F

acing the acute danger of rising sea waters, Pacific island nations proposed Tuesday the Asian Development Bank establish a special climate fund to help them finance climate adaptation projects.

Speaking on behalf of Pacific Developing Member Countries (PDMC), Patrick Pruaitch, of Papua New Guinea, told the bank's board of governors meeting that climate change poses significant threats to their islands.

Even now, the frequency and intensity of natural disasters is increasing in Pacific islands nations, he said.

"We propose that the bank consider the establishment of a Regional Climate Change Fund that supports programs and projects that aim to strengthen adaptation measures that PDMCs have prioritized," Pruaitch said.

The PDMCs are: the Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Timor Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Palau.

Pruaitch added the proposed climate fund should have a simple process that allows PDMCs to access the financial resources.

He noted that easy access to funding would be instrumental to PDMCs, as these countries rely heavily on external assistance to support development priorities.

Because of such difficulty in accessing funds, Pruaitch called on the bank to open wider access to its concessionary Asian Development Fund to PDMCs.

"This is especially important in the current global environment where PDMCs are finding it more difficult to borrow funds to develop much needed infrastructure essential to support national priorities," he said.