Community Risk Programme for Nauru
The Pacific, is acknowledged as being among the most threatened regions in the world, with the continuing presence of natural, human induced, technological and environmental hazards. While the threats presented by these hazards may be seasonal or differ from country to country in respect to type, frequency or intensity, no country is immune to their devastating impacts.
The challenge of achieving sustainable development goals, including poverty alleviation and protection of the environment, cannot be achieved unless the impacts of disasters on vulnerable communities is taken into account. While not all risks to development result from the impact of disasters, the reduction of the potential for such events needs to be central to any programmes designed to achieve and maintain sustainable development. This potential can only be effectively reduced, in the context of the development process, by adopting a broader and more integrated approach to hazard mitigation and risk management.
The SOPAC Community Risk Programme offers such an approach to the management of community risk and targets three key areas: strengthening the resilience to disasters, mitigating the effects of hazards and mainstreaming risk management as part of the national development planning process. Through a High Level Advocacy strategy the Community Risk Programme is encouraging national commitment to the adoption of a whole of government approach to reducing community vulnerability and strengthening disaster risk management arrangements in order to improve national development planning processes in member countries.
Past Interventions
Interventions in Nauru with regards to hazard and disaster management have been minimal.
These interventions have included country visit to Nauru to assess the potential of the Community Risk project within Nauru where intervention is minimal in disaster and risk areas. The assessment was conducted in 2003 and a workshop was proposed out of this assessment visit.
The Environmental Vulnerability Data Profile for Nauru was compiled as a demonstration index, which demonstrates the level of vulnerability to natural forces a country is susceptible to.
Current Issues for Nauru
The critical issues faced by Nauru, as mentioned in various assessment reports, which relate to the Community Risk Programme and are interrelated with the other programmes of SOPAC are:
- Implications of climate change and sea-level rise.
- Risks of global warming and sea-level rise, such as accelerated coastal erosion, coral bleaching and increasing salt-spray damage.
Programme Response
To standardise the level of assistance in the Pacific, the Community Risk Programme cuts across the development needs of the Pacific member countries. Regionally, the activities of the Community Risk Programme include:
- The provision of support where appropriate for Nauru Islands’ representation at international training programmes, workshops and conferences.
- The provision of high-level advocacy to promote the mainstreaming of risk management through the application of CHARM.
- Conducting CHARM national training courses and workshops
- The provision of post disaster technical or institutional support following the impact of disasters.
- The environmental vulnerability index – a tool that assesses the vulnerability of the countries of the world to assist national stakeholders in decision-making and to influence policy to reduce vulnerabilities of Pacific communities.
These regional components are executed at national level in Nauru. Currently these are:
- A public Awareness workshop on hazards and risk management is to be conducted.
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