A side event organized during the Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS) drew attention to regional efforts in the Pacific to integrate climate change and disaster risk management strategies, and advocated for a regional coordinating mechanism to oversee the implementation the regional strategy, expected to be endorsed in 2015.
The event was organized by the Government of Tonga, in collaboration with the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), and the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR).
3 September 2014: A side event organized during the Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS) drew attention to regional efforts in the Pacific to integrate climate change and disaster risk management strategies, and advocated for a regional coordinating mechanism to oversee the implementation the regional strategy, expected to be endorsed in 2015. The event was organized by the Government of Tonga, in collaboration with the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), and the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR).
Held on 1 September in Apia, Samoa, the side event, moderated by Margareta Wahlström, UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, heard a keynote address by Lord Tu’ivakanō, Prime Minister of Tonga, and included panelists from Samoa, the EU and civil society. Discussions focused on resilient development for Pacific island countries, including the Strategy for Climate and Disaster Resilient Development in the Pacific (SRDP), currently under development.
A new regional coordination mechanism, titled the Pacific Resilience Partnership, was also promoted. The mechanism will oversee the implementation of the SRDP, and build on existing structures and partnerships, such as the Technical Working Group. The event also highlighted the need for: commitment by all stakeholders to address climate change impacts and disasters in the region; and for support from the international community for the implementation of the SRDP.
In 2011, the Pacific disaster risk management and climate change communities, and regional intergovernmental mechanisms agreed to develop an integrated Pacific regional strategy for disaster risk management and climate change by 2015. A ‘Roadmap’ process to develop the strategy has three major outputs: the SRDP, to be effective from 2016 onwards; a ‘Pacific Regional Synthesis Report 2015’; and a ‘Compendium of Pacific DRM and Climate Change Case Studies.’ The outputs will be presented to Pacific leaders for endorsement in 2015. [SPC Press Release] [SPREP Press Release] [UN Conference on SIDS Webpage on the SRDP] [IISD RS Coverage of the Third International Conference on SIDS]