A tropical beach in the Marshall Islands Photo: Supplied
The United Nations Development Programme says there are three main difficulties facing the Marshall Islands as it looks to the future.
The UNDP is currently holding national consultations in the Marshalls on key development issues.
UNDP's Regional Director for Asia-Pacific Haoliang Xu says the size of the islands provides an immediate challenge.
"It's quite challenging for a small country to deal with all these obligations that any larger country has to so I think the capacity is a real problem. Then obviously you have the challenge of climate change. The sea level rises, the changing weather is really affecting the lives of people. Then you have the financial viability of the government."
Mr Xu says 60% of the government's money currently comes from the Free Association agreement with the United States which expires within the next 10 years.
He says the UNDP can assist in initiating projects and drawing international attention to them as well as facilitating connections.
