Gilbert Islands

Line Islands

Phoenix Islands

Kiribati

<p>The project aims to strengthen climate resilience in Pacific Small Island Developing States by supporting locally led adaptation innovations through the Climate Innovation Co:Lab. It helps communities, youth, and local enterprises design, test, and scale solutions addressing climate risks like sea-level rise, droughts, and cyclones. Through stages of incubation, acceleration, and amplification, it promotes knowledge sharing, gender equality, and traditional knowledge, fostering inclusive, sustainable, and regionally coordinated adaptation across the Pacific.</p>

The Pacific Island Countries (PICs) are vulnerable to climate change impacts due to threats from coral reef degradation and ocean warming. Higher sea temperatures are degrading coral reefs and reducing the amount of reef fish available for coastal populations’ food security. Ocean warming is also driving the redistribution of tuna stocks. Many PICs rely on tuna fishing access fees for government revenue, which is essential for funding national health, education, disaster preparedness, and post-disaster recovery programmes. The redistribution of tuna towards the high seas threatens to significantly undermine government revenue, with projections of severe economic losses by 2050.

This project will build resilience in tuna-dependent economies and communities by addressing food insecurity and economic risks caused by climate change. It will achieve this by enhancing access to tuna for coastal and urban communities, strengthening national fisheries systems, and improving forecasting to manage tuna redistribution effectively. Key activities will include technical support for Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) deployment, fisher training, post-harvest improvement; policy development, improved handling, and market opportunities; and using science-based forecasts and projections to reduce uncertainty in climate change-driven tuna redistribution.

This project covers 14 PICs and uses a comprehensive programmatic approach to address food security and the economic stability of tuna fisheries. It prioritises community-driven adaptation by deploying FADs, training fishers, and involving local stakeholders in decision-making. With women’s participation actively promoted, this inclusive approach ensures adaptation measures will align with local needs and traditional practices.

GCF's Project Preparation Facility (PPF) support was deployed to help develop the project.

Local CSOs and CBOs in landscapes-seascapes around the world access grant financing and technical assistance, including capacity development and knowledge sharing to maintain and enhance their socio-ecological resilience, well-being and socio-economic conditions for global environmental benefits.

SGP-OP8 builds on 30 years of successful experience in empowering local CSOs and CBOs in community driven initiatives that have enhanced wellbeing, increased awareness and resilience, and generated global environmental benefits. With economic development pressures intensifying in the developing world and the associated rising inequalities, local communities, particularly vulnerable and disadvantaged groups are becoming increasingly marginalized. The objective of Part 1 of SGP OP8 is to engage local CSOs/CBOs in landscape-seascape approaches across the 99 participating countries, providing them access to knowledge and information, capacitating them through learning-by-doing, skills development, and delivering technical and grant assistance for interventions that enhance socioeconomic conditions and generate global environmental benefits. In line with the GEF-8 SGP Implementation Arrangements Paper, core SGP resources are to be allocated equally among all eligible countries.

The proposed strategy, elaborated through four complementary outcomes, reflects the key features of GEF Small Grants Programme 2.0, including new approaches to support youth, women and Indigenous Peoples, linking up with complementary partnerships, cooperating with the two additional GEF agencies, and leveraging opportunities with other GEF programs. SGP-OP8 will facilitate opportunities for innovation and scaling up, catalyze multi-stakeholder alliances, and leverage dialogue platforms for greater impact.

An important comparative advantage of SGP is the focus on social inclusion and vulnerable groups, including women, Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities, the elderly and youth. Expected results under OP8-Part 1 include 225,000 ha of land and ecosystems under restoration, 3,800,000 ha of landscapes under improved practices, 90,000 ha of marine protected areas under improved management, 270,000 ha of marine habitat under improved practices, and 500,000 direct beneficiaries, of whom 250,000 are women.

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Kiribati

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