APIA, SAMOA—The Pacific-American Climate Fund (PACAM) of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has announced the first tranche of civil society organizations which have submitted successful applications for PACAM grants.

The nine civil society organizations (CSOs) which were successful in their grant applications are: Aquaculture Technologies of the Marshall Islands; College of Micronesia; CARE International in Papua New Guinea; Conservation International in Papua New Guinea; Marine and Environmental Research Institute of Pohnpei, in the Federated States of Micronesia; Matuaileoo Environment Trust, Inc., Samoa (METI); Namdrik Atoll Development Association, Marshall Islands; Natural Resources Development Foundation, Solomon Islands; and the University of Fiji.

The PACAM grants will be used for implementing projects that assist communities in the Pacific region to adapt to the impacts of climate change, in collaboration with partners from the NGO community, academe, and the private sector. Total funding for projects in the first group is approximately $5.4 million.

These projects are also expected to provide crucial co-benefits, such as livelihood enhancement, food security, improved health, better governance, and sustainable natural resource management. Resources for managerial and financial capacity-building are provided to CSO grantees, so as to ensure the sustainability of their efforts.

The announcement was made on September 1, 2014 at a reception attended by climate change stakeholders, diplomats and CSOs, at the Tanoa Tusitala Hotel in Apia, Samoa.

The final award of a PACAM Grant to each of the successful applicants is conditional on the completion of a pre-award survey to make a determination of financial responsibility, as well as negotiations in coming weeks to finalize the budget and other matters related to their proposed projects.

The five-year, $24-million PACAM grant facility, funded by USAID, provides grants to qualifying CSOs for the implementation of innovative climate change adaptation measures in twelve countries in the Pacific: Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Marshall Islands (RMI), Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.

The grantee selection process began with the submission of project concept papers from interested CSOs to the PACAM Administrative Office. CSOs with promising concept papers were then invited to develop these into full proposals, which underwent stringent review. The next deadline for submitting concept papers to PACAM is the 30th of September, 2014.

For more information on USAID’s Pacific-American Climate Fund can be found at http://www.pgrd.org/projects/pacam/.

About USAID

The American people, through the United States Agency for International Development, have provided economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for over 50 years. USAID assistance in the Pacific Islands region supports programs that help communities adapt to the negative impacts of global climate change and environmental degradation; assist the government and civil society of Papua New Guinea (PNG) expand HIV prevention, care and treatment models; strengthen women, peace and security in PNG; support elections in Fiji; and provide disaster mitigation, relief and reconstruction in Federated States of Micronesia and Republic of the Marshall Islands. For more information about USAID programs in the Pacific Islands, visit http://www.usaid.gov/pacific-islands.