SPC Geoscience Division

Almost 52% of nearly 10 million people living in the Pacific island countries continue to face threats from unsafe drinking water resulting from water-borne diseases.

Unsafe drinking water has been the primary cause for the 2800 deaths per year (most our children under the age of 5) from diarrhoea and related illnesses, and poor sanitation and hygiene are major contributing factors.

Additionally periods of drought that is currently being experienced in many island countries have aggravated the situation.SOPAC, working with the World Health Organization has introduced a plan into the region that has shown positive results in combating water carrying diseases.

“It’s no miracle drug, but a common sense approach to educate people throughout the region of how to determine if their drinking water is safe, how to clean it, and protect it so that that there is no danger that the water can continue to cause illness,” said SOPAC Director, Dr Russell Howorth.

As a part of the Kiribati Government’s commitment to achieving sustainable land management on Kiritimati Atoll, (Christmas Island), staff of the Environmental Division recently undertook training conducted by the Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC), in Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

“We are so fortunate to get this training,” said Ms Ratita Bebe, of the Kiritimati Conservation Department. “The Kiribati Government recognizes the need to map land degradation sites and protected conservation areas so that we can identify ways to achieve sustainable land use practices.”

Ms Bebe explained that Global Positioning Systems (GPS) use information gathered from satellites circling the earth to locate the correct co-ordinates of any location, while Geographic Information Systems (GIS) combine maps and data to manage, store, analyze and display all forms of geographical information.

SOPAC is carrying out a review of the Kiribati national disaster risk management governance arrangements following a request from the Office of the President.

SOPAC provides assistance to 19 countries and territories in the Pacific region through applied geoscience and technology.

A major part of the review was a three-day workshop attended by 29 participants from Government ministries, Non-Government (NGOs) as well as church organizations that was held in Tarawa recently.

A delegation from the Caribbean that represented four Disaster Risk Management organizations recently visited SOPAC for a briefing to better understand the range of services and products that it provides the 19 countries and territories in the Pacific region through applied geoscience and technology.

The delegation was in Fiji to share their experiences with their Pacific counterparts as part of a South-South cooperation project between Pacific and Small Island Developing States on Climate Change Adaption and Disaster Risk Management funded  through and in collaboration with the UNDP Pacific Centre.

At a luncheon hosted by SOPAC they were briefed by its Director, Dr. Russell Howorth, and representatives from the organization’s three programmes, Ocean and Islands, Water and Sanitation and Disaster Reduction as well as Natural Resources Economics.