14 October 2010: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank organized a workshop on “Responding to Climate Change in the Pacific: Moving from Strategy to Action,” in Nadi, Fiji, on 13-14 October 2010.

The event brought together 14 representatives of the ADB and senior representatives from international and regional agencies, development partners and NGOs. Workshop participants underscored the need to strengthen the climate policy of the Pacific region and improve the coping abilities, in terms of the natural resilience, of peoples and communities, as well as of their social and economic organizations and governance. They also addressed the importance for national governments to lead the response to climate change and their need to receive support and constructive engagement by development partners.

Noting the numerous efforts of development partners, including multilateral banks and the UN system, in supporting countries’ resilience to climate change, Tuiloma Neroni Slade, Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, underlined the need to “bring these efforts together because the key to addressing all of these issues is through collaboration.” Stressing the vast size and diversity of the region, as well as the magnitude of the climate change challenge, he called for “a common understanding of the challenges before us all and of the prospects and opportunities that are there for our collective and coordinated action.” [Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat Press Release]