CBDAMPIC
Cook Islands
Integrated approaches for Capacity Building
to enable the Development of Adaptation
Measures in Pacific Island Countries.
Adaptation
in Action
WHO
Community vulnerable to climate changes
WHAT Adaptation
to climate change
WHEN 2002-2005
ongoing
WHERE Aitutaki
WHY Impacts
on water resources from salt and changing
rain patterns
HOW consultations,
identification of problems and responses,
distribution of rain water tanks, conservation,
demand reduction, education, mapping,
planning, policies
The CIDA (Canadian International Development
Agency) funded SPREP (Secretariat of the
Pacific Regional Environment Programme)
executed Capacity Building to Enable Adaptation
Measures in Pacific Countries (CBDAMPIC)
project that commenced regionally in 2002
with pilot projects in the Cook Islands,
Fiji, Samoa, and Vanuatu, had the broad
aim of increasing the ability of Pacific
Island people to cope with climate change.
The Cook Islands’ pilot site Aitutaki
was selected based on its unique almost
atoll geography, previous vulnerability
assessments, and community interest.
Using a participatory approach termed
Community Vulnerability and Adaptation
Assessment & Action (CV&A), in
a series of village based workshops the
people of Aitutaki were asked by local
trained facilitators to identify their
general problems, prioritise these, and
then focusing on climate related issues
identify and prioritise solutions to those
problems. This process consistently identified
salty poor quality and insufficient drinking
water as a priority problem, with household
and community rainwater tanks and improvements
to the main supply system as locally appropriate
solutions.
Under climate change scenarios Aitutaki
is likely to suffer increased rainfall
variability and sea level rise, with less
predictable fresh water lens recharge
and salt-water intruding into ground water
extraction galleries. The CBDAMPIC project
adaptation options implemented to address
these vulnerabilities were
Rainwater Harvesting:
Distribution of 200 2000L litre water
house hold tanks and enabling repairs
of community tanks and catchment surfaces
Management of Infiltration Galleries
and Water Mains: locate and GIS
map water infrastructure, provide meters
for monitoring through an MOW subcontract,
analysis with SOPAC, & facilitate
training & repairs
Improvement of water quality:
Water testing and monitoring with various
agencies.
Demand Management: Awareness,
conservation, plans & policies working
with Island Council and private sector.
With the end of the project in 2005,
the Cook Islands implementing agency National
Environment Service has successfully learnt
by doing a model approach for adaptation
implementation at both community level
and national level, and has received positive
feedback that Aitutaki people will be
more resilient to long term shifts in
rainfall patterns and sea-level rise as
a result of these steps forward in climate
change adaptation.
For more information on the CBDAMPIC
Aitutaki Project, please contact:
Tel (682) 21 256
Fax (682) 22 256
PO Box 371
Rarotonga
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