Tonga, located in the Central South Pacific Ocean, is an archipelago consisting of four clusters of 172 coral and volcanic islands, with a total area of 747 square kilometers (sq km). Tonga is vulnerable to annual climate variability caused by the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in the southeast Pacific. It brings prolonged drought conditions that deplete potable water and tropical cyclones during the wet season. The country’s vulnerability is exacerbated by its high dependence on climate-sensitive sectors, such as agriculture, fisheries, and tourism.
INVESTING IN TONGA
CIF’s investment in Tonga is through its Pilot Program for Climate Resilience (PPCR). Tonga is one of the three island nations participating in a PPCR regional program in the Pacific. Tonga's development of a strategic program for climate resilience under PPCR is targeted at supporting mainstreaming climate change into national development planning and increasing the climate resilience of vulnerable sectors and communities.
Tonga's $20-million PPCR investment plan is helping to build government capacity to manage climate change and disaster risks, establish a climate change trust fund to finance small community climate change adaptation, and pilot sustainable fishing and coral reef management in Tonga’s outer islands.
