Kiribati Green and Climate Resilient Island Development

Kiribati, consisting of 33 widely scattered islands, is highly vulnerable to climate change and impacted by rising sea levels, increasingly frequent and severe storms, permanent erosion of the shoreline, frequent seawater inundation on freshwater resources, and reduced food security. The country also faces a number of structural economic challenges given its remoteness, small market size, and limited institutional capacity. In 2013, the Government of Kiribati (GoK) adopted a Wholeof Island-Approach (WOIA) for outer islands to reduce the extreme vulnerability of climate change impacts. Led by the Office of the President, the approach is closely linked to the Kiribati Joint Implementation Plan on Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management (KJIP). The GoK has requested technical support to address implementation challenges in the WOIA, particularly to identify sustainable micro-scale income generation opportunities and to improve availability and access to green infrastructure services for the achievement of development objectives.