Professional Micro-Credential in Resilience to Climate Change (PMC-RCC)|2026C2

CRHA214 – Working with Communities on Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) is a 15-week course designed to equip students with the knowledge and practical skills required to work effectively with communities in Vanuatu to strengthen resilience to climate change and disasters. The course focuses on community-based approaches to climate change adaptation, disaster preparedness, response, recovery and long-term resilience, recognizing communities not simply as beneficiaries of interventions but as important actors and first responders. Students examine Vanuatu’s climate and disaster risk context and explore the social, cultural, economic and environmental dimensions of community resilience. Particular emphasis is placed on participatory approaches, including vulnerability and risk assessments, hazard mapping, seasonal calendars, transect walks and community-based data collection, alongside ethical engagement and informed consent. The course also recognizes the importance of Indigenous Knowledge and Traditional Ecological Knowledge, including customary early-warning indicators, traditional architecture, agriculture and resource-management practices, and considers how these knowledge systems can be integrated with scientific approaches to strengthen locally appropriate adaptation strategies. 

Students learn how to design community adaptation plans, integrate DRR into community development and preparedness planning, and apply humanitarian principles and standards during disaster response and recovery. The course further examines the humanitarian response cycle, community-based disaster response, Build Back Better approaches, national institutional and policy frameworks, and the roles of government, NGOs, civil society organizations, international agencies and community governance structures. Through Vanuatu and Pacific case studies, simulations, participatory exercises and field engagement, students critically examine successful and unsuccessful approaches to community-based adaptation and recovery, including lessons from Cyclones Pam and Harold and emerging approaches such as Locally Led Adaptation.

CRHA214 prepares students to analyze community climate and disaster risks, design culturally appropriate and inclusive resilience interventions, apply humanitarian principles, and work collaboratively with communities and institutions to support community-led adaptation, disaster preparedness, response and recovery in Vanuatu and the wider Pacific.