Melanesia Coastal and Marine Ecosystem Resilience Programme (M-CMERP)

Ecosystem Services and partners are currently designing the M-CMERP programme for the IUCN and SPREP under a Green Climate Fund Project Preparation Grant to “Enhance the resilience and adaptive capacity of Melanesian Pacific Island people to climate change by protecting, restoring, and managing coastal and marine ecosystems and the services they provide”. M-CMERP will provide resource, technical, and capacity support to enable holistic, long-term, effective, and efficient climate-resilient development planning, decision-making, and investments in three Pacific Island nations possessing similar socio-economic, environmental, and development profiles but having unique political and policy environments.

Programme planning and implementation will be undertaken through the prioritisation and integration of Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) in national planning and decision-making, including long-term (30-50 year) climate future climate impact and resilience scenarios and sharing information, best practices, and tools and grants (Melanesia Blue Impact Facility) for EbA and resilient development investments under the Pacific Islands Enhancing Coastal Resilience Framework. Three sub-regional programs are envisaged beginning with Melanesia followed by Micronesia and Polynesia. Feasibility studies to inform on existing capacities for EbA planning through establishing baselines on knowledge of ecosystems, mapping capacity, and scenario development.