Climate Change Resilience
Presented by Mr. Kosi Latu, Deputy Director General, Secretariat of the Pacific Environment Programme to the Plenary on 17 March, 2015.
"Honourable Chair, Excellencies, Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen.
Greetings from the Pacific.
It is a great pleasure to deliver this statement on behalf of SPREP, the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme.
SPREP has been working in the Pacific region for the past 40 years, and is the lead inter-governmental environment agency for the Pacific, which includes the integration of climate change and DRR. For SPREP, our work on building island resilience, focuses on practical implementation of climate change adaptation strategies, climate services and early warning services for key development sectors such as water, food security, health, aviation, marine and coastal zone management.
The vulnerability of Pacific Islands to disaster risk is well known to the world, as you have heard from the various statements from Pacific island countries attending this conference. Our presence here demonstrates our commitment to working with the international community and we welcome the opportunity to contribute to a new global framework to replace Hyogo.
During the 2014 Third SIDS conference in Samoa last year, the Hon. Prime Minister of Samoa noted "the special case of SIDS" - and a clear recognition by partners of their vulnerabilities and the unique challenges faced by our small island nations. Many of our nations are low-lying atoll countries making them extremely vulnerable and prone to natural disasters, and the impacts of climate change. Climate change is synonymous with natural disasters in our region, as climate change exacerbates their impacts.
As we look at the aftermath of two cyclones in the Pacific this week, one of which, has devastated Vanuatu, and affected the Solomon Islands, and led to disastrous coastal flooding in Kiribati, Tuvalu and the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the timing of this Third UN World Conference on DRR is even more pertinent to the Pacific's need to strengthen disaster resilience. For the Pacific, building resilience to climate change and DRR is key to achieving sustainable development. But it is also about enhancing the capacity of our governments and communities to recover from the impact of natural disasters. In this regard, SPREP and the regional organisations of the Pacific stand ready to provide assistance that is effective for the response and recovery for our member countries.
The Samoa PATHWAY - the outcomes document of the Third SIDS Conference committed us to develop and strengthen durable and sustainable partnerships as a mechanism for building resilience. SPREP believes that strong and effective partnerships can help regions such as the Pacific to build resilience and help them achieve sustainable development.
In 2013, SPREP and other key partners including UNISDR, Secretariat of the Pacific Secretariat (SPC), University of the South Pacific (USP), Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS) and UNDP commenced work in developing the 'worlds' first' integrated strategy on climate change and disaster resilient development in the Pacific (SRDP) which is linked to our region's reporting on our progress since Hyogo. Through the SRDP, the Pacific is committed to strengthen our risk reduction, preparedness and responses to climate change hazards and other natural hazards.
Climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction share many similar tools and resources required to monitor, analyse and address disasters caused by climate change and geological hazards. Strategies that reflect this move towards integration of climate change and disaster risk management policies and programs were first initiated in the Pacific at the national level. Currently, almost all Pacific Island Countries have adopted this integrated approach to climate change and DRM through mainstreaming into policies, development and budgetary planning processes and through development of joint national action plans for climate change and disaster risk management.
The Pacific integrated strategy on climate change and disaster resilient development is aligned with the conclusions of the IPCC's Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX) and incorporating DRM into development planning which was highlighted at Rio+20. SPREP also supports the call to link the Post-2015 Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction were appropriate with the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris COP in November 2015, where hopefully a new global treaty on Climate Change will be adopted by the international community.
SPREP wishes to convey its sincere appreciation to the Government of Japan for its commitment to the establishment of the Pacific Centre for Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management in Samoa. We also wish to acknowledge the strong support of the Government of Samoa for enabling this important initiative for the Pacific as the host of SPREP for more than 20 years. The Pacific Centre for Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management will focus on climate change but will adopt an integrated approach which is fully consistent with the integrated strategy on climate change and disaster resilient development in the Pacific (SRDP). The aim of the Centre is to strengthen and sustain the delivery of climate change services and information to Pacific Island members of SPREP. This will include the application of both climate variability prediction and long term projection tools to support planning and decision making in the Pacific on climate change and disaster risk management.
