SPC Geoscience Division

Disaster Risk Reduction in Eight Pacific ACP States (2007-2013)

The Disaster Risk Reduction in Eight Pacific ACP States project was a Multi-Country project funded by the European Union under the 9th EDF with a budget totalling €9.26 million. The participating countries included the Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Tuvalu. The project commenced on 1st October 2007 and was completed in 2013.

The overall objective of the project was poverty alleviation and sustainable development through disaster risk reduction.

The project's purpose was to build resilience in selected communities to reduce the risk to Pacific Island communities to disasters targeting two specific areas:

• Access to Safe Drinking Water – The Regional Action Plan on Sustainable Water Management identifies the vulnerability of water resources and water supply systems to climatic hazards and proposes approaches to mitigate against these risks. Low lying islands are vulnerable to climatic variability due to lack of natural ground water storage. In islands that have sufficient supply maintaining the quality of drinking water is important for rural communities. Measures for water sustainability, land use, sanitation, wastewater and solid waste disposal are important factors in determining appropriate solutions.

• Emergency Communications and Emergency Operation Centres – The Regional Framework for Action 2005 – 2015 Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters, calls for planning for effective preparedness, response and recovery with key actions to establish functional emergency communications systems and emergency operations centres (EOC). The Framework calls for establishment of an effective, integrated and people-focused early warning system. In many of the participating countries early warning systems lack basic equipment, skills and resources. The weakest element is in the dissemination of warnings and the preparedness of the communities to respond.

This project is now complete.