The Pacific Island Countries face multiple climate-related challenges. Rising air and sea temperatures intensify cyclones, that damage water and sanitation infrastructure. Droughts impacting surface water, rainwater, and groundwater sources. Rural communities struggle for access to safe, resilient water sources, hindering development and endangering public health. The SDG 6 target, which aims for 70% access to safe drinking water and sanitation, is at risk in many of the Pacific islands due to climate change, lack of investment and poor governance. The IKI-funded project PacFresH20 - Protecting freshwater resources for increased climate resilience in the Pacific Islands, led by GIZ and supported by Ecologic Institute, aims to enhance rural communities’ water resilience in Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Solomon Islands (SLB). PNG and SLB exhibit the lowest levels of access to safely managed drinking water services in the Pacific region.

The project will improve existing rural water supply and sanitation systems and develop new water resources to help communities cope with climate change impacts, resulting in improved socio-economic benefits. This will be achieved through three integrated project outputs:

• Output 1 strengthens coordination, decision-making, and information access at multiple levels. It includes mapping and baseline-building, capacity building on climate adaptation, water resource management and conservation practices for community groups, and capacity enhancement on meteorological and hydrological data.
• Output 2 implements measures for water security, sanitation, and freshwater protection, focusing on quick wins (including infrastructure rehabilitation), access to new water sources and water resource management including nature-based solutions and their long-term sustainability.
• Output 3 upscales efforts by improving water governance and integrating Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) into national plans, improving knowledge management, and facilitating financing.

Ensuring the collaboration with local NGOs and ministries as well as already existing successful initiatives will further increase the benefits to communities. Moreover, PacFresH2O aims to scale up these efforts by showcasing the potential of underutilized water resources, improving governance systems, improving access and use of meteorological and water resource data and providing training on accessing climate finance.