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Project Leader	Dr. Jon BARNETT School of Anthropology, Geography and Environmental Studies University of Melbourne 3010 Victoria AUSTRALIA Tel: +61-3-8344-6339 Fax: +61-3-8344-4972 Email: jbarn@unimelb.edu.au Dr. Mark BUSSE Department of Anthropology University of Auckland PB 92019 Auckland  NEW ZEALAND Tel: +64-9-373-7599 Ext 8535 Fax: +64 9-373-7441 Email: m.busse@auckland.ac.nz
Funding	US $46,800
Participating countries	Australia, Fiji, Germany, Guam (USA), New Zealand, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tuvalu, United Kingdom, Vanuatu (late withdrawals from Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Solomon Islands)

Introduction/Background
Pacific Island Countries have been identified as being particularly vulnerable to climate change by both the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It is well established that island communities are extremely vulnerable to extreme events such as droughts, cyclones, floods and storm surges. Most analysts and modellers consider that these are increasing in intensity as a result of climate change, and droughts and floods are expected to increase in frequency as well. Successful adaptation to climate change requires understanding and enhancement of people's strategies to prepare for, respond to, and recover from extreme events. In short, the human dimensions of weather-related disasters in the Pacific are not well known, but are of increasing importance due to climate change.

This project has improved understanding of the ways in which local communities prepare for, manage, and recover from the climatic perturbations that are expected to increase in frequency and intensity with global climate change. With APN funding, researchers and policymakers from across the Pacific attended a workshop in Samoa, Dec 4-6, 2001 to discuss local strategies and practices that support resilience to climate variability, as well as policy challenges in the area of adaptation to climate change. An outstanding feature of the project was the involvement of participants with long-term knowledge of places and people that have experienced climate variability in the past.

Outline of activities
The project commenced with the preparation of a short briefing paper for participants, the identification of participants, and the writing of abstracts and short papers by participants in advance of the workshop. These abstracts and papers were distributed to participants before the workshop began. The workshop was held in Apia, Samoa, on December 4-6, 2001. The formal opening of the workshop took place on Tuesday afternoon, December 4, and was followed by the first session of the workshop which consisted of papers on past, present and future changes in climate in the Pacific region. This was followed by small group discussions of social impacts of climate change, health issues, development issues, and governance and policy challenges. The aim of these small group discussions was to identify key issues and expectations for the remainder of the workshop. On Wednesday, December 5, there was a session discussing the concepts of resilience and adaptation and their application in practice. This was followed by a session on the experiences of climate change policy officers in three Pacific Island Countries. Wednesday afternoon was devoted to presentations and discussions of case studies of responses to extreme events in the region. Papers with case studies of responses to extreme events continued on Thursday, December 6. These were followed by two sessions on adaptation policy challenges, and a final plenary session to discuss the workshop's outcomes. In all sessions throughout the workshop there were vigorous discussions about issues raised in the papers.

Outcomes/Products
The workshop produced the following outcomes:

• Established a network of social scientists, climate change researchers, and climate change policy officers in the region;
• Advanced understanding of the human dimensions of climate variability and climate change in the region;
• Established future research and policy needs;
• A book of abstracts and short papers;
• Edited proceedings of the workshop (in review, March 2002);
• Commenced regional dialogue on the human dimensions of climate change and variability;
• Widespread media coverage raising the profile of climate change issues in the region.