Vanuatu Community-based Climate Resilience Project

The Vanuatu Community-based Climate Resilience Project is a proposed 8-year initiative requesting USD 27 million from the Green Climate Fund to benefit 54,000 people (20% of the population). The project focuses on closing 'adaptation deficits' by implementing tailored adaptation packages for rural coastal, rural inland, and urban/peri-urban communities. It aims to strengthen local governance through Community Climate Change and Disaster Committees (CDCCCs) and align national climate planning with local needs. The project emphasizes gender-responsive and child-centered approaches to address structural vulnerabilities, particularly for women and children, while integrating climate resilience into provincial budgeting and planning.

• Vanuatu is identified as one of the most climate-vulnerable countries, with the 2019 World Risk Report ranking it as the most at-risk country to disasters due to exposure, vulnerability, and a lack of coping and adaptive capacity.
• The project targets 54,000 direct beneficiaries, representing 20% of Vanuatu's total population, with the goal of increasing climate resilience for the most vulnerable and socially marginalized groups.
• The project proposes a total cost of USD 30 million, with USD 27 million requested as a grant from the Green Climate Fund and USD 3 million in co-financing from Save the Children, the Government of Vanuatu, and other donors.
• To address diverse needs, the project categorizes communities into three 'archetypal' types—rural coastal, rural inland, and urban/peri-urban/informal—to develop specific 'adaptation packages' across six sectors: climate-smart agriculture, fisheries, water security, disaster risk reduction, education/skills, and adaptive governance.
• The project aims to address an 'adaptation deficit' where high exposure to hazards and insecure access to services reinforce poverty, noting that some communities may never fully recover from events like Cyclone Pam (2015) due to the increasing frequency of extreme weather.
• Gender and age-based vulnerabilities are highlighted as critical, with evidence showing that domestic violence cases increased by 300% in Tafea Province following two tropical cyclones in 2011.
• The project's strategy is based on the Vanuatu Community Resilience Framework, which identifies eight preconditions for resilience, including closing adaptation deficits, accessing climate-smart livelihoods, and ensuring connected, responsive government.
• A significant gap in climate finance is noted, with the document stating that less than 10% of climate finance from dedicated funds between 2003 and 2016 was approved for locally focused projects, and only about 0.02% of total global climate flows were allocated to community-based adaptation (CBA).
• The project will be co-executed by the Vanuatu Ministry of Climate Change and Save the Children Vanuatu over an estimated lifespan of 8 years.

APA

Green Climate Fund (2020). Vanuatu Community-based Climate Resilience Project. https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/24030-vanuatu-community-based-climate-resilience-project.pdf

Chicago

Green Climate Fund. Vanuatu Community-based Climate Resilience Project. 2020. https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/24030-vanuatu-community-based-climate-resilience-project.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Green Climate Fund |title=Vanuatu Community-based Climate Resilience Project |date=28 February 2020 |url=https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/24030-vanuatu-community-based-climate-resilience-project.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greenclimatefund2020vanuatu, author = {{Green Climate Fund}}, title = {{Vanuatu Community-based Climate Resilience Project}}, institution = {Green Climate Fund}, year = {2020}, month = feb, url = {https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/24030-vanuatu-community-based-climate-resilience-project.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }