SOLOMON ISLANDS

Communication Plan
PACIFIC ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE
Building Resilience to Climate Change in Pacific Communities

National PACC Project Coordinator

Mr Casper Supa
Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock
Government of Solomon Islands
Honiara, SI

Prepared by Ms. Setaita Tavanabola, PACC Communications Coordinator of the Secretariat of the Pacific
Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) E: [email protected] (*Living Document)
 www.sprep.org/climate_change/pacc

The Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change [PACC] Project Solomon Islands is nationally
implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock with the Ministry of Environment as
the National Focal Point. The Project with 14 member countries is funded by the Global
Environment Facility with the United Nations Development Programme as its implementing
Agency at regional level in partnership with the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment
Programme.
 www.sprep.org/climate_change/pacc

Table of Content

About this Communications Plan.............................................................................................. 4

Background of the Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change Project ........................................... 4

Background of PACC Solomon Islands ...................................................................................... 5

Objectives ................................................................................................................................. 6

Key Messages ............................................................................................................................ 6

Target Audiences ...................................................................................................................... 7

Partners..................................................................................................................................... 7

Media Strategy .......................................................................................................................... 7

Checklist on all Outgoing Communication Materials................................................................ 8

Monitoring Tools....................................................................................................................... 8

Evaluation ................................................................................................................................. 9

Post PACC communications materials ...................................................................................... 9

 www.sprep.org/climate_change/pacc

About this Communications Plan

This communications plan provides direction on PACC SOLOMON ISLAND’s

communication activities as it progresses.

More specifically, the Plan provides a series of actions that aim to streamline
communication with the Regional PACC and the other PACC countries and promote a
coordinated approach to developing the messages that should be going out to the local,
regional and international community on what PACC SI is doing on the ground to
enhance resilience to climate change.

Background of the Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change Project

The PACC project is designed to promote climate change adaptation as a key pre-
requisite to sustainable development in Pacific Island Countries. The project objective
therefore, is to enhance the capacity of the participating countries to adapt to climate
change, including climate variability, in one of three selected key development sectors
i.e. Food Production and Food Security, Water Resource Management and Coastal
Zone Management.

The Project focuses on barriers identified through the situation analysis: supporting
capacity building and mainstreaming of climate change adaptation at the national level;
providing tools and guidelines, supplemented by practical demonstration of adaptation
as both a process and on the ground activity; and through supporting regional
approaches.

The overall goals of the PACC Project are:

• Improving capacity in Pacific islands' governments to mainstream climate change

adaptation into government policies and plans;
• Addressing the urgent need for adaptation measures through developing
systematic guidelines for adaptation and demonstrating their use at a pilot scale
in the coastal management, food security and water resources sectors; and
• Laying the foundation for a comprehensive approach to address adaptation over
the medium-long term at the regional level.
 www.sprep.org/climate_change/pacc

PACC will achieve these goals through the following strategies:

• Implementing specific measures to address anticipated climate change risk for

priority development areas through policy interventions and capacity support;
• Building awareness and acceptance of the risks of climate change and the
necessary conditions for adaptation at the policy level;
• Developing mainstreaming methodologies to integrate key thematic issues into
national development strategies; and
• Increasing the adaptive capacity of human and biophysical systems through
measures designed to reduce the adverse effects of climate change on the three
key development sectors

The purpose of a National Communications Plan is to improve capacity, knowledge, and

understanding of climate change and climate change adaptation, through the
development and implementation of coordinated education and awareness programmes
and communication strategies across the region enhancing the capacity of PICTs to
address climate change issues.

Communicating the PACC project results and lessons learnt to a wider audience at the
regional and international level is critical and part of the overall project design.

Background of PACC Solomon Islands

THEMATIC AREA: FOOD PRODUCTION AND FOOD SECURITY

"Improving the ability of isolated low-lying island communities' address food

production and food security issues impacted by climate change."

