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This UNDP-supported, GEF-LDCF funded project, "Vanuatu Coastal Adaptation Project (VCAP)", is working to build resilience through improved infrastructure, sustained livelihoods, and increased food production.
These efforts (with National Government as Key Collaborators) aim to improve the quality of life in targeted vulnerable areasor communities in the coastal zone of the island nation.
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Vanuatu is among the most vulnerable countries on earth to the increasing impacts of climate change, including climate-related natural disasters and the effects of slow-onset events such as sea-level rise and ocean acidification.
As the effects of global warming manifest and the hazards of climate change arise at accelerating rates, there is a need to shift the paradigm towards the standardised and mainstreamed use of science-based climate information, at multiple timescales, to support resilient development pathways.
The proposed project will support this paradigm shift through the strengthening and application of Climate Information Services (CIS) in five targeted development sectors: tourism; agriculture; infrastructure; water and fisheries.
More specifically, the project will build the technical capacity in Vanuatu to harness and manage climate data; develop and deliver practical CIS tools and resources; support enhanced coordination and dissemination of tailored information; enhance CIS information and technology infrastructure; and support the application of relevant CIS through real-time development processes, for more resilient outcomes.
The project has a focus on addressing information gaps and priority needs of target beneficiaries at national, provincial and local community levels across the five priority sectors.
The project will deliver enhanced:
capacity and capability of national development agents, to understand, access and apply CIS
CIS communications, knowledge products, tools, and resources for practical application to development processes.
reliability, functionality, utility and timeliness of underlying CIS delivery systems and data collection infrastructure.
scientific data, information and knowledge of past, present and future climate to facilitate innovated and resilient development.
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The Effectiveness of Formal and Traditional Learning about Climate and Disaster Resilience in Vanuatu
by Charles Andrew Evan Pierce
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The Secretariat of the Pacific Environment Programme (SPREP) is implementing the Climate Information Services for Resilient Development in Vanuatu (CISRD), or Vanuatu Klaemet Infomesen blong redy, adapt mo protekt (Van-KIRAP) Project. As the first part of this project, Tonkin & Taylor International Ltd (T+TI) has been engaged to provide technical expertise on the Van KIRAP Project and the Department of Water Resources to review and update existing flood mitigation guidelines for the Sarakata catchment in Espiritu Santo Island, and to support the development of flood early warning systems in Sarakata.
This report provides a review of the existing Flood Mitigation Guidelines for Sarakata, Pepsi and Solwei Areas (2011) including the evaluation and identification of gaps in terms of early warning systems and long-term climate change considerations. The review has identified the gaps across governance, institutional arrangements, observations, risk knowledge, warning dissemination, and preparedness and response. The following recommendations are provided to address the identified gaps and to inform the development of updated flood mitigation guidelines:
• Strengthened governance and institutional arrangements, relating to:
− Strengthened policies and institutional frameworks at the provincial level including clear roles and responsibilities.
− Clear standard operating procedures for flood early warning system management. − Development of forums to enable coordination and partnerships.
− Update and finalise the Sarakata Flood Management Plan, including establishment of a monitoring and evaluation plan to ensure effective and coordinated governance of flood disaster risk reduction and to foster sustainable development.
• Strengthened observation, monitoring, analysis, and forecasting, relating to:
− Additional observational equipment and supporting services and capacity.
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According to the UN World Risk Report (2012) Vanuatu has the highest disaster risk index of any country in the world. Its location on the Pacific “ring of fire” gives it exposure to frequent seismological hazards such as volcanic eruption, earthquake and tsunami. It is also located in the tropical cyclone belt and suffers frequent cyclones with extreme winds and rainfall events causing extensive damage to human settlements and crops.
In this context the Red-Cross has been supporting the NDMO since 2010 to strength the disaster preparedness in a multi-level approach. To do so the FRC/VRCS strength the NDMO network from the national to the community level by setting up of the Community Disaster and Climate Change Committee (CDCCC) and train Provincial Disaster Committee in Torba province.
Since 2014 FRC and VCRS, together with the NDMO, have identified South and South East Malekula in Malampa province as news priorities to expand Community base disaster risk reductions activities into 8 communities.
The methodology cover the community risk assessment, DRR awareness, first aid training, development of mitigation and response plan, as well as the improvement of early warning system by installation of HF radios.
The second target will be to strengthen the capacity of the Provincial Authorities to manage disasters. A simulation exercise will be done at provincial level and a full CBDRR training of trainer will be given to the area council secretary for them to follow and replicate the activities of the project. Indeed the support of Torba and Malampa Provincial Administration in monitoring CBDRR activities will be our first priority.
