Resilience

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.

The overall objective of this project is to build more inclusive, sustainable, and resilient cities, by strengthening the capacity of key public, private and civil society stakeholders to measure,
make decisions, and plan actions for building resilience. This ensures that public and private investments are risk-informed and that early interventions in crisis-prone cities are linked to
longer-term development goals in line with the NSDP and the Sendai Framework.

The CRPP tool being developed is the first multi-hazard tool which examines the vulnerabilities of the entire urban system. Vanuatu, as a pilot city, is in the unique position to contribute to
the development of this innovative tool and be at the forefront of urban resilience as laid out within the New Urban Agenda from Habitat III. This initiative aims at improving local government and stakeholder understanding of, and capacity for, developing and implementing resilience action plans. The devastating impacts of Cyclone Pam flagged the urgent need to build local government capacity which was reiterated in the National Recovery Plan.

Through this three-to-five year project, C-CAP will work across 12 Pacific Island countries, collaborating with up to 90 communities on:

1.       Rehabilitating and constructing new, small-scale community infrastructure

2.       Building capacity for community engagement for disaster prevention and preparedness

3.       Integrating climate resilient policies and practices into long-term land use plans and building standards

In each community, C-CAP will work within community governance systems to:

·         Conduct community/risk mapping exercises.

·         Assess vulnerability of small-scale social, economic and water infrastructure

o   I.e., health clinics, schools, community centers, jetties, water tanks, drainage systems…

·         Name adaptation options for vulnerable infrastructure.

·         Prioritize options through a multi-criteria analysis exercise.

·         Fund one—prioritized—infrastructure rehabilitation / construction project (approx. US$50,000 per community).

·         Revisit Risk Maps to review risk to projected climate impacts—and support land use planning exercises, scaling up plans to provincial and national government.

·         Implement nature-based infrastructure activities when appropriate (mangrove reforestation, erosion control, etc.)

·         Support DRR and preparedness activities and planning.

USAID intends to implement C-CAP in two-to-three ni-Vanuatu Provinces (10-15 communities) from 2012 to 2015.