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Grants help FSM cope with climate change, enhance livelihoods
POHNPEI, Federated States of Micronesia—The U.S. Agency for International Development’s Pacific American Climate Fund has awarded grants to two organizations in the Federated States of Micronesia to enhance the resilience of the island communities against the impact of climate change and improve their livelihoods.
Marine and Environmental Research Institute of Pohnpei will receive $343,590 for its initiative, Climate Change Adaptation and Income Diversification in Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia, to boost the income-earning opportunities for Pohnpei’s 35,000 inhabitants, and the College of Micronesia – FSM will receive $556,264 for its Climate Resilient Adoption and Mainstreaming project to educate community members of climate-resilient agricultural methods on the island of Yap.
Communities in the FSM are among the most environmentally vulnerable groups in the Pacific Islands, suffering from flooding, loss of biodiversity, and soil degradation. The new projects aim to help the residents better manage risks related to changing weather patterns and adopt strategies to preserve their environment and improve income opportunities.
From left, Maurice Knight, regional office director, USAID/Pacific Islands; Simon Ellis from MERIP; Dr. Murukesan Krishnapillai from College of Micronesia-FSM; Hugues Ogier, deputy chief of mission, U.S. Embassy Kolonia. Ellis and Krishnapillai display their certificates of awards for their respective organizational grants from the USAID PACAM Awards. (U.S. EMBASSY KOLONIA)
At the launch event held in Pohnpei on March 25, 2015, the chargé d’affaires of the U.S. Embassy, Hugues Ogier, said, “We work hand in hand to respond to the threat of climate change and find solutions to best cope with it. It is a pleasure to celebrate with you today this assistance provided by the American people to the people of Micronesia.”
With the USAID support, the first grantee, MERIP, a humanitarian, non-profit organization, will work to confront the decreasing fish habitat and coral cover on the coast of the Island of Pohnpei by supporting small-scale aquaculture ventures, including farming of giant clams, sponges, and coral. In addition, it will train farmers on growing and marketing aquaculture products to reduce their dependency on the diminishing fish stocks and implement four pilot projects to protect shorelines, water quality and coral health.
The second grantee, the College of Micronesia – FSM, will mitigate climate change impacts, including soil degradation and lack of freshwater, through training communities in small-plot intensive farming, livestock integration, community gardening and agroforestry, based on a model successfully developed in Gargey Village in Yap. It will also work with government partners to develop a Coastal Management Policy for the FSM to better manage risks related to the changing climate.
The Pacific-American Climate Fund is a grant-making facility funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development that assists 12 Pacific island countries to reduce long-term vulnerabilities associated with climate change. PACAM awards grants to civil society organizations in support of climate change adaptation measures and related “co-benefits,” such as livelihoods enhancement, improved health, food security, improved health, disaster risk reduction, or sustainable natural resources management. USAID funding is separate from Compact funds. (U.S. Embassy Kolonia)
