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Published by South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC) December 2004 Cover Photo: Celebrating World Disaster Reduction Day in Honiara, Solomon Islands 2003 Co-sponsored by: 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD .............................................................................................................................. 4 PACIFIC REGIONAL MAP ........................................................................................................ 5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................... 6 INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................ 8 Lessons Learned.......................................................................................................... 11 PART I: THE REGION....................................................................................................15 CHAPTER 1: THE PACIFIC ISLANDS REGION................................................................... 16 Summary Of Key Statistics Relating To Regional Countries. ..................................... 20 CHAPTER 2: THE HAZARD AND RISK ENVIRONMENT .................................................... 22 Disasters In The Pacific Is lands Region 1994-2004 ................................................... 31 CHAPTER 3: REGIONAL DISASTER MANAGEMENT ........................................................ 36 PART II: PACIFIC ISLAND COUNTRIES............................................................43 CHAPTER 4: NATIONAL DISASTER MANAGEMENT STRUCTURES IN PACIFIC ISLAND COUNTRIES................................................................................................ 44 CHAPTER 5: DISASTER REDUCTION IN PACIFIC ISLAND COUNTRIES....................... 49 CHAPTER 6: DISASTER PREPAREDNESS, RESPONSE AND RECOVERY DEVELOPMENT IN PACIFIC ISLAND COUNTRIES............................................... 59 PART III: NEW ZEALAND AND AUSTRALIA ...................................... 65 CHAPTER 7: NEW ZEALAND DISASTER MANAGEMENT ARRANGEMENTS AND ACTIVITIES ................................................................................................................ 66 CHAPTER 8: AUSTRALIAN DISASTER MANAGEMENT ARRANGEMENTS AND ACTIVITIES ................................................................................................................ 76 References.............................................................................................................................. 91 Annexes A Yokohama Strategy and Plan of Action for a Safer World ............................................92 B Aitutaki Declaration On Regional Security Cooperation............................................. 102 C “Biketawa” Declaration .............................................................................................. 104 D The United Nations Millennium Development Goals................................................... 106 E Extract From The Programme For Action For Small Island States............................. 108 F Extracts From The Johannesburg Declaration On Sustainable Development And Plan Of Implementation Of The World Summit On Sustainable Development.................... 110 G Pacific Questionnaires ............................................................................................... 114 H Disaster Management Support Projects In The Region 1994-2004 ............................. 123 I Pacific Region National Profiles................................................................................. 131 J List Of Abbreviations And Acronyms......................................................................... 139 K Useful Disaster Management Websites...................................................................... 141 3 FOREWORD The ten-year review of the implementation of the 1994 Yokohama Strategy and Plan of Action was undertaken by the SOPAC Secretariat as part of its regional mandate for disaster management coordination and as a contribution by the Pacific to the preparations for the Second World Conference on Disaster Reduction, which will be held in Kobe, Japan in January 2005. This conference is a milestone event to increase the profile of Disaster Risk Reduction in development planning and practice and therefore provides a unique opportunity for the Pacific Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to highlight to the global community the extreme vulnerability of the region in relation to the frequency and intensity of natural disasters and the disproportionately high economic, social and environmental consequences of these events. SOPAC, through its partnership with the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) Secretariat, will continue to promote and support improvements to disaster risk reduction practices and in particular provide regional leadership to ensure the successful implementation of the agreed outcomes from the Second World Conference in Kobe to support the objectives of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation and the Millennium Development Goals. This regional report provides a valuable reference point in relation to the progress of implementation of the agreed strategy and plan of action that was decided in Yokohama in1994 and we therefore encourage our member countries to consider the lessons that have been identified and to use them for improving future national disaster risk reduction practices. On behalf of SOPAC I would like to thank Joe Barr the review consultant and principal author of the report and the many agencies and individuals who willingly provided their time and resources as well as valuable information. Particular thanks also to the Australian Agency for International Development, the New Zealand Agency for International Development and Emergency Management Australia who generously funded and supported the development of this report and the ongoing preparations for the Kobe Conference. While much progress has been made since Yokohama, the 1995 Pacific Forum Leaders vision that “Vulnerability to the effects of natural hazards, environmental damage and other threats will be overcome” still remains a challenge for all Pacific Island Countries and one that we should strive to achieve through the development of improved national disaster risk reduction policies and programmes aimed at strengthening community resilience. Cristelle Pratt Director 4 PACIFIC REGIONAL MAP 5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY When preparing for the 1994 World Conference on Natural Disaster Reduction in Yokohama, the Pacific Small Island Developing States (SIDS) contributed to a regional report entitled “Natural Disaster Reduction in Pacific Island Countries”. This report was well received by participants in the conference and by the Secretariat to the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR). In preparation for the Second World Conference on Disaster Reduction to be held in Kobe, Japan in January 2005, it was decided to produce a similar report covering not only the Pacific SIDS but also Australia and New Zealand. Because of the difference between scale and structure of disaster management in the Pacific SIDS and Australia and New Zealand, the report has been prepared in three parts. Part I comprises Chapters 1 to 3 and gives a general overview of the region, its geography, demography and hazard setting as well as regional arrangements and responsibilities. Part II, which contains Chapters 4 to 6, describes the disaster management structures in island countries as well as the various reduction, preparedness, response, and recovery activities that take place in those countries. Part III provides a picture of arrangements in New Zealand (Chapter 7) and Australia (Chapter 8) respectively. A series of Annexes provide supplementary information. Review Methodology Visits to all of the sixteen countries in the region as well as the donor countries supporting their disaster management activities was impossible in the time available so two questionnaires were prepared, one for national authorities and one for donor and technical agencies that provided regional or specialised support. Copies of the questionnaires can be found in Annex G. The questionnaires were distributed; and to supplement the responses, visits were paid to national and regional organisations in Fiji, Samoa, New Zealand and Australia. An extensive range of statistics and documents, particularly those at the SOPAC Secretariat library were also referenced. The initial draft prepared as a result of this activity was presented at the First ISDR Kobe Preparatory Committee Meeting in Geneva in May 2004. A more developed draft was then presented at a Regional Stakeholder Planning Workshop in Fiji in June 2004 where further comment was elicited and some outstanding questionnaires were collected. A final working draft was prepared in September 2004 in time for the Second ISDR Kobe Preparatory Committee Meeting in Geneva in October 2004. Further comments were then taken into account and amendments incorporated in this final report. Terminology Used Throughout the region a variety of terms are used to define the subject matter of this report. The terms include: “disaster management”, “emergency management”, “disaster risk management” and “civil protection” (‘Protection