WTW (Willis Towers Watson, NASDAQ: WTW), a leading global advisory, broking, and solutions company, today announced the launch of a new financial initiative to help vulnerable fishing communities in Fiji and Papua New Guinea (PNG) to be more resilient to the adverse impacts of climate change.
Melanesia is one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change in the world. The coastal populations of Fiji and PNG face a range of sustainable development challenges exacerbated by climate impacts undermining the ecosystem services on which they depend. In turn, coping strategies can lead to a cyclical pattern of overexploitation of marine resources, causing longer-term damage to both the ecosystems and communities that depend on them1.
There is currently little in the way of climate risk protection available in the region beyond insurance policies covering fixed assets such as property. These only pay out after physical damage, and only after a lengthy loss-adjustment process. Even then, very few households carry such coverage