The Pacific Ocean and Climate Crisis Assessment (POCCA) Third Authors Conference was deemed a success with the aim of Pacific governments taking heed of the community voices that will be part of the POCCA report.
During the 3-day conference hosted by the University of Canterbury and co-organized by the Pacific Centre for Environment and Sustainable Development (PaCE-SD), authors for the various chapters of the report presented their progress, acknowledging the various community voices that have become an integral part of their chapters.
Rebekah Robertson, the Adviser-Climate Change and Environment for the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade (MFAT), said the progress has been very encouraging, especially with the chapters emphasizing the community voices collected by the POCCA field team.
“I think it’s been fascinating to see the progress, particularly with the teams having been in the country and now able to incorporate all those case studies.”
“I think that’s the extraordinary part of POCCA where you know they’ve been able to get those real-life stories,” she said
She added that this project is unique in that it has enabled communities to tell their own stories and experiences to a global audience.
“It still feels like that POCCA is something that the Pacific owns. You know it’s the Pacific’s story to tell.”
“And you know there’s a lot of knowledge to be shared in this space, so I just really hope that pacific research is valued, and I hope support for this space continues,” she added.
With the project ending in the next couple of months, the authors have a concise timeline for when they are expected to submit their chapters.
Christina Laalaai-Tausa from the Macmillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies at the University of Canterbury says that from the third conference, there has been significant progress since the last meeting in Nadi in 2023.
“The authors are keen to complete their chapters for the Fourth Order Draft; there is much excitement in awaiting the final product and seeing the report launched and disseminated to Pacific communities.”
“The next two months will be crucial as the team ensures case studies are woven through the different chapters. I firmly believe in the team’s ability to deliver the final product by June 30th, she added.
The three-year project is funded by New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT). It is a collaboration between the Pacific Centre for Environment and Sustainable Development (PaCE-SD), The University of the South Pacific (USP), and the Macmillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies at the University of Canterbury (UC).
