SECTOR LEVEL
ENGAGEMENT ON
CLIMATE CHANGE
Brian Dawson
Principal Adviser, Climate Change
Secretariat of the Pacific Community
Outline
• Understanding what climate change means
for you
• Why engaging at the sector level is
important
• How to move forward from here
Is Climate Change an Important Issue?
• Significant progress in understanding climate
change has been achieved in the last decade
– Recent SPC report on fisheries impacts
– Still many gaps in our knowledge
• What does this mean for the fisheries sector?
– Do we need to adapt and what can we do?
– When do we need to adapt and what will it cost?
• Much more needs to be done to get the level of
detail required to develop adaptation responses
Engaging at the Sector Level
• National versus sector response plans
– NAPAs, NAP, UNFCCC, etc
– What do you need to know about these?
• Essential to know what to do in your sector
– This is where the rubber hits the road
– Fisheries important for economies and food
– Bottom up approach to add detail to national
planning approaches – put ‘meat on the bones’
• You must understand and own your
adaptation strategy and approach
What to do from here?
• Follow-up support to assist you to define a CC
strategy/plan is essential
– SPC and others can help (coastal, oceanic,
freshwater, aquaculture?)
• A well thought out systematic approach is best
– Do it right from the start and take your time
– Key message: DON’T PANIC!!
• Well structured adaptation plans and
investment needs will attract money
– Programmatic vs project by project approach
THANK YOU