21 Dec 2018

Improving Tuvalu's resilience to coastal flooding

11:30 am on 21 December 2018

The United Nations Development Programme and the Pacific Community are working together to improve Tuvalu's resilience to coastal flooding.

Tuvalu - tidal surges 16x10

Photo: Supplied

The nine low-lying atolls of Tuvalu are among the most vulnerable in the world to sea level rise and the impacts of climate change.

When Cyclone Pam hit in 2015, the large waves generated swept across multiple islands in Tuvalu and displaced 45 percent of the population.

Now the government of Tuvalu, the UNDP and SPC have developed the Tuvalu Coastal Adaptation Project.

It aims to provide robust technical and social analysis to aid risk management and coastal adaptation decisions.

The project is the first Green Climate Fund project to be funded in the Pacific Islands and UNDP is the lead implementer.

Shoreline change mapping of the most threatened islands will form the most detailed, comprehensive analysis of vulnerability to marine hazards ever undertaken in Tuvalu and will act as an indispensable foundation for adaptation planning and design.

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