Ministry of Climate Change Adaptation, Meteorology and Geo- Hazards, Energy, Environment and National Disaster Management Office
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Ministry Of Climate Change Government of Vanuatu 2015 Annual Report Vision “Promote a resilient, sustainable, safe & informed Vanuatu.” << This page left intentionally blank >> Office of Minister of Climate Change & Adaptation PMB 9054 Port Vila, Vanuatu Honourable Minister Ham LINI VANUAROROA, MP Minister for Climate Change & Adaptation The 2015 Annual Report of the Ministry of Climate Change Adaptation, Meteorology and Geo- Hazards, Energy, Environment and National Disaster Management Office It is with pleasure that I hereby submit to Parliament the 2015 Annual Report of the Ministry of Climate Change Adaptation (MCCA), Meteorology & Geo-Hazards, Energy, Environment and National Disaster Management Office. The process of preparing the 2015 Annual Report has provided a very valuable opportunity for the Ministry team to look back to the year that has passed, reflect on achievements and challenges but also analyse issues so as to be better prepared and resourced to pre-position the Ministry and Vanuatu for the challenges that will no doubt arise in the new year of 2016. In 2015 the nation of Vanuatu faced two extreme events: the Category 5 Cyclone Pam and then the strongest El Nino since 1952. These two occurrences tested the capacity of a new Ministry established in December 2013. Government of Vanuatu Ministries and agencies worked together with international and regional partners, donors and Non-Government Organisations to provide critically important expertise. The strong support of the public and private sectors in Vanuatu and internationally must be recognised. A world-wide FLASH Appeal provided valuable financial assistance to response and later, Recovery and Reconstruction Programs. Cyclone Pam provided valuable lessons for all stakeholders – particularly the natural resilience and knowledge of our people who over hundreds of years developed traditional coping mechanisms to face natural disasters. We realised that the National Disaster Management Office needed better resourcing and operational frameworks – human, legal, policy, technical and budgetary – so that this office is more strongly positioned to carry out its critically important coordination role. As the world’s most vulnerable nation to natural disasters, we must ensure we are better prepared for future emergencies. At this point, I would like to recognise the contribution by Mr Jotham Napat who as Director General of the Ministry guided its amalgamation and led legislative, policy and budgetary measures to establish and grow the Ministry. We wish him well in future endeavours. Yours sincerely, Honourable Minister Ham Lini Vanuroroa (MP) i | P a g e Director General’s Introduction Jesse Benjamin Director General, MCCA The preparation of an Annual Report is a people, time and resource costly exercise that we need to morph into an investment. By using this report strategically, we can celebrate our achievements but to learn from past events to guide the Ministry’s future. “The future depends on how we use the past to respond to what we do in the present.” In years to come, we will look back and remember 2015 as the year in which we faced two hydro- meteorological disasters – Category 5 Cycle Pam and one of the strongest El Nino events since the 1950’s. However, every cloud has a silver lining. The focus of the world on Vanuatu highlighted the important role played by our young Ministry and its Departments. Despite our strong collaborative response to these two emergencies, our Government, Development Partners and our sector stakeholders realised that we are severely under-resourced - staffing, financially and technically. Strong support has emerged for restructures and additional resourcing to better prepare us for the next disaster. Department Reports will detail these initiatives and proposed plans to strengthen the Ministry. It is with pleasure that I hereby submit to Parliament the 2015 Annual Report of our Ministry. The 2015 Annual Report of the Ministry of Climate Change Adaptation, Meteorology and Geo-Hazards, Energy, Environment and the National Disasters Management Office has been prepared under Sub-Section 20 (1) (h) of the Public Service Act 1998 and the Public Finance and Economic Management Act 1998 (Section 30 (3)) in accordance with guidelines of the Public Service Commission. Yours sincerely Jesse BENJAMIN Director General Ministry of Climate Change ii | P a g e ACRONYMS ADB Asian Development Bank APTC Australian Pacific Technical College AVID Australian Volunteers for International Development AYA Australian Youth Ambassadors Program CBP Capacity Building Plan CIPSA Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply Australia CSO Civil Society Organisation