Climate Hazard Assessment Report

Tuvalu has nine islands: five coral atolls, three table reef islands, and one atoll/reef island. Thelandmass of only 25.3 km2is spread over an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of 749,790 km2. The population is about 11,500, of which 60 % live on the main (capital) island of Funafuti. The land massis entirely low lying with the latest reported, highest (natural) elevation level at 6.54 meters abovesea level. Communities are reliant on subsistence agriculture and fisheries which also underpin alarge part of the national economy.The purpose of this report is to summarise the findings of the assessment of the key climate hazardsimpacting Tuvalu over current and future (multi-decadal) climate change timescales, in particular asrelates to six priority sectors, viz: agriculture, fisheries, water, health, coastaldevelopment/infrastructure and disaster management. More specifically, this assessment isintended to provide science-based evidence to inform an integrated Climate Impact, Vulnerabilityand Risk Assessment (CIVRA) as part of the development of the new National Adaptation Plan (NAP)for Tuvalu funded by the Green Climate Fund (GCF). The key audience for this report is theSecretariat of the Pacific Environment Program (SPREP), as the designated GCF-ImplementationEntity for the Tuvalu NAP project, and the Government of Tuvalu through the mechanism of theTuvalu NAP Country Team. It is however expected the report also has broader utility for other keystakeholders and users of the data and information as might require technical insights around betterunderstanding and reporting of Tuvalu’s current and future climate.Whereas coastal inundation is already an issue due to high tides, storm-surges and sea level rise,other key hazards have also been identified as having material impacts on the priority and relatedcross-cutting sectors and systems for Tuvalu; both now and into the future, with the hazard extentdictated by the various global greenhouse gas emissions scenarios. Existing and future climatevulnerabilities and exposure exacerbate the risks and associated challenges faced by communities,thereby dictating the need for an appropriate adaptation response as part of the new NAP.

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