Press Release - Majuro, Marshall Islands, 23 October, 2009 - The Pacific Climate Change Roundtable closed in the Marshall Islands this week.
The meeting ended with a series of outcomes to provide the way forward for the Roundtable. It also allowed for a closed discussion for Pacific islands countries to prepare for the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties in Copenhagen this December."I think it was a very successful meeting, the aim of the Roundtable such as this is to share experiences and we've heard a lot from most of the countries and international partners," said Mr. David Sheppard, the Director of the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP). "I think that having the Roundtable on this topic in the Republic of the Marshall Islands really highlighted the immediacy and urgency of the problem. While many countries are talking and talking in the negotiations process, countries like the Marshall Islands are facing the risk of loss of their livelihoods in a very immediate way. The immediacy of the problem and the need for urgent action was clear."
Specific issues of adaptation to climate change, ecosystem based adaptation approaches, financing as well as specific problems of low lying atolls were discussed, along with the assessment paper on the implementation of the Pacific islands Framework to Climate Change (PIFACC). It was recommended that there be a mid term review of the implementation of the PIFACC process. The full set of recommendations will be made available to Pacific islands countries and territories next week.
For more details please contact SPREP's Associate Media and Publications Officer at E: nanettew@sprep.org T: (685) 21929 F: (685) 20231 W: www.sprep.org