Habitat for Humanity New Zealand will launch a new climate readiness programme this month, supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s newly announced climate finance funding.
The programme is designed to work alongside in-country partners, Habitat Fiji and ADRA Samoa, and Pacific communities with locally led workshops as they adapt their homes and community infrastructure to growing climate risks to maintain economic, social, and cultural values.
Group Chief Executive Officer for Habitat for Humanity New Zealand Alan Thorp says, “The Pacific Islands are living with the effects of climate change now,”
“Homes, land, traditional ways of life, and livelihoods are under threat. Alongside our local partners, Habitat is looking forward to implementing our climate programme in Fiji and Samoa so Pacific communities are able to adapt now, not react later.”
The US National Science Foundation reports that despite contributing just 0.03% of global greenhouse gas emissions, the small island states of the Pacific are confronting the brunt of climate change’s impacts, such as sea level rise, worsening cyclones and their subsequent effects, flooding, and other extreme weather events.
To prepare for these shelter risks, Habitat’s programme upskills community participants in identifying hazards in their environment and supports them in planning and developing projects to minimise these risks. The programme also supports improvements in water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities and builds financial literacy to enable communities to manage resources to improve their housing and shelter.
Habitat has experience working in the Pacific for the past 30 years. Its climate readiness programming will help Pacific communities adapt to changes in everyday life in the coming decades.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has committed NZD $1.3 billion in climate finance for 2022–2025, of which Habitat New Zealand has been awarded NZD $1.94 million for an initial two-year programme.
