The third and final series of the Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change (PACC) Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) Workshop, that focuses on the coastal sector pilot demonstration projects, is underway in Apia, Samoa.

The week-long training at the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Program (SPREP) brings representatives of the PACC project and other interested participants to help determine which climate change adaptation options they are implementing will confer the greatest benefits for their island communities, reports reaching here from Apia said on Thursday.

The PACC project, which consists of 14 member countries and implemented by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in partnership with the SPREP, is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the Australian Agency for International Development with support from United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) Climate Change Capacity Development (C3D+) Program.

SPREP Director General David Sheppard said, "Cost benefit analysis is a framework which logically and systematically works through the various issues that need to be considered when developing and evaluating PACC projects. It can help us select projects that are sound and that will deliver maximum benefits to Pacific Island communities."

He says with the CBA, participants could identify which pilot projects had been successful and should be replicated and which projects should be dropped.

"CBA is very useful in helping your countries decide whether a donor project idea is a good one and should be accepted or whether it should be given the "thumbs down." It can also help in developing 'evidence-based' project proposal submissions to donors that are more likely to be supported."

By the end of the week, participants gain a basic understanding of the CBA framework and have a clear idea on how to progress such an analysis in their various projects. "For us in the Cook Islands the CBA together with the completed Geo-Spatial Survey Assessment will greatly assist our communities and other stakeholders to identify the best adaptation options for our pilot site in Mangaia, especially as we come into the critical phase of implementation this year," said PACC Cook Islands National Coordinator, Vaipo Mataora.

PACC Samoa National Coordinator, Moira Faletutulu said, "We are at the stages of finalising our Demonstration Guideline and the CBA will greatly input to this. With two more demonstrations left for Samoa, the CBA will help refine these plans."

"Looking at the project itself, we will want to measure its success or otherwise. So in order for us to progress, we will need to look at some type of analysis that will enable us to move on, and because the idea behind this is to replicate the project to the other islands in FSM, this is something for us to use as a baseline to determine whether the project is realistic, if it is worth approaching donors for funding and of course, whether it is benefiting the people with respect to dealing with climate change impacts." said PACC Federated States of Micronesia coordinator, Simpson Abraham.