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Deep sea minerals community of practice for the Pacific

Monday, 29 June 2015 14:09 administrator
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The Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) and the European Union will establish a community of practice for Pacific Islands’ policy officers and legislative drafters involved in deep sea minerals.

 

The new initiative is a key outcome of an intensive regional training workshop on deep sea minerals policy formulation and legislative drafting hosted by the Government of Samoa and organised with SPC in Apia last week.

 

The virtual community of practitioners will usefully exchange practices, experiences, questions and challenges with regards to the development and implementation of their deep sea mineral policies and legislation.

 

The Director of SPC’s Geoscience Division, Professor Mike Petterson, said the initiative will enable policy officers and legislative drafters to share and discuss the future development of deep sea mineral regulatory frameworks, including the strengths and weaknesses in existing deep sea mineral policies and legislation, and to grasp whether there is a need for further development and changes.

 

 

Last Updated on Monday, 29 June 2015 14:16 Read more...
 

Young people debate topic of deep sea minerals

Monday, 29 June 2015 14:03 administrator
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The Secretariat of the Pacific Community, the European Union and the Government of the Solomon Islands hosted a national youth debate on deep sea minerals on Thursday (4 June 2015) at the National Auditorium in Honiara.

 

SPC initiated this debate in an effort to increase public awareness of issues related to deep seabed minerals in the Pacific, including for the Solomon Islands.

 

The debate featured 14 youths from nine high schools in Honiara.

 

Prior to the debate, the students took part in training after school hours on different aspects of deep sea minerals and mining to improve their understanding of the potential positive and negative aspects of this emerging industry and what it may mean for the Solomon Islands.

 

“The debate aimed to encourage young people and students to research and gain more knowledge on matters relating to deep sea minerals and to encourage a participatory approach whereby all stakeholders can frankly exchange views on various issues relating to deep sea minerals,” the SPC Deep Sea Minerals Project Team Leader, Akuila Tawake said.

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Lessons from Cyclone Pam help Vanuatu media prepare for future events

Monday, 29 June 2015 13:53 administrator
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Vanuatu broadcasters and media came together with the National Disaster Management Office, and the Vanuatu Meteorology and Geo-Hazard Department to plan and prepare their Climate and Disaster Resilience Plans this week.

 

Funded by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade through ABC International and PACMAS, the Pacific Media Assistance Scheme, and implemented in partnership with the Secretariat of the Pacific Communty (SPC) and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), this training seeks to assist Pacific broadcasters in eight countries in preparing plans that will help them be more resilient to the effects of climate change and disasters.

 

Having the very recent experience of category five Tropical Cyclone Pam, the broadcasters and government ministries were able to share their experiences and lessons learnt to help develop plans.

 

This will help them continue broadcasting warnings and information to the public during times of disaster when people need this service the most.

Last Updated on Monday, 29 June 2015 14:17 Read more...
 

Federated States of Micronesia reviews disaster risk management lessons from typhoons

Monday, 29 June 2015 13:39 administrator
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Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) is reviewing its disaster response in the wake of the three typhoons which hit the country between April and May this year.

 

The review, which involves representatives from the four states of FSM and partners, including the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) and the European Union, is part of the Second FSM Disaster Risk Management Platform being held in Yap State between 8 and 12 June, 2015.

 

In April this year, typhoon Maysak severely impacted Chuuk and the outer islands of Yap. This was followed by typhoon Noul , which hit the main island of Yap. Typhoon Dolphin caused heavy damage on Kosrae and Pohnpei in May.

 

The Second FSM Disaster Risk Management Platform is funded by the European Union, as part of the Building Safety and Resilience in the Pacific Project, implemented by SPC.

 

The forum is being led by the respective state disaster coordinating officers, and assisted by staff of the Weather Service Office and Red Cross.

 

Last Updated on Monday, 29 June 2015 13:52 Read more...
 

Vanuatu reviews disaster response following cyclone Pam

Monday, 29 June 2015 13:27 administrator
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One hundred days since tropical cyclone Pam swept through the Pacific, the Government of Vanuatu is reviewing its disaster response arrangements.

A Lessons Learnt Workshop, hosted by the National Disaster Management Office, will take place in Port Vila on 24 to 25 June to inform the development and implementation of improved procedures for disaster management in Vanuatu.

The workshop is funded by the European Union as part of the Building Safety and Resilience in the Pacific Project, an initiative implemented by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC).

It will examine the coordination, early warning, information management, logistics and assessments that took place in the immediate aftermath of tropical cyclone Pam – all essential discussion topics following a disaster event of this magnitude.

Last Updated on Monday, 29 June 2015 14:19 Read more...
 
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Newsflash

I bid all our readers ‘Seasons Greetings’ as we move closer to Christmas in 2010. This has been another busy year and the Pacific DRM Partnership Network continues to evolve and provide services and support to the Pacific island countries to address issues of vulnerability and risk.

So much has been done by so many in 2010 and we hope to bring you some of the exciting stories in this issue of ‘Footprints’. As we wind down this year and move into 2011 there will be a number of changes that will be experienced. SOPAC as an independent regional intergovernmental organisation will from 1st January cease to function as a separate organisation and becomes the ‘Applied Geoscience and Technology Division of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC).