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Pacific RISA and partners develop new climate science summaries for Palau and Northern Mariana Islands

Palau National Climate Assessment PIRCA Workshop contributors
Palau National Climate Assessment PIRCA Workshop contributors

Palau National Climate Assessment PIRCA Workshop contributors

To build on findings from the 4th National Climate Assessment (NCA4), Pacific RISA is currently developing jurisdictional-level climate science summaries through the Pacific Islands Regional Climate Assessment (PIRCA). Pacific RISA, in collaboration with regional partners, has been holding a series of jurisdiction-level workshops. These workshops allow stakeholders and technical experts to inform the development of the summaries for American Sāmoa, the Republic of Palau, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Representatives from a range of sectors shared their input on how climate variability and change is affecting local sectors such as tourism, ecosystems, fisheries, health, agriculture, disaster management, infrastructure planning, cultural resources, and the economy.

The first NCA PIRCA workshop was held in American Sāmoa in June 2019. More recently, on July 23, the Republic of Palau’s Office of Climate Change hosted a workshop at the Palau National Marine Sanctuary headquarters. As part of the workshop, Sustained Assessment Project Specialist, Zena Grecni, and Pacific RISA Program Manager, Wendy Miles, facilitated detailed discussions on the Palau draft climate science summary with technical contributors from the region.

July 30-31, NOAA’s Office of Coastal Management hosted another PIRCA workshop, Adaptation Planning for Coastal Communities, in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). During the workshop, Pacific RISA presented a summary of the most recent CMNI climate science research and facilitated sessions to gain feedback and input to improve the draft CMNI PIRCA climate science summary. As in Palau, sessions were structured around better understanding climate stressors, people’s experiences with climate impacts in their jobs, and the need for data and climate information to support decisions. 

Additional meetings were held with representatives from government agencies and non-profit organizations in Palau and CNMI to gain further feedback that will inform this effort.

Pacific RISA continues to utilize the NCA and sustained assessment process to support the development of a robust and inclusive regional network of scientists, resource managers, policy makers, non-profits, and local, state, and regional governments that are committed to understanding and addressing impacts from climate change.
 

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