Re/insurance broker Willis Tower Watson has announced a project to help support the climate adaptation and financial resilience of coastal communities in Fiji and Papua New Guinea (PNG) vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, including major shock events.
The project, launched in partnership with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has been named ‘Financial tools for small scale fishers in Melanesia’ and will look to support climate resilience via risk financing mechanisms designed to provide shock-responsive funds at a local level and incentivise adaptive ecosystem management.
The Melanesian Pacific islands are described as heavily reliant on the ocean for delivering the majority of their food, livelihoods and economic activity.
The resilience of coastal communities also depends on the protective capacity of natural ecosystems and public infrastructure.
Ocean-related risk means that coastal communities are especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change, with rising land and ocean temperatures, sea-level rise, flooding, coastal erosion, and an increase in extreme weather events threatening lives and livelihoods.
For communities of low-lying atolls and the coastal areas of main islands in the Melanesian region, adaptation to climate change is a priority.
“The project will build the enabling environment for greater financial resilience through community engagement on community priorities, risk understanding, and financial and risk management literacy,” said head of WTW’s Climate and Resilience Hub.
“This engagement will inform the design of bespoke insurance products and programmes to support community-led resilience.”
