I S S UE  1 

A UGUS T 2009 

V OLUME  1 

X

 

I

NTRODUCTION

 

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THE

 

PROJECT

 

AND

 

THIS

        

NEWSLETTER

 ................. 

1

 

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ASE

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TUDIES

: 

WHAT

 

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THEY

 

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SELECTED

 

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1

 

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URRENT

 

STATUS

 

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HOW

 

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INVOLVED

? ............. 

2

 

Pacific 

insight 

“INTEGRATING PARTICIPATORY DISASTER RISK REDUCTION 

AND CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION IN THE PACIFIC” 

 

Welcome to the first monthly update for this project. This newsletter aims 

to update our partners on the status of the research and to share prelim- 

inary findings, as well as to encourage feedback and discussion on the 

themes and issues, including ... 

Through the course of our work, we aim to 
deliver a better practical and conceptual 
understanding of the relationships and con-
nections between community based disaster 
risk reduction (DRR) and climate change 
adaptation (CCA) in the Pacific. The    
improved knowledge base will enable the 
development of guidelines and recommen-
dations for integrated community based 
DRR and CCA in the Pacific to enhance 
planning and decision making.  

With Fiji and Samoa as the case study 
countries, specific examples of community 
based projects in DRR and CCA will be 
targeted to illustrate the similarities and 
differences within these themes.  
In addition, consultation with relevant 
stakeholders—from grassroots NGOs, to 
government representatives, to donors and 
development partners—will allow a thor-
ough and comprehensive analysis of issues 
and themes to emerge.   

CASE STUDIES 

The case studies will closely examine the “who, what, where, how and why?” of DRR and CCA com-
munity projects. Who is involved—from the source of funds, to the implementation, partner organis- 
ations, to the community participation and beneficiaries. What kind of project is it—DRR, CCA, or 
both—or a broad development project which implicitly incorporates these issues? Where is it, and is it a 
pilot, a regional project, or a nationally implemented project? Why is it needed, and did it originate from 
the bottom up, or top down? These questions will be answered within the scope of the case studies. 
CASE STUDIES IDENTIFIED SO FAR: PCIDRR Fiji, WWF Climate Witness / GEF Global Adapt- 
ation Project, Navua LLRM, Samoa NDMO Village DRR Workshops … more to come! 

“What constitutes disaster risk reduc-
tion? What constitutes climate change 
adaptation? How do these approaches 
differ, and how are they alike?” 

Participants from the PCIDRR Naimalavau 
village flood scenario, July 2009 

Participants from the PCIDRR Naimalavau village flood  
scenario, July 2009 

Current status and 
progress to date 

Beginning in April 2009, this AusAID funded 

research project will be completed in April 2010 

Consultations, meetings to date 
and review of current literature 
have identified the following 
issues which will be explored 
through the course of this     
project: 
•The importance 

of relationships 
and networks 
within the context 
of Pacific DRR 
and CCA 

•The differences 

between a DRR 
and CCA project are often  
artificial and irrelevant 

•The need to focus on develop-

ment as a whole, and on the 
reduction of vulnerability 

• The complexity of funding and 

financing and how this creates a 
compartmentalised view of 
development 

• The multitude of stakeholders 

involved in DRR and 
CCA 
• The difficulties 
faced in implement-
ing community  
projects 
• The need to incor-
porate local and 
traditional know- 

ledge in any community project 

• The use of language and how 

this can help or hinder a      
project’s success 

“One way we try to     

integrate DRR and CCA is 

by reducing the vulnerabil-

ity of communities by  

addressing broader devel-

opment issues.” 

RUTH LANE, IFRC 

During the month of July, 
2009, meetings and consult-
ations were held in Suva, Fiji 
with the following organis- 
ations: 
•  UNDP Pacific Centre 

•  AusAID 

•  UNISDR 

•  SOPAC 

•  IFRC 

•  Red Cross 

•  NZAID 

•  NDMO 

•  Fiji Dept. of Environment 

•  USP and PACE-SD 

•  FSPI 

•  Live and Learn 

•  GEF—Small Grants  

Program (Fiji) 

•  Fiji School of Medicine 

•  TAF/OFDA 

•  WWF Fiji 

•  World Bank 

•  IUCN 

•  NCCA 

•  ADRA 

•  PCIDRR Team 
 
We sincerely thank those for 
their time and look forward to 
meeting with DRR and CCA 
partners in Samoa in August / 
September 2009. 
We also invite feedback and 
encourage discussion around 
our findings, themes         
discussed and approach. 

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ORGANIS- 

ATIONS  

CONSULTED 

SO FAR:

 

Next steps... 

With the initial data collection for Fiji recently 
completed, the next stage is to visit Samoa to learn 
about the experience of integrating DRR and CCA 
in the Samoan context. Meetings and consultations 
will be sought with relevant DRR and CCA part-
ners including SPREP, NDMO, MNRE, Red Cross, 
GEF Small Grants, UNDP, OLSSI, WIBDI and 
others which will be identified in-country.  
Case studies will be selected and field visits      
arranged where possible. These will feed into   
research findings from Fiji and together will assist 
in formulating guidelines for best practice in DRR 
and CCA at the community level. 

Next issue... 

Our next issue will include the “Who’s who” of 
Pacific community-based DRR and CCA, along 
with a matrix of current community-based DRR 
and CCA projects and initiatives for the region. 
Further findings will also be detailed—and please 
feel free to provide feedback!   

An ongoing review of the stake-
holders and projects / initiatives in 
community based DRR and CCA 
in the Pacific has highlighted the 
fact that these themes are increas-
ingly becoming mainstreamed, 
cross-cutting development issues. 
The next issue of “Pacific Focus” 
will provide details of organisa-
tions involved and current initia-
tives which is proving to be 
highly dynamic and constantly in 
need of updating! 

Turaga ni koro, PCIDRR Namuka village drill, July 2009 

PCIDRR Naimalavau scenario debrief, July 2009 

An Australian Government, AusAID initiative, managed by UNSW  

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this publication are those 
of the authors and not necessarily those of the Australian 
Agency for International Development (AusAID)