At the National, support is given to NDMO to develop standards procedures for CBDRR. A contribution in risk assessment will be also done by supporting the Vanuatu geohazard in the design of a volcanic risk mapping for the island of Ambrym.
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Les îles du Vanuatu sont exposées à des conditions d’extrême sécheresse ou de pluies intenses en raison des perturbations créées par
El Niño et La Niña. Ces conditions climatiques, ajoutées à des évènements extrêmes comme des cyclones, peuvent avoir de graves conséquences sur la qualité de l’eau, l’hygiène alimentaire, les infrastructures (maisons et routes, par exemple), les moyens de subsistence et la santé. Cependant, une bonne information climatique et météorologique, des alertes et des prévisions, peuvent nous aider à anticiper et à faire face à l’évolution des risques.
Le film d’animation du Nasara de Nuages et sa boîte à outils visent
à promouvoir une meilleure connaissance scientifique de El Niño et
La Niña et de leurs conséquences. La boîte à outils cherche à encourager des discussions sur la manière dont les communautés
et les organisations, les services gouvernementaux et les entreprises au Vanuatu peuvent accéder aux prévisions qui émanent du Vanuatu Meteorology and Geo-hazard Department (VMGD). Le film d’animation et la boîte à outils sont également conçus pour faciliter une communication pro-active avec d’autres partenaires afin d’anticiper des évènements liés à El Niño et La Niña. La gestion des impacts liés aux évolutions de ces évènements peut également préparer à l’adaptation au changement climatique provoqué par les activités humaines.
Nasara de Nuages consists of:
NASARA DE NUAGES BOITE A OUTILS:
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The Cloud Nasara animation and this tool kit aim to increase awareness of the science of El Niño and La Niña and their impacts. The tool kit also seeks to encourage discussion around how communities, schools, organisations, government departments and businesses in Vanuatu can access forecast information from the Vanuatu Meteorology and Geo-hazard Department (VMGD), pro-actively communicate and work together with other stakeholders, and take early action to prepare for future El Niño and La Niña events. Addressing the ups and downs of these events can also help adaptation to human-induced climate change.
Cloud Nasara is a collaboration between Red Cross and the Australian Government’s Pacific-Australia Climate Change Science and Adaptation Planning (PACCSAP) Program. The project was implemented by the Red Cross, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology,the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), the Vanuatu Meteorology and Geo-hazard Department (VMGD) and the SPC-GIZ Climate Change Program.This resource tool kit was developed by the Cloud Nasara project team – Philip Malsale, Salesa Kaniaha, Rebecca McNaught, Jill Rischbieth, Brad Murphy, Christopher Bartlett and Ula Majewski.
Cloud Nasara consists of:
CLOUD NASARA TOOLKIT:
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The ‘Coping with climate change in the Pacific Island Region (CCCPIR)’ programme aims to strengthen the capacities of Pacific member countries and regional organisations to cope with the impacts of climate change. The programme is funded by the government of the Federal Republic of Germany through the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented through GIZ working in partnership with SPC and SPREP.
The programme commenced its activities in 2009 working with Fiji, Tonga and Vanuatu. In 2011 the program was expanded to another nine Pacific Island Countries, namely the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and the duration has been extended until 2019. The programme brief available at http://www.spc.int/lrd/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=478&Itemid=44 gives further details.
At the regional level, the programme aligns with the Framework for Resilient Development in the Pacific (FRDP). The programme will support countries in implementing key strategic priorities in the area of climate change including, where relevant, their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), National Adaptation Programmes for Action (NAPA), National Communications to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and other relevant national strategies, polices and plans.
The overall objective of the programme is that ‘the capacities of regional organisations in the Pacific Islands region and its member states to adapt to climate change and mitigate its causes are strengthened’. This objective will be achieved through six components highlighted below.
Component 1: Strengthening regional advisory and management capacity
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The project SC G01 between Vanuatu Meteorology and Geo-Hazard Department (VMGD) and Meteo France International (MFI) consists in supplying, delivering and installing an Integrated Weather Forecasting System.
This phase of the project was focused on software installation, configuration and training of VMGD staff.
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The Ministry of Climate Change, Government of Vanuatu, contracted NIWA (The National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research Ltd) for the ‘Supply, delivery and installation of Automatic Weather Stations in 6 different locations in Vanuatu’ (SC G02).
This work supports the Adaptation to Climate Change in the Coastal Zone in Vanuatu (V-CAP) project, funded by the Global Environment Facility, implemented by UNDP and the Vanuatu Ministry of Climate Change.
The work aligns with the Vanuatu Framework for Climate Services developed in 2016.
