Barriers to effective adaptation and resilience planning in the Pacific: an information management perspective

There is a growing appreciation in the Pacific of the important role played by climate change data and information management in effective adaptation and resilience planning, with a number of regional bodies and PICTs moving towards addressing this issue through policy. In support of this process, the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)-funded Pacific iCLIM project has worked with the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and the Governments of Fiji, Tonga and Vanuatu to identify regional and national-level barriers to climate change data and information management in the Pacific.

Based on a prior situation analysis carried out by the iCLIM project, barriers were identified and characterised as either:

• Policy Barriers - related to a lack of supportive government or institutional policy or strategy.
• Institutional Barriers - related to a lack of institutional champions, key roles or partnerships.
• Operational and Human Resource Barriers - related to a lack of documented or formalised processes being implemented to support solutions, as well as staff roles and skill sets to carry out operational activities.
• Information and Communication Technology Barriers - related to a lack of appropriate einfrastructure and IT systems.