Climate change has been impacts such as temperature change, sea level rise and
increased extreme events in the Solomon Islands. Root crops such as taro have
declined due to increased water temperatures and salt water inundation, particularly in
low lying coastal areas.

This has led to food shortages on the island which was reported to the National Disaster
Office. The PACC project will assist key stakeholders, including the Department of
Agriculture and vulnerable communities to build their capacity to design and implement
an integrated food security programme that would reduce their vulnerability to the effects
of climate change.
 www.sprep.org/climate_change/pacc

Objectives

1. To educate and raise awareness through information packages on the overall

scope of the PACC Project at national level, regional and international level
2. To communicate clearly the role of the PACC Project in helping the people adapt
to Climate Change in the Food Production and Food Security sector
3. To develop the commitment and ownership of the project at community level
(Ontong Java atoll) through information on how they can assist PACC in helping
them adapt to the effects of climate change and improve their daily livelihood
4. To promote partnerships with government ministries, faith based organisations,
civil society organisations, and non-government at national level, FAO, SPREP,
UNDP, GEF at regional level
5. To communicate through presentations, factsheets specifically for political
leaders (members of the national and provincial government) to gain their
support on PACC’s intervention in Solomon Islands as these leaders are very
much influential in the decision makings at national and community level
6. To successfully implement the Communications Action Plan by the end of project
year
7. To measure the impact of the communications activities in terms of awareness
and knowledge on the PACC Project on the targeted audience

Key Messages

• The Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change project is the first adaptation project to
be implemented in the region that responds directly to this call for urgent action
while supporting the systemic and institutional capacity to address adaptation
across the Pacific Islands region.
• The Project can be set as a framework to deliver adaptation actions in the
Pacific.
• At the core of climate change is people. People’s lives and livelihoods will
ultimately be impacted by the pressures created by climate change.
• Ability to adapt also hinges on the right behaviour to minimize risks from climate
change or any other pressures.
• Climate change is putting a lot of pressure on Pacific countries abilities to
achieve their sustainable development and poverty alleviation strategies. In fact,
the sustainable development of the Pacific Islands region hinges on the level of
engagement of Pacific islanders in this critical issue.
• Adaptation to climate change will be manageable and cost effective when shared
and carried out in a collaborative way between donors and communities that are
affected;
• Cost effective and culturally appropriate technologies can enhance communities
resilience to climate-related risks;
 www.sprep.org/climate_change/pacc

• Empowering the local community to adapt through a participatory process that

combines bottom-up and top-down approaches is a Pacific approach to
adaptation;
• Adaptation to climate change is best dealt by addressing current day
vulnerabilities to climate effects;
• Climate change will impact on many different sectors of Pacific Islands’
economies hence it needs to be treated as a major economic, social and
environmental risk.

Target Audiences

- Local Communities
- Media
- Government departments
- Stakeholders; NGOs
- Civil Society Organisations i.e. Youth Groups
- Church/Faith based Organisations
- Donors (national, regional, international)
- Schools; Academic Institutions; Researchers

Partners

- Community Leaders and Elders

- Church/Faith Based Organisations
- Communications Unit at SPREP
- PACC Focal Points [national]
- PACC Implementing Agency [national]
- SPREP
- UNDP

Media Strategy
• A proper media contact list need to be developed both national and regional for
dissemination of press releases (SPREP can provide support in terms of
disseminating press release to the regional and international media)
• All new reports (assessment, technical, etc) released by PACC SI should have
an accompanying press release stating why people need to be aware of the
report, etc
• Press release accompanied with at least 2 images (specifically action photos)
should be sent out for every significant project event organised e.g. school
competition, community service day, etc to get media coverage and circulate it to
 www.sprep.org/climate_change/pacc

contact list for further distribution. Avoid sending passive images with your press
release i.e. group shots from meetings, banners, etc, send shots of people in the
field acting out PACC activities, etc
• A photo gallery of high resolution images to be maintained (of PACC activities,
communities doing adaptation work, pilot sites, etc).
• Setting up of talk back shows and short documentaries with the local radio and
TV stations as stated in the Action Plan.
• Utilize local celebrities, respected ministers, local village leaders to get your
message across through the media and to the people

