by Ednal Palmer
Apia, Samoa
Delegates and leaders from across the Pacific have been told that data and information are the backbone of good decision-making on climate-induced Loss and Damage (L&D). Without them, policymakers are essentially flying blind.
Speaking during a presentation on the importance of data and information for improving L&D decision-making, Linda Siegele, Technical Advisor at the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), said reliable data is critical for informing policies and strategies to address L&D.
Discussions during the dialogue revealed significant gaps at the national level — from inadequate data documentation to financial and technical capacity constraints.
Participants acknowledged that many small island governments lack sustained resources to collect, catalogue, and share standardized L&D data.
Delegates heard that data and information on climate-induced L&D in the Pacific exist across multiple regional platforms, national reports, academic studies, and UN mechanisms. However, these datasets are often fragmented, inconsistent in coverage, and lack standardized methods — especially for measuring non-economic losses and community-level impacts.
Siegele said data sharing and coordination are key to bridging these gaps, noting that fragmented systems undermine effective response efforts.
The absence of quality data, particularly in vulnerable regions, she added, hampers the ability to assess and address loss and damage.
Robust datasets are also vital for supporting funding proposals and applications.
Lionel Dau, an NGO representative from the Solomon Islands, agreed that reliable evidence is not only essential for policy formulation but also for designing appropriate, methodical interventions at the community level.
Some of the major gaps identified include:
- Lack of standardized methods for valuing losses, especially non-economic ones.
- Sparse community-level and time-series data, making it difficult to track trends over time.
- Capacity constraints in small island governments, leading to ad hoc and unsustained data collection efforts.