Climate change is the most pressing ecological crisis
impacting the Pacific region.
Like Aotearoa New Zealand, other countries in the Pacific are particularly vulnerable to
climate change because we have small, low-lying, and geographically dispersed islands.
We also live in coastal communities which means we are more exposed to changing weather patterns
and systems, and it can affect access to food and income.
Like here, people in Vanuatu are still recovering from cyclones. One of those people helping with the recovery is VSA volunteer Jan van de Vliet. He was working in Vanuatu to support the Department of Water Resources to design safe and secure drinking water systems, but he quickly pivoted to be part of the team assessing community water needs after two cyclones and two earthquakes hit Vanuatu in March 2023.
“Volunteers play a vital role in helping communities to adapt to the devastating impacts of the climate crisis.”
Our climate change goals with partners are to ease the impacts of climate change and support communities to prepare and recover from climate-related natural disasters.
Coastal Conservation in Timor-Leste
Country: Timor-Leste | Partner: Blue Ventures Conservation
Coastal fishing communities in Timor-Leste are significantly impacted by climate change and Cecilia Lay is volunteering with Blue Ventures Conservation there to provide essential ecological monitoring to help communities make decisions about how they adapt to changes caused by climate change.
