The freshwater resources of small island states can be classified as either "conventional" or "nonconventional." Conventional resources include rainwater collected from artificial or natural surfaces, groundwater, and surface water. Nonconventional resources include seawater or brackish groundwater desalination, water importation by barge or submarine pipeline, treated wastewater, and substitution (such as the use of coconuts during droughts) (Falkland 1999a).
Kept in vertical file collection|Source: The World's Water 2002-2003. Chapter 5: 113-131
The main purpose of the mission is to prepare, in close consultation with national counterparts, an in-depth study of the potential impact of expected climatic changes (primarily sea level and temperature rise) on the natural environment and the socio-economic structure and activities of the host country. This included the identification of response options which may be suitable and available to avoid or mitigate the expected
negative impact of climatic changes.
6 copies
Call Number: 551.69967 PRA [EL]
ISBN/ISSN: 9820401062
Vanuatus contribution to man-made global emissions of Greenhouse Gases (GHG)
is minute by international standards. Most emissions come from the combustion of
fuels for transport and electricity generation, with carbon dioxide the predominant
GHG emitted. Given the small proportion of the population with ready access to
transport and electric supplies, the importance of expanding these services for
economic and social development, and the dependence of Vanuatu on imported
World Bank Country Study Reports are among the many reports originally prepared for internal use
as part of the continuing analysis by the Bank of the economic and related conditions of its
developing member countries and of its dialogues with the governments. Some of the reports are
published in this series with the least possible delay of the use of the governments and the academic,
business and financial, and development communities. The typescript of this paper therefore has
The main topographical features of Samoa are rugged mountains of volcanic origin, surrounded by flat and rolling coastal plains. All the islands of Samoa were formed by volcanic activity. Savai'i is regarded as still volcanically active with its most recent eruption producing lava flows between 1905 and 1911. A large percentage of Samoan soils are porous, shallow and clay in texture.
Also available online|A PICCAP-GEF funded project
Call Number: 551.6 UNI [EL],302.2 GOV,VF 2682,INT-CON
Physical Description: xi, 50 p. ; 29 cm
The ten countries participating in the Pacific Islands
Climate Change Assistance Programme (PICCAP)
Cook Islands. Federated States of Micronesia. Fiji.
Kiribati. Marshall Islands. Nauru. Samoa. Solomon
Islands. Tuvalu. Vanuatu recognise the importance of
greenhouse gas mitigation and are committed to meeting
their obligations under the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
3 copies|Also online
Call Number: 551.523 ELL (EL),CLI,363.738 7 GRE,PAC 551.523 ELL
The foregoing quotations, those presented to or sanctioned by governments and inter- governmental agencies on the one hand, and those contained in magazines and newspapers (as well as in the local press and on radio) on the other hand, provide one of the contexts for the present study. The effects of such reports on island governments, officials, elders and not the least island residents themselves was, as several Tokelauans told us, one of uncertainty, bewilderment and genuine fear about the future for their families, lands and livelihood. This
Specifically the Community Vulnerability and Adaptation Assessment was conducted to make it possible for the people of Aitutaki to tell the CBDAMPIC project team what climate related
What is the nature of vulnerability and resilience to climate change at the community scale in Pacific island countries (PICs)? What approaches to climate change adaptation
Since the IPCC Third Assessment Report (TAR), understanding of the implications of climate change for coa systems and low-lying areas (henceforth referred to as 'coasts has increased substantially and six important policy-relevant messages have emerged.
Available online|(* NB these materials are also available on the workshop CDROM deposited with the IRC NBSAP workshop Nadi, Feb 2009)
Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 43 p.
During the course of this century the resilience of many
ecosystems (their ability to adapt naturally) is likely to be
exceeded by an unprecedented combination of change in climate, associated disturbances (e.g., flooding, drought, wildfire, insects, ocean acidification) and in other global change drivers (especially land-use change, pollution and over-exploitation of resources), If greenhouse gas emissions and other changes continue at or above current rates (high confidence).
Report No. 1 presents preliminary results from fieldwork conducted with the Mangaliliu Lelepa Island community in mid 2008. This case study forms one of three assessments of community-based vulnerability and resilience to climate stress in rural Vanuatu undertaken as part of a PhD in Geography.
Available online
Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 28 p.
Climate change impacts will affect social and ecological systems in complex and broad-ranging ways as technological, economic, social and ecological changes take place across regions, groups and sectors. Many of these impacts, such as impacts on ecological systems, have cascading effects on social, economic and health outcomes. In order to respond to climate change, more vigorous actions are required to mitigate emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and to adapt to unavoidable consequences that are increasing vulnerability around the world.
Available online
The vulnerability issue is relevant for drawing up a panorama of the weaknesses and the strengths of a
territory in face of natural hazards, at the crossroads of various determinants (spatial configuration,
societal cohesion, environmental sensitivity, economic diversification, territorial coherence and level
of development). In parallel, we argue that because of the numerous and partly irreducible climatic and
anthropogenic uncertainties, it remains very speculative to try to directly measure the level of
While acknowledging their diversity, the IPCC Third
Assessment Report (TAR) also noted that small island states
share many similarities (e.g., physical size, proneness to natural disasters and climate extremes, extreme openness of their economies, low adaptive capacity) that enhance their vulnerability and reduce their resilience to climate variability and change.
Available online|(* NB these materials are also available on the workshop CDROM deposited with the IRC NBSAP workshop Nadi, Feb 2009)
Call Number: [EL]
There is now a consensus that there is a discernible human influence on global climate. The form these global changes will take in the Pacific is far less certain, but the most significant and more immediate consequences are likely to be related to changes in rainfall regimes and soil moisture budgets, prevailing winds (both speed and direction) and in regional and local sea levels and patterns of wave action.
Available online
Call Number: 341.7623[EL]
ISBN/ISSN: 982-04-0194-1
Physical Description: 84 p.
Vanuatu is among countries in the Pacific region that are most vulnerable to the risks of climate change, climate variability and sea level rise. With the livelihood of its people and economy interwoven, shaped and driven by climate sensitive
sectors, the effects of climate and sea level change are already very real and pose a tangible threat to the future socio-economic wellbeing of the country.
Available online|1 copy
Call Number: [EL],551.6 COM
Physical Description: 44 p.
Tongatapu coastal zone vulnerability assessment study was conducted to examine the degree of current and future risks of projected climate change and sea level rise on the coastal zone of the main island of the Kingdom of Tonga-Tongatapu. Inundation, and flooding hazards generated by tropical cyclone storm surges are the common threats to Tongatapu coastal towns and villages because of their low-lying settings.
Irrespective of which part of the world one lives in, the environment now figures highly on most national agendas, be they economic, political or social, and among the many environmental
issues, one dominates. Global climate change hangs over all of us like the sword of Damocles, alarming because of the enormous scale of the phenomenon, our inability to delineate its exact
configuration, and our apparent incapacity to check its course.
Cook Islands holds 551.6
Call Number: 551.699612 NUN [EL],551.6
ISBN/ISSN: 9820400295
The climate of Tonga is tropical. It lies within the southeast trade wind zone of the South Pacific. Climatic parameters include rainfall, temperture. wind and sunshine hours. Tonga's annual rainfall can be defined by two seasons, the wet and dry seasons. Wet season is also known as the cyclone season and it is noticeable from November to April. Dry season runs from May to October. The wettest months are particularly January. February and March that may exceed 250mm of rainfall per month. During dry season, the amount of rainfall received per month is less than 250mm.