CSU Corporate Services Unit DEPC Department of Environmental Protection & Conservation DFAT Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade DG Director General DSPPAC Department of Sector Planning Policy & Aid Coordination HRM Human Resource Manager IFRC International Federation of the Red Cross JICA Japanese International Aid Cooperation Program OGCIO Office of the Government’s Chief Information Officer MALAMPA Malekula, Ambrym, Paama (Province) M&E Monitoring and Evaluation NDMO National Disaster Management Office NGO Non Government Organisation PAA Priorities & Action Agenda Ph D Doctor of Philosophy PLAS Plan Long Act Short PENAMA Pentecost, Ambae (Province) PMS Performance Management System PPP Public Private Partnership PSC Public Service Commission SANMA Santo Malo Ambrym (Province) SHEFA Shepherds Epi Efate (Province) TAFE Technical & Further Education TAFEA Tanna Aniwa Fortuna Erromango Aneityum (Province) TA Technical Advisor tbc To Be Confirmed TNA Training Needs Analysis TORBA Torres Banks (Province) TVET Program Technical Vocational Education & Training USP University of the South Pacific VCCI Vanuatu Chamber of Commerce and Industry VIPAM Vanuatu Institute of Public Administration and Management VMGD Vanuatu Meteorology & Geo-Hazards Department VRDTA Vanuatu Rural Development Training Centre (RTC) Association VSA Volunteer Services Abroad (VSA) iii | P a g e TABLE OF CONTENTS Minister of Climate Change’s Preamble ............................................................ i Director General’s Introduction .......................................................................... ii Acronyms .............................................................................................................iii Corporate Services Unit .................................................................. 1 Vanuatu Meteorology & Geo-hazards Department ........................ 19 Department of Energy ..................................................................... 163 Department of Environmental Protection & Conservation ........... 197 National Disaster Management Office ........................................... 243 Financial Report ............................................................................... 281 iv | P a g e CSU Annual Rpt ‘15 CORPORATE SERVICES UNIT (CSU) REPORT 1.1 Corporate Overview 1.1.1 Functions: The various functions of the Ministry of Climate Change Adaptation, Meteorology & Geo-Hazards, Energy, Environment and the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) are implemented through the following: Ministry Cabinet, consisting of the Minister and support staff; Executive of the Ministry – the Corporate Services Unit – consisting of the Director General, Corporate Services Unit support staff and the Directors of the four Departments constituting the Ministry: o Vanuatu Meteorology & Geo-Hazards Department (VMGD); o Energy Department; o Department of Environmental Protection & Conservation (DEPC); o National Disaster Management Office (NDMO). 1.1.2 Vision, Mission, Objectives Vanuatu Government Vision Statement “Recommitting to reform to achieve a just, educated, healthy and wealthy Vanuatu” Ministry Vision Statement “Promote a resilient, sustainable, safe & informed Vanuatu.” Ministry Mission Statement “Develop sound policies & legislative frameworks and provide timely, reliable scientific information for service delivery to enable resilient communities, a sustainable environment and economic development.” Corporate Services Objectives 1. Support an enabling framework to develop and promote good governance and resource utilisation through reporting (M&E), provision of sound advice to GoV, Legislative & Policy Frameworks, Planning & Budgeting and Donor harmonisation) 2. Strengthen people to support strategic objectives (restructures & staffing, PMA, capacity building & training, Succession Planning, Retirement) 3. Resource the Ministry to deliver strategic objectives (funding, equipment, infrastructure, Convention & membership fees) Values The Values that underpin the work of the Ministry are: Service delivery 1 | P a g e CSU Annual Rpt ‘15 High performance against identified priorities Team Work Positive attitude and action Professionalism Ethical - honest and transparent Equity o Gender o Geographic o Disability o Youth o Language o Ethnicity Environmentally responsible Reliability, commitment and accountability 1.2 Role The Office of the Director General constitutes the Corporate Services Unit (CSU) and is primarily responsible for the efficient and effective administration of the overall functions of the Ministry: Enhance coordination between the Ministry, Cabinet, other Ministries and the MCCA Departments; Coordinate the achievement of the objectives of the Priorities & Action Agenda (PAA) and Plan Long Act Short (PLAS), as well as contribute to operationalising