President, National Authorising Officer, Director -Office of Environment and Emergency Management, Ladies and Gentlemen
Kasaleilia,
On behalf of the Director-General of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, Dr Jimmie Rodgers, I extend a warm welcome to all who are here, to witness this occasion. This ground breaking ceremony will mark the commencement of construction of the new national Emergency Operation Centre. While it has taken some time to reach this stage, we are happy to see that work is about to start, and I would like to thank Andrew Yatilman and his team from the Office of Environment and Emergency Management (OEEM) for coordinating implementation of the Disaster Risk Reduction project, also known as the B-Envelope project, particularly Tony Neth, who has been directly involved. I would also like to acknowledge the contribution of the European Union who fund the B-Envelope project, where the sum of €1.5 million is allocated towards disaster management, including the construction of this building.
My affiliation with this project goes back a number of years. In March 2007, I visited Pohnpei as a consultant, to develop FSM’s Country Implementation Plan for this project. It is therefore a very special occasion, to be back here again, to bear witness and officiate in this ceremony, to implement this Plan.
The focus of the B-Envelope project is to build community resilience, to reduce the risk to natural, or man-made hazards. We have, to date, completed renovation of Emergency Operation Centres in each of the States. The next major task in this project is to strengthen the communication between the State Centres and the national Government, including vulnerable communities and other key stakeholders such as the weather office, police, fire service, to name a few. I understand that OEEM is working with SPC, to develop and prioritise the list of early warning equipment to be supplied by the project. May I stress the importance of finalising this equipment list, as soon as possible, so that we can move forward with installation, and follow through with some training.
Having the right infrastructure in place is important. It is equally important to have the right policy environment in disaster management, so that you can better plan, prepare and respond to hazards. It is in this connection that I wish to reassure the Government, through OEEM, of our support to help develop and implement a Joint National Action Plan for Disaster Risk Management and Climate Change Adaptation. Our discussions on the subject go back to October 2009 and I wish to reiterate that the SOPAC Division of the SPC is keen to assist FSM with this initiative. In doing so we will be working closely with a number of partners some of whom are based here in Pohnpei like, the GIZ; and others based in the south like SPREP and The Asia Foundation/US Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance.
By putting our collective efforts into a Joint NAP we feel that FSM will be better placed to attract and use resources that are available to support DRM and Climate Change Adaptation. An example of such funding is the ACP-EU Natural Disaster Facility which FSM can use, like other countries, to address priorities and importantly to complement existing initiatives such as the B-Envelope project.
In concluding, I would like to thank the Office of the President, the offices of the National Authorising Officer and Environment & Emergency Management, including others who have contributed in some way, in making today’s event possible. I also wish APSCO company, who were awarded the building contract, all the best in the construction phase.
Thank you.