We look forward to the next global framework on disaster risk reduction and to working together with you all in order to build resilience and achieve sustainable development of our regions and countries."
"Honourable Chair, Excellencies, Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen.
Greetings from the Pacific.
It is a great pleasure to deliver this statement on behalf of SPREP, the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme.
SPREP has been working in the Pacific region for the past 40 years, and is the lead inter-governmental environment agency for the Pacific, which includes the integration of climate change and DRR. For SPREP, our work on building island resilience, focuses on practical implementation of climate change adaptation strategies, climate services and early warning services for key development sectors such as water, food security, health, aviation, marine and coastal zone management.
The vulnerability of Pacific Islands to disaster risk is well known to the world, as you have heard from the various statements from Pacific island countries attending this conference. Our presence here demonstrates our commitment to working with the international community and we welcome the opportunity to contribute to a new global framework to replace Hyogo.
During the 2014 Third SIDS conference in Samoa last year, the Hon. Prime Minister of Samoa noted "the special case of SIDS" - and a clear recognition by partners of their vulnerabilities and the unique challenges faced by our small island nations. Many of our nations are low-lying atoll countries making them extremely vulnerable and prone to natural disasters, and the impacts of climate change. Climate change is synonymous with natural disasters in our region, as climate change exacerbates their impacts.
As we look at the aftermath of two cyclones in the Pacific this week, one of which, has devastated Vanuatu, and affected the Solomon Islands, and led to disastrous coastal flooding in Kiribati, Tuvalu and the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the timing of this Third UN World Conference on DRR is even more pertinent to the Pacific's need to strengthen disaster resilience. For the Pacific, building resilience to climate change and DRR is key to achieving sustainable development. But it is also about enhancing the capacity of our governments and communities to recover from the impact of natural disasters. In this regard, SPREP and the regional organisations of the Pacific stand ready to provide assistance that is effective for the response and recovery for our member countries.
The Samoa PATHWAY - the outcomes document of the Third SIDS Conference committed us to develop and strengthen durable and sustainable partnerships as a mechanism for building resilience. SPREP believes that strong and effective partnerships can help regions such as the Pacific to build resilience and help them achieve sustainable development.
In 2013, SPREP and other key partners including UNISDR, Secretariat of the Pacific Secretariat (SPC), University of the South Pacific (USP), Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS) and UNDP commenced work in developing the 'worlds' first' integrated strategy on climate change and disaster resilient development in the Pacific (SRDP) which is linked to our region's reporting on our progress since Hyogo. Through the SRDP, the Pacific is committed to strengthen our risk reduction, preparedness and responses to climate change hazards and other natural hazards.
Climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction share many similar tools and resources required to monitor, analyse and address disasters caused by climate change and geological hazards. Strategies that reflect this move towards integration of climate change and disaster risk management policies and programs were first initiated in the Pacific at the national level. Currently, almost all Pacific Island Countries have adopted this integrated approach to climate change and DRM through mainstreaming into policies, development and budgetary planning processes and through development of joint national action plans for climate change and disaster risk management.
The Pacific integrated strategy on climate change and disaster resilient development is aligned with the conclusions of the IPCC's Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX) and incorporating DRM into development planning which was highlighted at Rio+20. SPREP also supports the call to link the Post-2015 Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction were appropriate with the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris COP in November 2015, where hopefully a new global treaty on Climate Change will be adopted by the international community.
SPREP wishes to convey its sincere appreciation to the Government of Japan for its commitment to the establishment of the Pacific Centre for Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management in Samoa. We also wish to acknowledge the strong support of the Government of Samoa for enabling this important initiative for the Pacific as the host of SPREP for more than 20 years. The Pacific Centre for Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management will focus on climate change but will adopt an integrated approach which is fully consistent with the integrated strategy on climate change and disaster resilient development in the Pacific (SRDP). The aim of the Centre is to strengthen and sustain the delivery of climate change services and information to Pacific Island members of SPREP. This will include the application of both climate variability prediction and long term projection tools to support planning and decision making in the Pacific on climate change and disaster risk management.
We look forward to the next global framework on disaster risk reduction and to working together with you all in order to build resilience and achieve sustainable development of our regions and countries."