Checklist on all Outgoing Communication Materials

Press Releases
• Be sure to state clearly the name of the donors and agencies at the end of the
press release as follows:
“The Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change Project is implemented by the United
Nations Development Programme in partnership with the Secretariat of the
Pacific Regional Environment Programme. It is nationally executed by the
Ministry of Agriculture; funded by the Global Environment Facility and the
Australian Agency for International Development with support from the United
Nations Institute for Technical Research, Climate Change Capacity and
Development.”
• Include your contact details at the bottom to allow the media to contact you for
further information.
• Include at least two ‘action’ images to accompany the press release

Print Materials
• E.g. posters, pamphlets, banners, newsletters, etc
• Ensure all relevant logos are included in the right colors, state and in high
resolution i.e. PACC logo, Solomon Is National Seal, UNDP, SPREP, GEF,
AusAID and the text “With support from UNITAR C3D+”
• ‘For further information’ details are included i.e. your title and contact details and
the web address

Monitoring Tools
The activities recommended in the SI-PACC Communications Plan have been prepared
with foresight in order to ensure that work is available for monitoring.
• Record and store all feedback from the products created by PACC
• Record all radio live talkback sessions
• Record all competition entries
• Copies of all Promotional materials created
 www.sprep.org/climate_change/pacc

• Storage of all film work documented

• Storage of all edited film work provided
• Hard copies of all advertisements produced as part of the multimedia package
• Results from survey
• Hard copies of materials from activities with schools
• Electronic copies of all photographs taken

Evaluation
The results of the final survey at the end of the SI-PACC will and should show an
increase in awareness and understanding of PACC, climate change and climate change
adaptation due to all the communication work prepared under this plan.

Effective evaluation is important to determine the success of a project, there may be

need for outside assistance or expertise to carry out this evaluation.

Post PACC communications materials

• PACC written materials to be used as source material for reports, journals and
case studies.
• Documentaries outlining the progress of the PACC project each year
• Exhibition/publication materials from school children Hard copies of all
awareness materials developed from 2011 – 2013 (TV ads, Live radio talkback
sessions, full page ads in local newspaper and copies of radio ads)
• Pull up banners, t-shirts, photographs, school and exhibition resources
• PACC survey results
 Action Plan and Detailed Costs: Jan 2011 – Dec 2013
Please note this is to act as a living guide only, costs and activities can change according to circumstances. Note also the costs are only
estimates. There may be a need to seek outside support to provide assistance with ‘rolling out’ these materials for which the RPMU is
prepared to support.

Objective of your project Desired Comm. Outcome Target Key Message(s) Comm. Channels Comm. activities, Resources & Success Indicators
Audience products Partners