The overall goal of the project was to enable the Government of Vanuatu to develop improved climate information and early warning services for the people of Vanuatu, particularly in vulnerable coastal areas of the country.
Specific deliverables of the NIWA Contract for Services focussed on assisting the Vanuatu Meteorology and Geo-hazards Department (VMGD) to enhance near real-time management of climate and hydrometric data, and improve the functionality of the Vanuatu Climate Early Warning System (CLEWS). Core activities included building complete, end-to-end CLEWS functionality: ▪ automatic weather stations, ▪ telemetry for real time data transfer, ▪ data management and quality assurance, ▪ climate monitoring tools, and ▪ sector-customised reporting services.
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The Project aims to enhance Early Warning Systems (EWSs) in the Pacific SIDS (Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste and Vanuatu) , thereby contributing to building greater resilience to hydrometeorological hazards in the region. The proposed scope of the hazards for which EWSs will be created or enhanced is severe weather – including tropical cyclones, floods, drought and sea predictions. The warnings will be issued and acted upon hours, days, weeks and - in the case of drought - months ahead of the hazard occurring.
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The Project aims to enhance Early Warning Systems (EWSs) in the Pacific SIDS (Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste and Vanuatu) , thereby contributing to building greater resilience to hydrometeorological hazards in the region. The proposed scope of the hazards for which EWSs will be created or enhanced is severe weather – including tropical cyclones, floods, drought and sea predictions. The warnings will be issued and acted upon hours, days, weeks and - in the case of drought - months ahead of the hazard occurring.
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In 2013, the Government of Vanuatu and UNDP requested technical assistance from the USAID funded Adapt Asia-Pacific Project to support four specialists, including an International Gender Advisor, to prepare the “Adaptation to Climate Change in the Coastal Zone in Vanuatu Project” (VCAP). The USAID Adapt Advisors worked closely with the UNDP funded consultants and staff from all implementing partner (IP) agencies including the Ministry of Climate Change (MCC), the Department of Local Authorities (DLA), the Public Works Department (PWD) and the Vanuatu Meteorological and Geohazards Department (VMGD) in preparing the project. In-country design work, including visits to all proposed V-CAP sites, was carried out in late 2013.
The aim of the project is: “To improve the resilience of the coastal zone in Vanuatu to the impacts of climate change in order to sustain livelihoods, food production and preserve/improve the quality of life in targeted vulnerable areas”.
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Released by the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO), this document provides definitions for commonly used disaster risk reduction (DRR) and disaster management (DM) terms.
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Vanuatu ranks as the world’s most vulnerable country due to its high exposure to natural disasters, scattered island geography, narrow economic base, inadequate communication and transportation networks, and limited capacity to cope with disasters including those caused or exacerbated by the effects of climate change. Annually Vanuatu is impacted by a number of cyclones, which are expected to become more intense under current climatic projections, with coastal communities and ecosystems being most vulnerable and impacted by these events. Vanuatu will be heavily impacted by climate change with future scenarios projecting increased temperatures, sea-level rise, and increased severity of cyclones, increased ocean temperatures and ocean acidification. In addition, an increased likelihood of an increase in the frequency of El Niño events will present its own long-term seasonal challenges. These challenges, combined with rapid population growth spread over 80 islands, an agricultural and coastal-based economy facing acute medium-term challenges and inadequate delivery of government services, especially in remote areas will continue to limit the potential for long-term sustainable development and achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.
The Government of Vanuatu has been proactive in global and regional dialogues on climate change and finalised its National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA) in 2007. The project will explicitly address three of eleven priorities identified in the NAPA including:
1) community-based marine resource management,
2) integrated coastal zone management, and
3) mainstreaming climate change into policy and national planning processes.
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This Urban Risk Management Strategy (the URMS or the Strategy) provides a response to the hazards, risks and urban growth trends identified for Vanuatu’s two urban areas, the greater Port Vila Urban Area and Luganville. It is Stage 3 of the Risk Mapping and Planning for Urban Preparedness Project (the Project) being undertaken by the Vanuatu Meteorology and Geo-Hazards Department (VMGD) as part of the broader Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction Project. It also responds to the maping and assessment of earthquake, wind, river flood, coastal inundation and tsunami hazards and risks undertaken during Stage 2 of the Project. Moreover, it provides risk informed approaches to strengthen the formal physical planning framework and the informal (socio-political) system by incorporating risk information and risk reduction considerations into processes, policies and community activities.
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Vanuatu is one of the most vulnerable countries to natural hazards on the planet, (World Bank, 2011). More than three quarters of the population are at risk from not just one, but multiple disaster events, including: tsunamis, volcano eruptions, flooding, cyclones and many more. According to the Pacific Catastrophic Risk Assessment and Financing Initiative (PCRAFI), undertaken by SPC and World Bank in 2010, Vanuatu can lose up to VT4 Billion in one year due to cyclone and earthquakes. Against this backdrop, Disaster risk management has become a cross-cutting issue that affects all sectors of Vanuatu and all development priorities and programs. Disaster risk management and climate change have been included into the current Priorities for Action Agenda 2011-2016. In September 2012, Vanuatu launched the National Advisory Board on Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction (NAB) to better manage and coordinate Climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction programs in Vanuatu and facilitate mainstreaming of disaster risk reduction into sectoral policies and planning. The resources provided by this project will strengthen the NAB and assist the Government to conduct thorough hazard and risk assessment in the urban areas and use the data to inform national land use planning policies including the design of a Tsunami warning system for both urban areas.
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“Adaptation to Climate Change in the Coastal Zone in Vanuatu” or the Vanuatu Coastal Adaptation Project (VCAP), will provide a valuable opportunity to the Vanuatu government to increase the resilience of its communities to future climate change induced risks such as declining coastal and marine resources and intensifying climate related hazards. The overall objective of VCAP is to improve the resilience of the coastal zone and its communities to the impacts of climate change in order to sustain livelihoods, food production and preserve and improve the quality of life in targeted vulnerable areas.
VCAP will focus on community level adaptation to climate change and will address major environmental and associated socio-economic problems facing coastal communities impacted by climate change such as land degradation, biodiversity loss, and reef destruction, all of which severely undermine prospects for sustainable development and threaten the food security of coastal communities. The project will also build on and enhance CC adaptation initiatives through climate-proofing of infrastructure as needed.
VCAP will also support information and early warning systems on coastal hazards to address the current lack of systematic analysis and prediction of climate-related events. Thus coastal communities will be less vulnerable to the effects of climate change with improved information management and data dissemination systems in place.
This bi-monthly progress report details the various activities conducted from March to April of 2015. This is the first of an ongoing series of VCAP bimonthly reports. The following sections provide detail on initial activies conducted through VCAP after TC Pam and in preparation for the inception phase of project implementation.
This Report features the following Contents:
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Ol aelan blong Vanuatu oli save experiensem ol taem we i drae from El Niño moa wetwet tumas from La Niña. Ol taem olsem, wetem ol kaen weta olsem saeklon i save spoilem wota, kakai, infrastrakja (olsem haos mo rod), laef mo helt blong ol man. Be gudfala infomesen, woning wetem klaemet fokast i save helpem yumi blong save mo mekem ol man i redi from ol had taem we oli stap kam yet.
Klaod Nasara cartoon wetem tul kit hemi save mekem ol man i save moa wanem ol impact we El Niño mo La Niña i save mekem. Tul kit ia tu hemi save helpem ol man long ol komuniti, skul, ol ofis blong kavman mo ol bisnis long Vanuatu blong save tokbaot El Niño mo La Niña mo oli save se infomesen ia ofis save karem long office blong Vanuatu Meteorology mo Geo-hazard (VMGD). Hemia blong mekem se komuniti i save wok tugeta wetem difren ofis blong redi from El Niño mo La Niña. Taem yumi save wei blong stap wetem tufala event ia, i mekem yumi redi from klaemet jens.
Klaod Nasara consists of:
KLAOD NASARA TUL KIT:
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This Provincial Disaster & Climate Response Plan (PDCRP) provides directive to all agencies on the conduct of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency operations. This plan has been formulated in compliance with section 9 Part 3 of National Disaster Act N0.31 of 2000 Section 11 subsection 5, and aligned with the National Climate Change & Disaster Risk Reduction Policy 2015- 2030, Section 7.1.4. The planning approach contained within focuses on a comprehensive hazard, climate change and disaster management strategy which clearly identifies and documents the essential organizational and procedural ingredients for adaptation to climate change effective prevention of, response to, and recovery from disasters. This document is subject to review based on experience of hazards and lessons learned from managing all hazards including those associated with Climate Change.
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Following TC Pam NDMO recognised the need for enhanced community based disaster risk management responses. As such over the last year NDMO has been working with its key in country partners to review, revise and update certain processes and tools. One of those DRM processes and tools is the community based disaster assessment process. Community based disaster assessments are the first assessment undertaken following a disaster on the ground in Vanuatu and is envisaged to be completed where possible by trained community disaster and climate change committees (CDCCC) members supported by local and provincial government. This approach is to empower communities in achieving ownership and greater participation in the negative impacts of disasters that directly affect them.
