The Republic of Vanuatu is an island nation located in the Western Pacific Ocean. The country is an archipelago of more than 80 islands stretching 1,300 kilometres from North to South.
Vanuatu’s terrain is mostly mountainous, with narrow coastal plains where larger islands are characterised by rugged volcanic peaks and tropical rainforests. The country is located in a seismically and volcanically active region and has high exposure to geologic hazards including volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis and landslides.
Vanuatu’s national vision as per the Government’s Priority and Action Agenda (PAA) 2006-2015 is “An Educated, Healthy and Wealthy Vanuatu.” The goal of the Government of Vanuatu is to raise the welfare of its people, and main agendas for action include growing the productive sector, especially agriculture and tourism, maintaining macroeconomic balance, raising public service performance, cutting costs associated with transport and utilities and improving access to basic services such as health and education. The government is also committed to achieving the Milennium Development Goals and targets and significant progress has been made towards achieving them.
Vanuatu is one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change among the other Pacific island nations. The effects of climate change on agriculture production, fisheries, human health, tourism and well-being will have the consequences of decreasing national income while increasing key social and infrastructure costs. Climate change may affect all areas of life for Ni-Vanuatu people and impact women, men and young people in different ways.
The country has positioned itself as a regional leader in the fields of climate change and disaster risk reduction and has been widely applauded for its initiative to establish a National Advisory Board for Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction (NAB) as a means of improving coordination and governance around the two issues. Vanuatu’s implementation of the UNFCCC has progressed exponentially in recent years as government sector agencies become more organized and civil society, academic, the private sector, development partners and regional agencies have stepped up their activities in Vanuatu.
Vanuatu is committed to formulating strategies, national policies and best practices for addressing GHG emissions and making a practical contribution to the global mitigation efforts. At the same time, the country is pursuing its national and regional development priorities and sustainable development objectives. The development objectives are planned to be achieved by integrating GHG abatement efforts with other social, environmental and economic priorities.