Climate Change Resilience
For Vanuatu to provide a sound administrative and operational framework in dealing with issues arising in the context of meteorology, geo hazards and climate change, the Vanuatu Meteorology and Geo hazard Department drafted a new legislation to form the basis of its responsibilities, powers, operations and authority.
Through the 'Drafting Meteorological, Geohazard and Climate Change' initiative, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) Voluntary Cooperation Programme, the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and the GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit) assisted the Vanuatu Government late last year to address gaps in its laws to issues relating to meteorology, geohazards and climate change.
The initiative is to ensure the Vanuatu Meteorology and Geohazards Department is appropriately empowered to deal with all relevant matters.
"This way it has some mix of both regulatory and operational roles and in this context that is quite necessary and appropriate," said Mr Henry Taiki, the WMO Regional Programme Officer.
Since the original development of its Act in the 1980's, Vanuatu Meteorological Service has diversified its responsibilities to capture a wide variety of activities such as climate change, geo-physical hazards and its new role in disaster risk reduction activities.
The current aviation charges have significantly escalated in relation to those laid out in the Regulations made under the 1989 Act and they no longer reflect the Act's intended scenario.
The current set-up of Vanuatu Meteorology and Geohazard Department, as approved by the Council of Ministers, sees the geohazard activities coming under the responsibility of the Meteorology Department. The Vanuatu Meteorology and Geohazard Department also houses the National Climate Change Secretariat. The National Disaster Management Office is co-located with the Vanuatu Meteorology and Geohazard Department, in the same building. No current law makes comprehensive provision in relation to such matters in Vanuatu.
Therefore, the Government of Vanuatu, through its Permanent Representative with the World Meteorology Organisation (WMO) requested assistance from WMO to draft the meteorological, climate change and geohazard legislation.
Photo © Dr C. Barlett, SPC-GIZ
The draft is currently in discussion with communities in the outer islands, seeking their views and inputs; the legislation will then be redrafted taking into account these inputs before its presentation to the National Parliament late this year.
For more information contact Mr Henry Taiki at [email protected]