ABSTRACT
Climate change, whether due to natural variability or human activity, is one of the most pressing issues for the Pacific island countries. The impacts of climate variability and extreme events such as cyclones, floods, droughts and sea level rise are rapidly pushing people beyond their coping range. The already strained economies are being drained trying to keep up with the impacts of these stresses on livelihoods. In the 1990s alone, the Pacific island region bore up to US$1 billion costs related to climate extremes (Campbell, 1999; Feresi et al, 2000), and the costs are expected to rise even further with a rise in the frequency and intensity of extreme events.
