Govt eyes climate change threat

National

PAPUA New Guinea has taken its first step towards developing a national adaptation plan to outline a strategy for adapting to the threats of climate change.
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) climate change specialist,Prakash Bista said this at a workshop jointly hosted by the Climate Change and Development Authority (CCDA) and UNDP in Port Moresby on Wednesday.
Bista said as the climate was changing rapidly, PNG would likely experience higher risks of landslides, increased inland and coastal flooding, worse drought and frost conditions, salt water intrusion and hazardous sea conditions, among other effects.
“With more than 80 per cent of the population living in rural areas and more than 70 per cent of households depending on subsistence agriculture, the majority of PNG’s population remains vulnerable to weather and natural disasters.
“This workshop was to lay the foundations for a national adaptation plan (NAP) for PNG and to help all understand the essentials of adaptation to climate change and the overall NAP process,es” Bista said.
Climate Change and Development Authority managing director Ruel Yamuna said the authority was currently working with the UNDP to develop a NAP which would reduce the vulnerability of PNG to the impacts of climate change by building capacity and resilience.
The two-day NAP workshop which will end today brought together government departments, NGOs  and private sector stakeholders to review existing policies, programmes, and institutions, build upon existing successes and develop a cohesive strategy.
“We are pleased to gather some of the nation’s strongest supporters of climate adaptation together to develop a unified strategy which will help PNG manage some of the impacts of climate change.”
He said the workshop was a way forward for PNG to address Sustainable Development Goal 13 which called for climate action.
Jacob Ekinye, director of adaption and projects division of the Climate Change and Development Authority said there were many important institutions working hard to fight climate change.
“We hope that by engaging in a workshop environment, we can harness our collective power for a stronger response.
“We appreciate the support provided by UNDP to further this process to effectively come up with a god NAP that will have a long term effect.”
Following the workshop, the United Nations Development Programme  and Climate Change and Development Authority will develop a proposal for Green Climate Fund, a global fund dedicated to financing climate change adaptation projects.