The SIDS CBA project is on-track with a 90% grant commitment rate. To date, SIDS CBA has funded 142 community-led projects that increase the resilience of over 300 communities to the impacts of climate change and its variability. As a response to the site-specific climate change-induced threats, the core activities of the completed projects in 2016 promoted sustainable land restoration, mangrove reforestation and water resource management. As such, the effectiveness of ecosystem services have increased and resulted to agricultural and fisheries reliability, food and water security, improved nutrition and well-being as well diversified income-generation activities.

There were slow programming countries in the Pacific region. Namely, these countries are Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga and Tuvalu (under the Fiji sub-region as per the SGP structure) and Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau (under the Samoa sub-region as per the SGP structure). These countries faced human resource challenges (low capacities of NGOs/CBOs) and infrastructural issues (SGP offices outside UN premises).

The following changes occurred in 2016 aimed at improving the effectiveness of the region’s delivery: (i.) SGP offices in Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga and Tuvalu are now hosted with the UN Joint Presence Office; (ii.) Two Regional NGOs have been recruited to fast-track the programming in each of the aforementioned sub-regions.

142 NGOs/CBOs and over 300 communities in SIDS. Application of multi-focal solutions to address holistic and site-specific challenges (droughts, floods, unpredictable rainfall patterns as well as anthropogenic pressures) increased the communities’ capacities in ecosystem restoration/protection and improvement of water schemes. As such, access to potable water as well as agricultural and fisheries reliability increased. This in turn led to food/water security, improved health and diversified income-generating activities. \r\nThe projects’ social inclusion and participatory approaches ensured that all community members had a voice and role irrespective of gender, age, physical/mental abilities and culture/race/religion, and thereby, strengthening social cohesion. In some cases, marginalized groups such as women benefitted more in terms of socio-economic impacts. For example in Cape Verde, increased water access and micro-irrigation systems in community plots and home gardens resulted to women farmers earning as much as their male counterparts. Women farmers’ average income soaring from USD 26 to USD 315, while male farmers’ average income increased from USD 89 to $319.\r\nAdditionally, linkages provided by SGP to government agencies, academia, UN agencies and civil society has enabled the communities to establish durable partnerships for the sustainability of the adaptation initiatives and maintenance of restored/or newly-introduced infrastructures (water tanks, pipes, dams). \r\n