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Building Capacity for Resilient Development

Wednesday, 16 July 2014 09:02 administrator
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Pacific Island countries are amongst the most disaster prone in the region, exposed to natural hazards such as floods, droughts, tropical cyclones, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis, which all pose a significant challenge to development in the Pacific region. A single disaster event can result in losses in the millions of dollars and can undo progress in areas such as infrastructure, agriculture, healthcare and education.

Despite recognition of the importance of disaster resilient approaches to development, many countries face challenges in identifying ways to effectively mainstream risk reduction considerations into national development planning processes. To address this, the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, in partnership with the Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre is holding a one week training workshop which focusses on how to mainstream Disaster Risk Reduction into development.

The training, in Nadi from 14-18th July, includes participants from the Cook Islands, Fiji, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu with representatives of National Disaster Management Offices and ministries responsible for national planning and finance. Representatives from the Pacific islands Forum Secretariat, Secretariat of the Pacific Community, Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme and United Nations Development Programme will also participate in the training workshop.

A mixture of theory, case studies and exercises will be used to increase participants’ knowledge and skills in areas such as risk assessment, understanding the links between development and disasters, selecting appropriate risk reduction options and identifying and entry points to mainstream risk reduction in development. The training workshop will further build capacities of government planning officials in the Pacific Region to plan and implement disaster resilient development through enhancing their understanding of the integration of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) considerations in the development planning process.

The training workshop is supported by the Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community. The Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre (ADPC) works in a number of countries in the Asia Pacific region to strengthen disaster resilience at all levels. The Secretariat of the Pacific Community is an international organisation that works in public health, geoscience, agriculture, forestry, water resources, disaster management, fisheries, education, statistics, transport, energy, human rights, gender, youth and culture to help Pacific Island people achieve sustainable development.

For more information contact: Dr Kirstie Méheux, Senior Adviser Disaster Risk Management Training, SPC This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it +679 9315 189

Last Updated on Wednesday, 16 July 2014 09:05  

Newsflash

Monday 17 June 2013, Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) –  The Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), with Geoscience Australia, has developed a computer model to help the Government of Tonga see what the impact of a tsunami would be on Tongatapu. Part of an AusAID funded project, the model makes use of high resolution data, the collection of which was made possible by Australia, the European Union, and the New Zealand Ocean Sciences Grant.

The new Tsunami Inundation Model shows that an 8.7 magnitude earthquake in the Tonga Trench would create a wave that would hit the eastern coast of Tongatapu within ten to twenty minutes, inundating most of Nuku’alofa.  Leveni ‘Aho, Director of Tonga’s National Disaster Management Office, says the new computer model has enabled the Government of Tonga to consider how the public would need to respond in a range of possible scenarios.

‘Nuku’alofa has, perhaps, the biggest urban population in the Pacific living in a very low-lying area. We can talk about Japan’s earthquakes but if we can present something that shows what is going to happen to us here at home, the message is much more effective.  For us, it’s an excellent opportunity to help communities to be aware of what could possibly come and what they will need to do if a significant event occurs,’ he says.

After the model was presented to the cabinet and the National Emergency Management Committee, the Hon. Prime Minister Lord Tuʻivakanō indicated that the government would need support to construct access ways to some parts of Nuku’alofa so that the local community can quickly get to safe areas.

Mr ‘Aho says the model is also helping the Government of Tonga to design emergency response measures and improve long-term urban planning for Nuku’alofa and its surrounding villages.‘The tsunami computer model given by SPC has provided the government with a wonderful tool to help us really understand the risks of different scenarios and to prepare in the best ways we can,’ he says.

Mosese Sikivou, Deputy Director of SPC’s Disaster Reduction Programme, says this project is part of SPC’s assistance to Tonga in connection with its Joint National Action Plan for Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Management, approved by Cabinet in July 2010. The work to develop the model is part of an integrated approach that SPC and other partners are taking right across the Pacific to try and maximise scarce resources and minimise duplication of effort and potential conflict in policy development.