By
Makereta Komai, PACNEWS: http://www.pina.com.fj/index.php?p=pacnews&m=pacnews
11 July,
2013, Nadi, Fiji -
Organisers of the first ever Joint Meeting of the Pacific Platform for Disaster
Risk Management (DRM) and Pacific Climate Change Roundtable in Fiji have
described the meeting as an ‘amazing’ experience bringing the two communities
together to find common grounds to work together for the benefit of Pacific
Island Countries and Territories (PICTs).
Mosese
Sikivou, the Manager Community Risk programme said member countries were very
supportive of the proposed Roadmap process that paves the way for a regional
strategy on DRM and Climate Change (CC) by the end of 2014.
“I think the
countries are very supportive of this because this is a regional initiative
that builds on what they already have at the national level. They have the
leadership and ownership to carry it through.
“They want
the regional architecture to provide a better enabling environment to allow
them to integrate better. This meeting is part of a process that started two
years ago. It is significant because it is the first time that climate and
disaster communities have come together, said Sikivou.’’
Dr Netauta
Pelesikoti, the director of climate change division at the Secretariat of the Pacific
Regional Environment echoed the sentiments of Sikivou saying a lot of work
needs to be done moving forward.
“A clear
message came from Pacific Island Countries and Territories that they want to be
involved in the process. Many of them have volunteered to be included in the
steering committee and technical working groups that will carry forward the
consultations and the drafting.
“The topics
that we heard this week provided some insights on the priority areas that can
be looked at in the proposed strategy. Today we discussed vulnerable groups and
the need to mainstream gender considerations, said Dr Pelesikoti.
At the same
time, the joint meeting highlighted synergies between different stakeholders
and the role they can play in the Roadmap process and the development of the
proposed regional strategy.
“We are
talking about a lot more significant penetration and tangible results at the
community level and that is something we hope, as we move forward will form the
core of the umbrella strategy that we hope to achieve.
Sikivou said
the concerns of vulnerable groups will also be incorporated into discussions
now being shaped for the regional strategy.
“We are
hoping that they will get a visible profile and become a significant focus of the
work that we do. The message that came from the session this morning is that
they have a lot to contribute in building resilient communities.
“We need to
reorient our thinking and not look at them as a vulnerable group but how they
can contribute to building resilient communities. If we do that, then we can
adopt a ‘whole of country’ approach, said Sikivou.
Dr Pelesikoti
of SPREP agrees that vulnerable groups are an important component of the
integrated regional strategy.
“It has been
raised and they must be included. They are an important group in our society.
One of the reasons why they are more vulnerable than others is because they
need special attention and assistance, said Dr Pelesikoti.
Another
emerging group is the private sector, said Sikivou.
“We are
trying to organise a meeting for the private sector before the end of this year
and a separate one for civil society as well. If we are able to get these
stakeholders together in dedicated groups, we may be able to draw out some key
messages.
Both Sikivou
and Dr Pelesikoti agree the Joint National Action Plan (JNAPs) on DRM and CC
that exists in 13 of the 14 Pacific Island Countries and Territories shows
commitment and political will at the national level to move forward with the
regional integration proposal.
“Many
countries have developed their JNAPS but there is a need for the sectors to
take priority and integrate them into their sector action plan. We need
to move away from the thinking that CC and DRM are confined to only some
sectors. There needs to be national mechanisms to take regional policies down
to provinces, outer islands and communities.
“This week,
we have seen political leadership shown by the deputy Prime Minister of Tonga,
the acting Prime Minister of Fiji, Minister of Finance of Vanuatu and the
Minister of Environment from Vanuatu. There is a commitment from decision
makers that they see climate change and disaster risk management are key
development issue that need to be addressed if governments want to have sustainable
development, said Dr Pelesikoti.
If the
regional strategy is endorsed by Pacific Leaders in August 2014, the Pacific
will be the first region in the world with an integrated plan to tackle
disaster risk and climate change.
“We need to
be grounded, keep our feet firmly on the ground and just get on and do the
work. Our success as a region should be demonstrated by our work and not by
what we are saying.
“One of the
things that worked for us is that a lot of what we do amongst ourselves as
Pacific Islanders is built on the strong foundation of mutual respect and
trust. I am optimistic that if we continue to use this as the mainstay for our
discussions, we can achieve greater things for our people, said Sikivou.
The joint
meeting has brought SPC and SPREP close together, said Sikivou.
“ We’ve
always had a strong relationship. This integration agenda going back to 2009
has just brought us much closer together. We were set up to address different
things but we are mutually complementary, said Sikivou.
A meeting of
the Steering committee will be held in August to discuss outcomes of the Nadi
meeting.
No comments:
Post a Comment