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AN ASSESSMENT OF THE IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON AGRICULTURE AND FOOD SECURITY – VANUATUdrier conditions in much of Vanuatu with the size of the change increasing awayfrom the equator (NACCC, 2007). However, the possibility of increased rainfallshould not be dismissed. These effects will be accentuated by more frequent andsevere cyclone events. Heavy rainfall is a normal component of cyclonic stormsso a greater proportion of rain will be associated with the passage of storms.Indications are that there will be more frequent El Niño type conditions whichare usually associated with prolonged dry seasons.BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITYAlthough Vanuatu’s biodiversity has been widely reported as less rich than itsneighboring countries, New Caledonia and Solomon Islands, recent studies havesuggested that Vanuatu’s biodiversity was in fact richer than was previouslyestimated (Environment Unit, 1999). Vanuatu is in fact an important faunalcrossroad in the Pacific. The three main streams by which it is believed wildlifecolonized the SW Pacific (Papuan, Australian and Polynesian), meet here.Of all the islands in Vanuatu, Espiritu Santo has the greatest species richnesswith 49 native species of land and freshwater birds found here. This represents75 percent of Vanuatu’s native land and freshwater birds and 85 percent of landand freshwater birds that breed in Vanuatu. Seven of the eleven species of batsfound in Vanuatu are also present in the Santo region (Nari et al, 1996).Vanuatu’s 200 nautical miles exclusive economic zone is extensive andencompasses mangrove, sea grass, lagoon, coral and pelagic habitats. Mangroves,sea grass and other coastal ecosystems provide protective buffers that shelterland and human settlements from the full impact of storm events but are underpressure from subsistence and commercial land use.ECONOMYVanuatu was accorded UN Least Developed Country (LDC) status in 1995 and is stillin this group despite the fact that its per capita GDP now exceeds the LDC threshold.This situation has occurred due to the adjustment based on the ‘vulnerability index’which takes into account the vulnerability of Vanuatu’s economy to natural disasters(Mourgues, 2005). Adult literacy was estimated at only 33.5 percent, with life expectancy33