Executive summary
This final report of the Kiribati National Capacity Self Assessment (NCSA) Project presents an overview of the self-assessment approach taken, the main findings of the stock-take and thematic assessments, the cross-cutting assessment findings and a strategy for developing capacity to address needs and gaps identified during the assessments. The report is part of a series of reports produced under the Kiribati National Capacity Self Assessment (NCSA) Project funded by the GEF. The aim of the NCSA is for countries that are Parties to the UNCBD, UNCCD and UNFCCC, to assess their own capacities and capacity development needs to address the requirements of the three conventions. The report builds on previous three stock-take and thematic assessment reports targeting each of the three conventions and presents the findings of a national cross-cutting assessment exercise to identify environmental as well as capacity issues that cut across the three conventions and their thematic areas. The aim of the assessment is to; identify cross-cutting issues, identify opportunities for synergies and strengthening integrated and coordinated approach to environment management and sustainable development.
The assessment started with the engagement of a national consultant to conduct a synthesis of the stock-take and thematic assessment reports to identify the cross-cutting environmental and capacity issues. These were presented to a series of national consultation meetings and eventually during a national retreat on the islet of Biketawa, for further refinement.
This cross-cutting assessment report is the product of this process and begins by highlighting the main environmental and capacity issues identified in the three stock-take and thematic assessment reports. This is followed by the identification of environmental and capacity issues that are closely linked to and cutting across each of the three conventions and their thematic areas. The assessment looks at two types of cross-cutting issues. Firstly the environmental cross-cutting issues are those that are linked to all three conventions, involve more than one sector of the national economy and require coordinated and integrated action. The main cross-cutting environmental issues identified during the assessment include those caused by climatic factors as well as those that are anthropogenic.
These are very closely interlinked and include; the high level of vulnerability of the countryâs land, water and marine resources, people and economy to the negative impacts of climate change, rising levels of water in-security, unsustainable land management, loss of marine and terrestrial habitats leading to decline in ecosystem services and biodiversity needed to address basic needs for food, shelter and housing.
The national consultations identified âincreasing population pressure on resourcesâ and âlimited alternative livelihood opportunitiesâ as important root cause to many of the environmental cross-cutting issues. This is more prevalent on South Tarawa, the hub of government and commercial activities where about a third of the total population resides and giving rise to a population density recently estimated at 5,400 persons per square kilometer compared to the national average of 1,610. Urban drift is a key contributor to this and is putting extreme pressures on coastal resources and the sustainable use of the underground water resources.
Closely linked to these are the capacity issues that cut across the conventions assessed under the NCSA project and also across the various environmental issues and include; inadequate information management, limited financial resources, limited capacity to communicate, educate and raise awareness on key issues and influence behavioral change, limited coordination and integration amongst agencies and stakeholders to address environmental issues, weak enforcement of laws and regulations, limited capacity development opportunities, limited mainstreaming of environmental issues into national strategies, plans and programmes, limited use of traditional knowledge and practices in environmental management and limited capacity to cope with reporting requirements of the conventions.
The report ends with a presentation of the main capacity development actions needed to address the cross-cutting environmental and capacity issues