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• Current Issues for Palau
• Programme Response

The Pacific, including Palau 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.

Current Issues for Palau

The critical issues faced by Palau as mentioned in the country’s National Assessment Report, which relate to the Community Risk Programme and are interrelated with the other programmes of SOPAC are:

• The effects of climate change and sea level rise on Palau’s social, economic and natural environments.
• Frequent El Niño/La Niña conditions such as drought, coral bleaching and storms.
• Need for the development and implementation of a regional early warning system for disaster management and mitigation.
• Need for a regional study on the impacts of global warming trends on island economies.

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 Palau 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.