21 January 2014: The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) convened a workshop to develop a post-2015 Strategy for Disaster and Climate Resilient Development in the Pacific (SRDP). The new strategy aims to bring together the fields of disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaption to increase the resilience of Pacific countries.

The workshop, which took place on 20 January in Suva, Fiji, was one of a series of multi-stakeholder discussions to develop a single successor strategy to the current Pacific DRR and Disaster Management Framework for Action and Pacific Islands Framework for Action on Climate Change, both of which will expire in 2015. Experts from the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization (WHO) and UN Women attended the workshop.

The new strategy underscores the need to: strengthen risk management by reducing existing risks and preventing new risks; enhance disaster preparedness, response and recovery; and promote low carbon development. The SRDP will provide guidance to governments and recommend actions for the private sector, civil society and development partners to increase resilience to slow and sudden onset hazards through improved capacity and preparedness.

Timothy Wilcox, UNISDR Pacific Office, explained that this single approach to addressing disaster risk and climate resilience is central to the region’s sustainable development and also promotes efficient, effective utilization of capacity and funding.

Partners and stakeholders will be able to comment on the draft strategy online. UNISDR is expected to post further details on its website by 3 February.[UNISDR Press Release]