These are the goals of the What you want to Clearly define to What is it you want How does this What tools or Budget required Quantifiable
project – not of the comm. achieve from the comm. make sure you the audience to know audience get its products do you Other partners measurements agree to
strategy you will do? create messages / learn? information? Who need to deliver the who can assist beforehand reflecting
accordingly: has “ influence” message (through critical success factors of
over them? identified channels)? the project
Outcome 1: MAINSTREAMING Climate Change Policy to be Government Climate Change TV Briefing Papers CCU, MPI Media, There is better coordination
understood at all levels for Donors Adaptation is Radio Pamphlets PACED SD, FNU, among all sector levels
(To develop national or sector better coordination and Private Sector everyone’s business Newspaper Banners NGO
policies; integrate climate resilience NGO and CSO Website Presentation Support is gained from
change into existing policies to Schools To include listed Seminar Promotional Materials $10,000 target audience to
assist the countries deliver Enhance collaboration and Media message of Project Workshop Publication: mainstream climate change
immediate vulnerability) partnerships with key Communities (i.e. Visibility & Need to Awareness Training Mainstreaming Guide into policies, regulations etc
stakeholders Men, Women, adapt Community CC Day
- less wasted resources Youth, Children) Better understanding of the
and time role of PACC
- solicit support from GEF
stakeholders UNDP
AusAID
SPREP
Potential Donors
Component 2: To share the best Pilot Communities There are crops that can TV Pamphlets MPI Media Unit, Audience support the
DEMONSTRATION alternative for Private Sector survive and withstand Radio Factsheets NGO, PACE SD, FNU alternative improvement in
improvement in drainage Government flood and salt inundated Newspaper Banner drainage system and climate
(To carry out adaptation system and climate Media areas Website Poster $10,000 resistant crops in vulnerable
interventions that would resistant crops in other Farmers in Sites Seminar Presentation areas
demonstrate measures to vulnerable areas Commercial And listed messages of Workshop Publication: Community ownership exists
reduce their vulnerability in the Operators Project Visibility, Need Awareness Training Demonstration Guide in the carrying out of the
selected development sector) Gain support and to adapt & Ways to Community CC Day project demonstration
ownership from pilot GEF adapt
community members UNDP
SPREP
AusAID
Potential Donors
Component 3: Improve awareness, sharing Communities We can be resilient to TV Regular Success Story MPI Media Unit, Audience are more aware of
COMMUNICATIONS & experiences, educate and Schools Climate Change Radio via Media or CCU, PACED SD, PACC and project gains
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT; empower communities to Private sectors Newspaper Newsletter FNU, NGO’s more support and
CAPACITY TO PLAN FOR AND take ownership of CCA Government And listed messages of Website School / Community partnership
RESPOND TO CHANGES IN Media Project Visibility, Need Seminar Forums $20,000 There is community
CLIMATE New knowledge generated Private and to adapt & Ways to Workshop Special Day Events ownership of the project
by to be systematically Commercial adapt Awareness Training
(Range from technical disseminated /shared Operators Community CC Day (KM)
backstopping support to lessons learnt, best PEIN Database
training, website development, practices GEF PACC Webpage
communication work and AusAID Pacific Climate Change
capturing lessons learnt) UNDP Portal
SPREP
Potential Donors
 COMMUNICATION ACTIVITIES/PRODUCTS/TOOLS IN DETAILS

COMM. TOOLS DETAILS Timeframe

Promotional Products: 1. 200xPoster (50xEnglish; 150xLocal language)
2. USB Wristbands: 90x
3. Posters: 200x
4. Pamphlet: 500x quick and easy to read general information on PACC Solomon Is

Information Materials: 1. Quarterly Newsletter: provide success story articles detailing success story and
achievements
2. Information Pamphlet: 500x (200xEnglish; 300xLocal language)
3. Fact sheets: 200x to include facts from assessment findings i.e. CBA, SEA PACC, V&A etc
4. Cabinet Briefing Papers: quick 1-2 pagers that highlight aims, objectives and benefits of
PACC and actions / progress to continuously gauge their commitment to the project.

Awareness and Education: 1. Community Outreach: hold information, feed back and consultation sessions
2. Awareness consultations with Gov and Non Gov Organisations
3. Special Events (World Environment Day, Agriculture Show): allocate and distribute
materials; school quiz; organize public march, etc
4. PACC Competition: 1x year youth drama

Media Strategy (and Awareness): 1. Radio Show: 1x Quarter; a regular segment that highlights PACC activities and its progress
2. Media Monitoring: Maintain a folder collating all media coverage on PACC Solomon Islands
Knowledge Management: 1. Pacific Environment Information Network (PEIN) Database
2. SPREP PACC Website: www.sprep.org/pacc-home
3. PACC Solomon Is Website: can be a page within the MAL website; for information sharing
purposes; includes link to the SPREP PACC, UNDP, GEF website, etc
4. Publications: Mainstreaming & Demonstration Guide
5. DVD documentary
6. Pacific Climate Change Portal