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Snapshot 86
Strong foundations for strategic direction were laid at
the inauguralmeeting for thePacific IslandsEmergency
Management Alliance (PIEMA) on the 5 September
2014 in Wellington New Zealand. Co-convened by
SPC and the Australasian Fire and Emergency Services
Authorities Council (AFAC), the meeting was attended
by a total of 30 delegates including 19 Senior
Emergency Management Officers from NDMOs,
Police and Fire Service agencies from 8 Pacific Island
countries as well as the supporting agencies of SPC,
New Zealand Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency
Management, AFAC, Australian and NZ Fire Services
and the EU Delegation in New Zealand.
The meeting was held alongside the AFAC 2014
Conference. Thiswas thefirsttimethat representatives
from the NDMOs attended the AFAC Conference.
The participants agreed to the Pacific Islands
Emergency Management Alliance Charter; a range
of draft strategies for consideration in the PIEMA
Strategic Roadmap to be finalised in early 2015 and
the finalisation and roll out of the Pacific Urban Search
and Rescue Category 1 Course in the region.
Themeetingwas officiallyopenedbyMrDavidCliff, the
Acting Deputy Commissioner Resource Management,
New Zealand Police Service. He stressed that a trusting
a relationship needs to be established well before an
event takes place. Having a close working relationship
between agencies during good times will go a long
way when disasters strike.
The PIEMA meeting will be held every 2 years to allow
for agreed outcomes to be implemented across the
three key partners of the NDMOs, Pacific Islands Fire
and Emergency Services Association (PIFESA) and
Pacific Islands Chief of Police (PICP).
The PIEMA partnership strengthens emergency
management across the Pacific with membership
inclusive of National Disaster Management Offices,
Fire & Emergency Service, and Police Services. PIEMA
was endorsed by the NDMOs, PIFESA & PICP with the
founding partners (SPC, AFAC, New Zealand Ministry
of Civil Defence and Emergency Management, United
Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs, and the Asia Foundation) in July 2013 in Nadi,
Fiji. PIEMA is supported by the European Union, and
the Governments of Australia and New Zealand.
Participants at the PIEMA meeting in Wellington, New Zealand
Inaugural meeting of the new Pacific Islands Emergency
Management Alliance