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Providing access to safe drinking-water and basic sanitation is a proven engine driving development and promoting health. The water and sanitation targets of Millennium Development Goal 7 have galvanized the international community into a collective effort towards achieving sustainable access to drinking-water and sanitation for millions of people. To safeguard these achievements, we must remain vigilant to emerging trends and risks that could derail our efforts and undermine our impact on poor communities.

The adverse effects of climate change, climate variability and sea level rise identified in the Kingdom of Tonga’s First National Communication present significant risks to sustainable development in Tonga. From the information gathered it is evident that Tonga will be among the first to suffer from these effects due to its physiographic, ecological and socioeconomic characteristics. Concern for the environmental consequences of man made activities in the Kingdom and in this context the impacts of climate change, climate variability & sea level rise go relatively unnoticed.

The objective of the UNFCCC is to stabilise the concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere at levels that prevent dangerous interference with the world's climate. This should be done within a time frame that will allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change, to ensure food production is not threatened and to enable economic development to proceed in a sustainable manner.

The 1992 Rio Earth Summit endorsed a blueprint for the future (Agenda 21), two Conventions, one on Climate Change and one on Biological Diversity, and the RIO Declaration. Since then, global, regional and national programmes were initiated to implement the outcome of the Rio Earth Summit.