EcoAdapt Research Team:
Brendan Mackey, Melissa Jackson, Andrew Buckwell, Wade Hadwen, Oz Sahin, Gaëlle Faivre, Rodger Tomlinson, Serena Lee, Chris Fleming, James Smart, Rod Connolly, Willow Hallgren, Susanne Becken, Johanna Nalau, Johanna Loehr and Daniel Ware.
About the project
The EcoAdapt project broadly aimed to develop the new knowledge and methods needed to help ensure that the benefits of ecosystem-based adaptation are understood and the datmethods and tools needed to inform planning and decision making are available. A key objective of the project was to provide guidance on how ecosystem-based adaptation can be integrated into policy and decision making by governments and local communities particularly in the coastal zone of Least Developed CountriesLeast Developed Countries Least developed countries are a list of developing countries that, according to the United Nations, exhibit the lowest indicators of socioeconomic development, with the lowest Human Development Index ratings of all countries in the world..
Three primary research questions guided the research:
- What constitutes an ecosystem-based approach to climate change adaptation?
- How do the differing social and economic contexts in the Pacific impact the outcomes for ecosystem-based adaptation responses in the coastal zone?
- What information and decision-making processes are required by stakeholders to adopt ecosystems when selecting climate change adaptation
Focusing on Vanuatu as the project location, an interdisciplinary and integrated approach to the research was applied to provide in depth findings to inform ecosystem-based adaptation (EbAEbA Ecosystem-based adaptation - an adaptation approach to climate- and environmental-change which primarily deploys ecosystems and ecosystem functions to mitigate risks from hazards.) in the Pacific Small Island Developing States (SIDSSIDS Small Island Developing States are a distinct group of 38 UN Member States and 20 Non-UN Members/Associate Members of United Nations regional commissions that face unique social, economic and environmental vulnerabilities.) more broadly. Given Vanuatu, as with other Pacific SIDS are facing a rapidly changing climate and ongoing capital-intensive developments, the Pacific EcoAdapt Project also aimed to identify appropriate adaptation interventions in the coastal zone.
Acknowledgements
The project was implemented in partnership with national agencies, provincial government, Council of Chiefs and local communities. This research was undertaken with the approval of a research agreement from the Vanuatu National Cultural Centre representing the Government of the Republic of Vanuatu and the local community, and under a Memorandum of Understanding between the Tafea Provincial Government Council. We are grateful for the assistance and wise guidance provided by Alan Dan in community and cultural liaison, and the Tanna community leaders and in particular the communities of Port Resolution, the Middle Bush villages of Enkatalie and surrounds for their support, collaboration and sharing of local knowledge, as well as those of Erakor lagoon and Port Vila.