Water security in Vanuatu is to be improved under a US$23 million project under the Green Climate Fund (GCF).
The project to climate-proof water sanitation and hygiene infrastructure, and improve water management planning systems, will benefit more than 215,000 people according to the GCF.
Access to water security and sanitation services in the Pacific are rated lower than many other parts of the world. Climate change and disasters exacerbate the risks communities face in getting clean water and sanitation,
While a UNICEF/WHO Joint Monitoring Program put over 40% of Vanuatu’s water supply in the ‘safely managed’ category, approximately 65% of the country’s sanitation services are rated as ‘limited’ or ‘unimproved’.
Furthermore, Vanuatu is rated as one of the most vulnerable countries to disaster under the World Risk Index 2021.
Although 91% of household have access to basic drinking water, levels of bacterial contamination at the source are over 50%, according to UNICEF and WHO. Flying debris launched by severe tropical cyclones such as TC Pam, can break tanks, tap stands and pipelines. Smaller cyclones have ruined water systems by damaging hanging pipes over waterways and road crossings the organisations say, while flooding can cause landslides, altering spring source locations, breaking pipelines and contaminating unprotected springs and wells.
The resulting impact on communities includes health problems such as diarrhoea, stunting and other illnesses. In the longer term, food insecurity and poor health can negatively affect school attendance and economic opportunities.
Resources to address these problems are scarce in Vanuatu. A WHO survey found while the average national expenditure on WASH is $50 per capita (1.27% of GDP), in Vanuatu it is just $8 per capita (or 0.26% of GDP). Over 90% of Vanuatu’s WASH activities are funded by external agencies.
The new Enhancing Adaptation and Community Resilience by Improving Water Security in Vanuatu project, which was developed with support from the Pacific Community (SPC) and UNICEF, will ensure infrastructure is built to withstand the predicted impacts of climate and disaster-related events.
It will focus on empowering rural communities to plan and manage their water resources, improving rural water infrastructure and strengthening governance to address climate risks at provincial and national institutions.
“The Vanuatu Water Security project is the second large-scale Green Climate Fund project to be approved by the board of GCF in 2022; the first one being the 3.3 billion vatu worth Vanuatu Community-based Climate Resilience Project (VCCRP) approved in August 2022,” explained Esline Garaebiti, Director-General of the Ministry of Climate Change Adaptation, Meteorology, Geo-Hazards, Environment, Energy and Disaster Management and Vanuatu’s National Designated Authority to GCF.
SPC Director-General Dr Stuart Minchin added that scaling access to large-scale climate finance opportunity is an important part of their work.
“Unlocking climate finance is a cornerstone of SPC’s work to promote livelihoods, build resilience, and enhance disaster risk reduction in Pacific communities. We are thankful for this second project to be approved by the GCF in the past twelve months. However, we must rapidly increase access to climate finance for Pacific countries to ensure the region is best placed to face the brunt of climate change and the realities already being felt on the ground.
BUT OTHER PACIFIC ISLANDS STRUGGLE TO ACCESS FUND
Tuvalu took two years to access $AUD36 million from the Green Climate Fund.
That money has been put to use in three coastal protection projects on separate atolls, but transformation has been slow.
Perpetua Latasi – Director Climate Change and Disaster Department – is grateful for the money available for loss and damage which is pushed out through the Green Climate Fund.
But when countries are sinking rapidly, there is an understandable urgency in the Pacific to access money which could make a difference between life and death.
In some cases, money pledged by countries at COP meetings has taken years to reach the fund from the donor countries.
But more often, the delays have been due to the lack of capability within Pacific Island countries to access the money.
“It is not an easy matter,” Latasi said.
“There are resources available out there for different levels which government can access, and civil society can access.
“In the Pacific, [that’s] something that is lacking, and the private sector does not have the capacity or capability to access the resources they need.”
With a population of 100,000 and a very small public service, Tuvalu faces one of the greatest needs for climate change assistance.
The key, Latasi said, was cooperation between government, the private sector and civil society.
“Accessibility (to the funding) is still a challenge to many, many (Pacific) countries. For Tuvalu it is the same,” Latasi said.
“It may be difficult to see transformation taking place in the Pacific and I think it comes down to engagement with the community.”
She said governments were often the focal point in many countries for communities to access the Green Climate Fund.
“When the money comes in, it is important for the government to engage with the communities to implement the projects. If there is a good connection between government and CSOs they will be able to work together to implement projects to make sure transformations are being undertaken and delivered for people to build resilience in their communities.”
