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Water and Sanitation Programme

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A long-term programme of capacity building, advocacy and awareness in sustainable water management for Pacific Island Countries.

SOPAC, the regional agency mandated to coordinate water and sanitation in the Pacific, provides support to its member countries through three components: Water Resources Management; Water and Sanitation Services; and Water Governance.

Pacific Island countries have uniquely fragile water resources due to their small size, lack of natural storage, competing land use and vulnerability to natural hazards.


Pollution of freshwater resources, unsafe drinking water supplies and inadequate sanitation can have a significant impact on public health, quality of life, the environment and economic development.


Urbanization, rural development, growing populations, climate change and increased demand from industry and agriculture is putting further pressure on the region’s freshwater resources, threatening the long term viability of communities and islands.


Natural disasters exacerbate water issues. Excessive rainfall, often linked to cyclones and typhoons, causes flooding and disruption of drinking water supplies. Small islands that rely on groundwater and/or rainwater harvesting are highly vulnerable to droughts, often linked to El Niño or La Niña triggered climatic disruptions. Both situations – too much or too little water – compromise the safety of drinking water supplies and increase the risk to public health.

www.pacificwater.org

Last Updated on Sunday, 20 June 2010 12:44  


Newsflash

“Satellite technology has changed the way that Utility companies throughout the South Pacific manage assets and plan future development.”

So said Dr Wolf Forstreuter, SOPAC’s Remote Sensing and GIS Specialist. Dr Forstreuter has been responsible for the on-going delivery of the EU-funded programme to assist South Pacific Utility companies with GIS.

The programme was first introduced in Tonga, closely followed by the Solomon Islands, Fiji and a similar programme later for Samoa and Tuvalu.

GIS (Geographical Information Systems) is a computer-based tool, to collect, combine and overlay information in the form of easily understood maps constructed from up-to-date-satellite images and field data.