Capacity-building for Coastal Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience in the Pacific Islands

Abstract

Abstract Capacity-building for coastal climate change adaptation in the Pacific Island countries (PICs) is paramount in ensuring resilience building and sustaina-ble management of coastal resources. The Pacific-European Union Marine Partnership (PEUMP) program, through its capacity-building component, works at achieving this by supporting delivery of technical and vocation education and training (TVET) and continuing professional development programs. The PEUMP training programs focus on addressing capacity needs associated with coastal resource management in the PICs, including but not limited to, inadequate economic considerations in coastal fisheries regulations; limited capacity to support community-based coastal resource management; insufficient Pacific-relevant training and qualifications for sustainable coastal resource management through inclusive approaches; and insufficient in-depth understanding of the government’s role in com-munity and ecosystem-based approaches. To address some of these gaps PEUMP delivered TVET programs, micro-qualifications, non-formal training, and professional short courses across 15 PICs. Post-training impact assess-ments found the PEUMP training programs to have improved the knowledge and skills of participants, with more than 70 percent of the par-ticipants gaining new skills and/or knowledge, which they attempted to pass on to their colleagues. A number of lessons learned were identified through the PEUMP training programs, such as the pros and cons of deliv-ering training through virtual means within the Pacific context. The article wraps up with a set of recommendations as a way forward for capaci-ty-building in the Pacific Island region through further inclusive training, localization, and community-based approaches.