This Policy and Practice Note grows out of extensive consultations with countries, regional organizations, and donors and other development partners, and it is addressed primarily to high-level policymakers and decision makers within them. Its analysis and recommendations are meant to inform disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation (CCA) planning across a range of institutions at all levels.
The consequences of not acting today. Of the 20 countries in the world with the highest average annual disaster losses scaled by gross domestic product, eight are Pacific island countries: Vanuatu, Niue, Tonga, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Solomon Islands, Fiji, the Marshall Islands, and the Cook Islands. Unless development planning in Pacific Islands countries focuses on the need to assess hazard risks, these countries will remain among the most vulnerable in the world.
Lessons of the last decade. DRR and CCA initiatives in the Pacific commenced in the late 1990s and the number of projects being implemented has increased significantly since 2007. However, this increase has not translated into greater progress towards reducing vulnerability. A key problem is that current interventions are typically project based. This means that initiatives tend to have short time frames with little carryover from one project to the next. It also means that projects are generally identified as either DRR or CCA, when the two should be seen as part of a continuum from hazard focused to development focused.
The way forward: Overcoming remaining barriers. The lessons of the past decade teach us that climate- and disaster-resilient development is possible: risk considerations are grounded in development; political authority, leadership, and accountability are robust and effective; and coordination and partnerships are strong.
Recommendations for fostering resilient development. Among many possible steps to addressing the abovementioned priority requirements are:
- To ground risk considerations in development, governments and partners should,among other key initiatives, ensure that climate and disaster data are easy to access and inform the selection of priority investments and development programs.
- To achieve robust and effective political authority, leadership, and accountability for more resilient development, governments should anchor coordination of DRR and CCA in a high-level central ministry/body both at national and regional levels and ensure that leaders are knowledgeable about disaster and climate risk management.
- To promote strong coordination and partnerships, countries and development partners need mutual trust, respect, and flexibility.
