Small Island Developing States (SIDS) located in the Pacific are severely exposed to the negative impacts of climate change due to their fragile natural environments, biophysical settings, and ecosystems. Pacific Island countries experience up to four times greater sea-level rise than the global average, amplifying the risk of coastal hazards. Environmental degradation and food insecurity have led to the relocation of several low-lying coastal communities, but also exacerbate the economic and sustainable development challenges faced by SIDS. Today, the investments required to adapt to climate change far outweigh the financial capability within each country. To increase climate resilience and adaptive capacity, collective action on many fronts is required.

CommonSensing is an international project, funded by UK Space Agency’s International Partnership Programme (IPP) through the BEIS Global Challenge Research Fund (GCRF) that supports Fiji, Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands to achieve climate resilience and sustainable development using innovative solutions. The project will last until march 2022, with the following main goals:

• Improve risk management of climate change, disaster risk reduction and food security;
• Strengthen the capacity to access climate finance and climate funds;
• Enhance national and regional climate action policy.

The project benefits from the varied experiences and strengths of the consortium thanks to their world-leading expertise on Satellite Remote Sensing, Sustainable Development, Data Analysis and Modelling, Business Analysis and Climate Financing. 

In regards to achieving the goals, the CommonSensing is continuously working towards:

• Developing satellite-based information services that match respective country’s challenges to enhance decision making and help each country to prepare for long-term climate change-related events;
• Enhancing the capacity of governments, ministries, and agencies in the respective countries to strengthen their climate action policy as well as the capacity for climate resilience and disaster risk reduction;
• Providing Fiji, Vanuatu, and the Solomon Islands with access to evidence-based information on land degradation and natural hazards that can advocate planning towards a resilient agriculture system;
• Build capacity in-country in the use of the information services strengthening technical skills around the region and place specialists within Government structures to ensure local knowledge and data systems benefit from the added capabilities from CommonSensing;
• Strengthen each country’s capacity to access international climate funds;
• Collecting information about the status and changes in the natural environment in each country using Earth Observation to provide information about future impacts of climate change.

• Fiji’s Ministry of Economy
• Vanuatu’s Ministry of Climate Change Adaptation, Meteorology, Geo-hazards, Environment, and Energy & National Disaster Management)
• Solomon Islands’ Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management, and Meteorology.