASS-CR scholars and academic staff including professional development, access to the UniSC library, peer-to-peer learning, research collaboration, and higher degree research supervision training. Student work placements and career development are included under PASS-CR to build ongoing industry connections.

The PASS-CR Program aims to strengthen the Pacific agricultural innovation system through building on the strengths of Pacific universities and their regional partners.

The PASS-CR Climate Resilience program fosters these innovations by offering post-graduate students and supervisors the opportunity to link their research with leading researchers in Australian and Pacific centres of excellence in climate change resilience research.

Planned climate change adaptation initiatives are being developed with both external and endogenous resources at an increasing rate, especially in developing countries. As climate change poses growing risks to the viability of vulnerable communities, there is a growing need to identify lessons learned in the process of planning and implementing climate change adaptation strategies.

This is even more pressing for communities in comparatively remote contexts where access to national/global resources and support services is limited. This project was aimed at identifying key insights across twenty years of experience of community-based resource management and development initiatives on a remote island in Fiji. The insights gained from this project are a key contribution towards acknowledging the relevance of locally-driven initiatives that have the potential to promote a grounded approach to localised climate adaptation and sustainable development.

Reference: Medina Hidalgo,D., Nunn, P.D., Beazley, H. Svio Sovinasalevu, J. and Vietayaki, J. 2021. Climate change adaptation planning in remote contexts: insights from community-based natural resource management and rural development initiatives in the Pacific Islands. Journal Climate and Development, 13(10, 909-921.