Page 34 - Islands Business February 2023

Climate Change Community Outreach

PALAU ORGANISATION MAKES A

SMALL FUND GO A LONG WAY

By Sera Tikotikovatu-Sefeti lost or unidentifiable, and therefore laws aren’t able to be
enforced because there is no form of identification.
The people of Palau are still picking up the pieces that “Then in terms of the terrestrial sites, it’s really the
Super Typhoon Surigae left behind in 2021. Coupled with the sedimentation and the erosion that occur when it’s monsoon
impacts of climate change, including ocean acidification, season, there is heavy rain that takes a lot of these sediments
flooding, and coastal erosion, the longer term impact could be down the streams into our ocean, which then kill the life in
devastating for the small island nation. the ocean,” she says.
But the awarding of a US$150,000 grant to the Palau Pro- While there is still some outstanding work under the grant,
tected Areas Network (PAN) is helping to improve the lives of much has been achieved says Petrus. PAN partnered with the
Palauans. Ebiil Society, to carry out all the wildfire mitigation trainings,
The Disaster Recovery Grant has seen PAN work within its and watershed management programs.
network in all 16 of Palau’s states to develop and implement A five-year strategic plan will also be finalised soon.
mitigation strategies, build capacity, and develop a strategic While it is a big job for a small team, they are taking it as a
plan. learning experience, and the workshop they conducted with
Noting this achievement, USAID Senior Development Advisor, key stakeholders was a great platform to be able to share
Michel Glees, told attendees at a recent grant awards spot- ideas with technical partners, discuss the challenges, and plan
light event in Suva, “I won’t make light of the challenges the for the future.
Pacific Islands are collectively facing.”
Glees noted that the U.S. support, through the Climate Pacific American Fund (PAF) now open for opportunities
Ready Project, “has been working with target Pacific Island PAF was established in 2020 to provide grants to a variety of
countries to support governments in achieving climate change new and local partners in order to assist Pacific Island commu-
adaptation goals and becoming more climate resilient in ways nities in adapting to the negative effects of climate change.
that are country-driven, coordinated, inclusive, and equi- PAF has an allocated budget of US$35 million for 2020–2025,
table.” and as of September 2022, they have received 249 concept
Under the grant, PAN’s focus is on watershed manage- papers and 44 full applications.
ment, and wildfire mitigation and control measures, as well Deputy USAID Senior Development Advisor, Patrick Bower,
as developing a public education and community outreach says they have developed new ways of evaluating applica-
campaign. tions.
PAN’s project coordinator, Leah Whitten Petrus, says the “We’ve built-in options for co-creation to occur during the
organisation faced a few challenges in meeting its deadlines grant negotiation process, and we are committed to deliver-
on the U.S. grant, due to supply chain issues exacerbated by ing grantees not just with funding but with high-value techni-
the pandemic. cal assistance that promotes and enhances their long-term
“I’ve seen in Palau that one of the biggest challenges is growth and sustainability plans,” Bower says.
finding people who are qualified and capable of carrying out “This includes providing grant compliance and capacity
these types of things, so in Palau, there’s only a handful of building support, as well as customised services such as mar-
organisations or individuals who are qualified and capable of keting and partner matchmaking,” he adds.
carrying out these types of things,” Petrus notes. With US$3.3 million available for local organisations, PAF
“So the development workplan that would lead to imple- has now officially opened and is accepting applications for
mentation of this project took time, I believe it was summer- their Year 3 grant cycle, encouraging locally owned and in-
time that they started pulling out these requests for proposals novative solutions.
for a lot of deliverables,” she says. Bower notes, “This next round, we want to see more in-
The first major deliverables is to procure and install marine novative, locally led solutions come through our pipeline, this
buoys. These buoys are indicators of marine protected areas, is a chance to try something completely new or scale up an
but due to typhoons, they are either lost or scattered. “The existing project that has been proven successful.
40 buoys purchased have already been cleared by customs “It is rare that I get to pass out cheques to organisations I
and will be installed in multiple locations over the next few think are doing amazing things at the local level. Please take
months,” she explains. advantage of this opportunity and consider submitting a solu-
“Those specific sites were heavily hit by our recent typhoon tion to this call,” he urges.
Surigae, so they don’t have any markers at the moment,” she PAF will provide 12- to 20-month grants up to $1,000,000,
says, “and unfortunately that is probably the most delayed depending on the range, and the deadline for the application
aspect of the project.” is March 31, 2023.
Petrus continues, “With strong winds during these monsoon
seasons and threads of storms coming our way, a lot of time editor@islandsbusiness.com
the buoys that are markers for the conservation areas are

34 Islands Business, February 2023