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April - June 2014
Water in Kiritimati: one step forward with EU Support
Mr. Andris Piebalgs European Commissioner
for Development, Mr. Tererei Aruee, Officer in
Charge, Ministry of Line and Phoenix Islands
Development, Government of Kiribati,
and Mr. George Beck, representing the
Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC),
inaugurated the office for the EUR 4.8 million
‘Improving Drinking Water Supply in Kiritimati
Island’ project in the month of April.
The
European
Commissioner
for
Development, Mr Piebalgs stated that “the
European Union and Kiribati have forged a
fruitful friendship over almost four decades.
This initiative is a concrete example of
our strong partnership and continued
commitment to support the government of
Kiribati and its people in their efforts towards
attainment of the Millennium Development
Goals”.
The representative from the Government of
Kiribati, Mr. Tererei Aruee stated that “water
is an important priority of the Government,
and the rehabilitation of the reticulated water
supply through this project will benefit the
majority of residents on Kiritimati Island. The
Government appreciates the assistance of
the European Union through this project and
is committed to working closely with SPC
in improving the reticulated water supply
system.”
Mr. George Beck further added that “the
focus will be to have a good understanding
of the status of the groundwater, building
new infrastructure to improve supply to the
Ronton community particularly the hospital
and build capacity within the Ministry to
monitor and maintain the water supply
system.”
The EUR 4.8 million ‘Improving Drinking
Water Supply in Kiritimati’ project is funded
by the 10th European Development Fund
(EDF) bilateral envelope for Kiribati. It aims
to provide 85% of the island’s households
with improved water sources and 75% of
households, schools and hospitals in the
two villages, London and Tennessee with
continuous water supply.
The project will also help the people of
Kiritimati build resilience against the global
threat of climate change which may cause
salt water intrusion into groundwater reserves
and increase the incidence and/or severity of
extreme weather events, including droughts.
The Secretariat of the Pacific Community is
the project implementing partner.
European Union supports achievements in national
resilience planning
The Cook Islands, Palau and Federated
States of Micronesia (FSM) have achieved
key national governance and resilience
planning milestones. This achievement
affords these countries a strategic
perspective on priorities to address
disaster-related risks under the European
Union-funded project EDF10 ACP EU:
Building Safety and Resilience in the Pacific.
‘Cook Islands, Palau and FSM are the
first Pacific Island countries to achieve
agreement on their country priorities for
Year 1. This is important for improving safety
and resilience of their communities on the
ground. We envisage that the other Pacific
ACP States supported by the project will
complete this step by August 2014,’ stated
Taito Nakalevu, SPC Project Manager for
the EDF10 ACP EU project.
Cook Islands, Palau and FSM have finalised
their National Steering Committees and
key documents that set a framework for
coordinated national resilience action,
including endorsed Country Implementation
Plans and Year 1 Work Plans.
Maylene Joshua of the National Emergency
Management Office under the Office of
the Vice President in the Republic of Palau
explained the benefits of the project in
Palau. ‘With the funding provided under
this project, the Palau National Emergency
Management Office can now continue with
its mandated responsibilities,’ she says,
‘ensuring that those communities that were
affected by the last two super typhoons will
be prepared and have the proper resources
and skills on-hand in case of future events
of natural disasters.’
The Country Implementation Plans outline
strategic direction and activities to reduce
vulnerability of Pacific Island countries, as
well as social, economic, and environmental
costs of disasters. Activities outlined in the
plans include actions, such as strengthening
early warning systems, strengthening the
inter-operability of emergency service
agencies, and development of minimum
building standards. The actions to achieve
these activities are detailed in the Year 1
Work Plan.
SPC officers, Noa Tokavou and Anthony
Blake, are providing advice and support
to Cook Islands, Palau and FSM for the
resilience planning processes.
The implementation phase will now
commence for all three countries, which
will involve ‘key agencies and resources to
undertake each action of the Year 1 Work
Plan,’ said Noa Tokavou.
SPC’s Applied Geoscience and Technology
Division manages the EDF10 ACP EU:
Building Safety and Resilience in the Pacific
project and partners with the Governments
of 15 ACP States, as well as civil society
organisations, utility providers, the private
sector and the community to reduce
vulnerability and social, economic and
environmental costs of disasters.