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April - June 2014
The 6
th
Session of the Pacific Platform for
Disaster Risk Management and the 20th
Regional Disaster Managers Meeting were
held in Lami, Fiji on the 2nd to 6th of June.
Both meetings were hailed as a success
resulting in outcomes progressing regional
processes.
The 6th Pacific Platform for Disaster Risk
Management was co-convened by the SPC
and the United Nations Office for Disaster
Risk Reduction (UNISDR) and focused on
regional and global policy initiatives. The
meeting provided the region with a pivotal
opportunity to shape disaster risk and
climate change efforts for at least the next
20 years.
In his opening address, Lieutenant Colonel
Inia Seruiratu said that Fiji fully supports the
proposed Strategy for Climate and Disaster
Resilient Development in the Pacific (SRDP)
as a successor to the DRM Regional
Framework for Action 2005-2015 (RFA)
and Pacific Islands Framework for Action
on Climate Change 2006-2015 (PIFACC).
‘I believe that the new Strategy or SRDP
is a “world first” and, collectively, you
should be proud of your contributions and
achievements. For those of us in the region,
the climate and disaster instruments are
integrated and inseparable, unique to our
island nature and the SRDP is the right
approach to take us into the future.’
‘For Fiji, a good example of this integrated
approach is the Vunidogoloa village
disaster risk and climate change mitigation
project, where the Government and the
community work together, relocating the
whole community to higher ground to
reduce disaster risk and climate change
effect and where sustainable growths
and developments are promoted,
unhindered. More than 40 communities in
Fiji, also identified, will undergo the same
programme. It is time to “walk the talk” and
make things possible,’ he said.
The meeting achieved the objectives of
gaining feedback and support for the
draft SRDP and the development of the
Post-2015 Framework on Disaster Risk
Reduction which is to be endorsed at the 3rd
World Conference on Disaster Reduction
(3WCDRR) in Sendai, Japan in March 2015.
Key Pacific regional imperatives for effective
disaster risk management and climate
change adaptation were also identified for
the post 2015 development agenda.
The 20th Regional Disaster Managers
Meeting, co-convened by SPC and the
United Nations Office for Coordination
of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA),
provided National Disaster Management
Offices the opportunity to consider recent
developments and to articulate specific
capacity building priorities in ‘disaster
management’ (disaster preparedness and
response) for the medium term.
Support was gained for the Regional
Steering Committee for the ACP-EU/SPC
Building Safety and Resilience in the Pacific
(BSRP) project to ensure co-ordinated
implementation at regional, national
and community levels. The meeting
outcomes also included intention to
strengthen collaboration and coordination
for disaster preparedness and response.
Endorsement was obtained for the draft
DRM Competency Framework with request
for SPC to continue to work together with
partners and to assist countries in adapting
the draft DRM Competency Framework to
suit the national context. The Competency
Framework, being developed by SPC,
will assist to more clearly define the skills,
qualifications and attributes necessary
to produce competent emergency
management practitioners.
A 2-minute video summarising key
stakeholder views on the success of the
Platform can be accessed through the
following link:
http://www.sopac.org/index.php/media-
releases/1- latest -news/569-what - i s-
the-paci f ic-plat form-for-disaster-r isk-
management
Pacific Platform for Disaster Risk Management Meets to
Discuss the New Strategy
CROP Agencies and International Stakeholders Highlight
the Significance of Spatial Data for the Pacific
A broad range of geospatial data experts,
managers and stakeholders from the
Council of Regional Organisations in the
Pacific (CROP), as well as partner agencies
convened for the 2nd CROP Spatial
Data Infrastructure meeting. The session
was held at the Secretariat of the Pacific
Community (SPC) in Suva on June 17th to
18th 2014.
The meeting was opened by Prof Michael
Petterson, Director of SPC’s Applied
GeoScience and Technology Division
(SOPAC), where he highlighted the various
challenges facing effective geospatial data
management in the Pacific. Such challenges
cited were under-skilled staff, limited
understanding by responsible personnel of
available datasets, and obsolete formats of
residing data. He encouraged the meeting
to bring about some positive outcomes
to address these and the many other
challenges.
Participants reviewed current spatial data
systems within CROP agencies to find ways
to harmonize current efforts and to identify
opportunities for future collaboration. SPC’s
PacGeo, Open Access Data Repository for
the Pacific, was showcased, along with
Mosese Sikivou, Deputy Director Disaster Re-
duction Programme presenting to delegations
Participating delegations in group discussions