Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Tuvaluans unhappy at disjointed approach to climate change aid

Posted at 18:32 on 17 September, 2012 UTC

An Australia-based campaigner on climate change issues in the region says people in Tuvalu are frustrated at what they see as a disjointed approach by aid donors.

Jill Finnane of the Pacific Calling Partnership at Sydney’s Edmund Rice Centre spent a week in Funafuti in July listening to the views of local people about climate change aid.

She says Tuvaluans spoke to her of inadequate and poorly researched projects which were not what local people wanted or which did not seem to be followed up.

She says people on outer islands, especially, are getting frustrated.

“Local people felt that there’d been a lot of pilot projects but then they hadn’t been developed into full on projects as yet. They felt that they need protection for their coastlines now. They don’t want it in ten years’ time when it’s too late.”

Ms Finnane says local campaigners are exhausted and young people feel sad and desperate about their plight.