Disaster Waste Management Workshop

Disaster Waste Management Workshop: Sharing lessons-learnt and experiences on disaster waste management from around the Pacific

Thursday 8^th December 2022 – 1pm (Samoa time)

Photo credit: SPREP

Why a workshop on disaster waste?

In the Pacific, the frequency and intensity of natural disasters especially tropical cyclones are increasing and when these natural disasters occur large amounts of waste, known as disaster waste, are generated from damage to both the natural and man-made environment.

These natural disasters are a real challenge for all Pacific islands because of the negative environmental, health, economic and social impacts. In addition to the significant risks to property and people directly caused by disasters, these events can generate a significant amount of waste which in turn can impact on health, the economy and, or the environment. For example:

• Piles of waste on the roads can delay emergency lifesaving operations,
• Sharp waste such as broken glasses and deformed pieces of metals can cause serious injuries,
• Piles of waste can become breeding sites for mosquitoes and rats,
• Some hazardous wastes such as used oil or chemicals can spread and pollute the soil, rivers or the sea, groundwater, the atmosphere or even have health effects if not handled with care.

Pacific Islands are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of disaster waste, as natural disasters such as tropical cyclones are becoming more intense and frequent in the past 20 years due to climate change.

According to the latest data from the World Risk Report 2021, three of the ten countries with the highest risk of disaster in the world are in the Pacific region, with Vanuatu at 1^st, Solomon Islands at 2^nd place and Tonga was considered the third most vulnerable country to disasters. A total of six Pacific islands are included in the top 20 countries most at risk from natural disasters.

To discuss how Pacific Islands (such as Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu) have coped with managing disaster waste through lessons-learnt and experiences, SPREP, through the SWAP (Committing to Sustainable Waste Actions in the Pacific) project in collaboration with the J-PRISM II project and the PacWaste Plus Programme, plans to conduct a three and half-hour virtual workshop to be held on Thursday 8^th December 2022 at 1pm Samoa time.

Note: the workshop will be conducted in English while an interpretation service will be provided for the French speaking participants.

What are the objectives of the marine litter workshop?

It is designed for the participants to:

• Inform the origins and the impacts of disaster waste;
• Highlight the challenges of Disaster Waste management in the Pacific;
• Learn how to prepare for minimising Disaster Waste generation;
• Inform of opportunities for Pacific Island Countries to manage Disaster Waste; and
• Inform on safe handling and storage of Disaster Waste.

Agenda of the workshop

How to access the virtual workshop?

To access the workshop, please register first using the Online Form. And you will receive the Zoom link to join the workshop in the confirmation email.

In-country workshop hub locations

Please note, that we will be hosting in-person workshop hubs for Fiji, Samoa and Tonga. If you wish to join with other participants if you are joining from one of these countries, the locations for our in-country workshop hubs are as follows:

This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the AFD. The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the AFD.