In the Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs), water is life—and it is under threat. Spanning vast ocean distances yet grounded on fragile landforms, Pacific communities rely on limited freshwater sources such as rainwater, shallow aquifers, and fragile groundwater lenses. These lifelines are increasingly strained by the accelerating impacts of climate change resulting in worsening water scarcity, saltwater intrusion, and infrastructure stress. In chapter 9 titled Thirst for life: Water Security and Changing Climate in the Pacific, Mrs. Ana ‘Ake Soane Patolo et al. explore eight case studies to demonstrate the diversity of impacts of climate change on islands across the PICTs. Additionally, the authors outline the challenges of one dimensional- top-down approaches of trying to address a multi-sectoral, complex issue as water security in PICTs. Overall, the chapter emphasizes that water insecurity is both a climate and development challenge, impacting health, livelihoods, and sovereignty. Some of the key insights the authors explore include:

• Triple Threat to Water: PICTs experience limited freshwater availability, low sanitation coverage, and poor water quality monitoring. Only 55% of the population has access to basic drinking water, and just 30% to sanitation.
• Traditional Knowledge at Risk: Modern infrastructure has displaced ancestral water management practices, weakening community resilience and intergenerational knowledge transfer.
• Policy Gaps and Fragmentation: Water governance is often siloed across sectors. Community priorities are misaligned with national policies, reducing effective response.
• Collaborative Governance Works: Case studies from Tonga, Samoa, and Fiji show that blending local leadership, national coordination, and international support improves water security outcomes.

The authors also provide a very clear call to action that encourages integrated “ridge-to-reef” governance, investment in household-level resilience, and attention to cultural contexts. Through the workable examples they provided that demonstrate the ‘marriage’ between the integration and recognition of local traditional knowledge systems, relationships, structures, and processes to improve water security it is indeed possible to sustainably address the climate change challenges the region is currently facing.

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