SPC Geoscience Division

Wednesday 16th February, 2011, Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), Nouméa, New Caledonia. The Government of New Caledonia and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community have signed three agreements today to fund interventions to reduce public health risks resulting from contaminated drinking water, inadequate sanitation and drought.

In welcoming this signature, SPC Deputy Director-General Richard Mann noted the ‘importance of these agreements to the ongoing development of the country’ and their focus on ‘addressing priorities set by New Caledonia.’

The agreements worth € 1.55 million in total will support New Caledonia in the areas of water safety planning, sanitation, and integrated water resource management. These initiatives fall under a larger regional project aimed at reducing disaster risk in Pacific Overseas Countries and Territories thereby benefiting New Caledonia, French Polynesia, Wallis and Futuna and Pitcairn Islands.