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As a pilot project, PACIOCEA (PACIfic OCean Ecosystem Analysis) was a first attempt to consider marine ecosystem-based management across the Pacific region (over 33 million km²) at multiple scales ranging from national to regional extents in order to encompass the array of interactions between species, ecosystem components and humans. The project promoted integrated management at different scales using multi-resolution data with multi-level decision-makers. The project provided a methodological framework for the integrated ecosystem-based management of coastal and marine biodiversity that match the appropriate levels of action in the Pacific as it is specified by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP5 V/6/B/ Principle 7). The project intended to contribute to the implementation of the Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs) marine strategies, such as the French Polynesian Action Plan “Ruahatu” and the Pacific Oceanscape Framework. For more detail on the international and regional context, please refer to Annex 1.

This cost-benefi t analysis is part of the UNEP Ecosystem-based Adaptation Flagship Program and UN-HABITAT Cities and Climate Change Initiative and is intended to guide decision makers in their consideration of various options for climate change adaptation. While the scope of the research and analysis is confi ned to Lami Town, Fiji, a town adjacent to the capital Suva, general lessons and considerations may also be informative at the national level. Furthermore, the lessons learned will be useful for future comparison of options for Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) to climate change in the Pacifi c region.

The Pacific Islands region is located in the western and central Pacific Ocean. The 15 Independent countries and eight territories that make up this region are delineated into three major culture areas, these are Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia (Table 1) and have a combined Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of approximately 29 million km