Training CDCCC’s in the community assessment processes and its supporting tools has been ongoing during 2016 in targeted communities within Torba and Tafea Provinces as part of the Yumi Redi Consortium project.
Yumi Redi Consortium in conjunction with UNOCHA has been working in collaboration with NDMO to produce an updated first community assessment form and accompanying guidelines to be undertaken at community level and develop a consolidation, analysis and reporting process of community based assessment data at provincial level. The revised community disaster assessment form and its guidelines were launched by the NDMO during a national training in September 2016.
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Abstract
The process of building resilience to hazards encounters complex challenges of gaps and overlaps among government and non-government stakeholders involved in decision-making for and practice of Disaster Risk Reduction, Climate Change Adaptation, Disaster Management and resilience-related Sustainable Development. Networked governance appears to be an appropriate system for the development of decision-making and decision-implementation to address the complexities of resilience-building in Small Island Developing States. The networked disaster governance system of Vanuatu served as a case study to analyse key factors affecting resiliencebuilding, such as high multi-hazard exposure, geographic and ideological distance between decision-makers and aid recipients, and the complexity of the coexistence of local, national, regional and international powers.
The use of both qualitative and quantitative methodologies – Earth System Governance framework, Social Network Analysis and Qualitative Comparative Analysis – identified governance structures supporting the development of resilience. An extensive literature review, data collection and analysis contributed to the development of a conceptual framework to assess the potential of a networked disaster governance system. This framework consists of four pillars: Government–non-government Networking, Cross-sectoral Networking, Networked Leadership and Networked Learning.
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The Forty-Seventh Pacific Islands Forum was held in Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia from 8 – 10 September 2016 and was attended by Heads of State and Government of Australia, the Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Nauru, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. The Solomon Islands was represented by their Deputy Prime Minister, the Republic of Fiji, Niue and the Republic of Palau by their Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Kiribati by a Special Envoy. The Forum Leaders’ Retreat was held at FSM Congress Chamber in Palikir on 10 September 2016.
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This report uses these generic methods to provide recommendations for climate resilient development in the PICs in the following sectors: coastal protection, flood management, water resources management, protection of infrastructure against changes in temperature and precipitations, protection of buildings against cyclone winds, and adaptation in the agriculture sector.
A new World Bank report has highlighted the need for Pacific Island countries to better incorporate climate and disaster risk management into planning and development, while proposing priority investments and policies to boost resilience to the year 2040.
Launched in Fiji today at the Symposium on Climate Change Adaptation in the Pacific Region, Pacific Possible: Climate and Disaster Resilience considers the economic costs of climate adaptation, and proposes adaptation strategies for areas including infrastructure and buildings, coastal protection, water resources, flooding and agriculture, with special consideration given to the unique challenges of atoll islands.
“Climate change and extreme weather events have the potential to adversely affect coastal zones, water resources, health, infrastructure, agriculture and food security,” said Denis Jordy, Senior Environmental Specialist at the World Bank. “And if new investments are not properly planned, they risk exacerbating the impacts of natural hazards and climate change by increasing the vulnerability and exposure of those at risk.”
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A national debriefing workshop to identify lessons learned following Tropical Cyclone Pam (TC Pam) was facilitatedby the Vanuatu National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) with support from the Pacific Community (SPC) andthe European Union (EU). Technical support was also provided by SPC through the Building Safety and Resilience in the Pacific (BSRP) project and in close cooperation with sector partners. The Tropical Cyclone Pam Lessons Learned Workshop was held in Port Vila, Vanuatu, from 24 to 25 June 2015 to review key aspects of coordination, including preparation and response. This report summarises the discussions and outcomes from that workshop.
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This poster highlights the benefits for small island-based tourism businesses in Vanuatu to utilize renewable energy. It is jointly prepared by the Department of Tourism, the Department of Energy & GIZ.
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As part of the preparedness towards any forthcoming disasters and continuous monitoring of the agricultural sector, the RRU in collaboration with FAO and DARD have established an early warning early action system that is run by the Risk and Resilience Unit (RRU) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Forestry, Fisheries and Biosecurity (MALFFB) to the agricultural extension officers. The department of agriculture has a total of 45 extension officers that are based on all of the 6 provinces covering almost all the area councils of every island. The early warning early action system is mainly setup as a system monitoring the growth of main carbohydrate crops, vegetables and fruits and also the additional information’s from the officers on any other crops or just any unusual on the agriculture. This report serves to show what is collected from the extension officers and provincial agricultural officers during the seventh round of phone calls and show that if there is a spike in the data, then there would be need of further investigation.
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