Enhancing Road Resilience in Pacific Island Countries : World Bank Assisting Adaptation to Climate Change
Pacific island countries are experiencing higher temperatures, rising sea levels, and extreme weather that is increasingly frequent and intense. The resulting damage has likewise been extreme. Between 2012 and 2015, for example, losses from three c...
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| Format: | Brief |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2016
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2016/01/25798707/enhancing-road-resilience-pacific-island-countries-world-bank-assisting-adaptation-climate-change http://hdl.handle.net/10986/25009 |
| Summary: | Pacific island countries are
experiencing higher temperatures, rising sea levels, and
extreme weather that is increasingly frequent and intense.
The resulting damage has likewise been extreme. Between 2012
and 2015, for example, losses from three cyclones ranged
from 11 percent to 64 percent of GDP in Samoa, Tonga, and
Vanuatu. In many of these countries, primary roads and
critical infrastructure are adjacent to the coast, and the
majority of the population lives within 1 kilometer of the
sea. Expected climate change effects will place coastal
assets and communities at a higher level of risk.
Governments are well aware of these challenges. Today, more
than one-fourth of the World Bank’s transport commitments
support mitigation and adaptation to climate change (a share
that is growing), and its work with Pacific island countries
is one of the ways it is responding to the rising demand for
climate action. The demand from Pacific island countries in
recent years has focused on road resilience, and early
lessons will provide a strong basis for further progress. |
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