Special event - Invitation

2nd Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction

Special Event: Big Ocean, Small Islands - Addressing Disaster Risk in the Pacific Region - Invitation

1 June 2009

Dear Colleagues

On behalf of the Pacific Disaster Risk Management Partnership Network (PDRMPN), SOPAC (Pacific Islands Applied Geo-science Commission) is convening a Special Event -
Big Ocean, Small Islands – Addressing Disaster Risk in the Pacific Region, prior to the 2nd Global Platform for Disaster Reduction, Geneva, 2009. This event is being coordinated
by SOPAC with the support of the Pacific sub-Regional office of the Secretariat for the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, based in Fiji.

SOPAC is a Pacific regional intergovernmental organisation with, among others, the mandate to coordinate disaster risk management capacity building in the Pacific. SOPAC
facilitated the establishment of the Pacific Disaster Risk Management Partnership Network to strengthen partner support toward implementation of the Pacific Disaster Risk Reduction and Disaster Management Framework for Action 2005 – 2015, which is the Pacific’s adaptation of the Hyogo Framework for Action.

Big Ocean, Small Islands – Addressing Disaster Risk in the Pacific Region is structured around those key themes of the 2nd Global Platform that are relevant to the Pacific region.
Pacific Island country representatives and partners will share a spectrum of regional and country specific experiences, practices and approaches to disaster risk management, and highlight challenges and gaps.

The discussion, amongst other, will focus on:
• Community resilience.
• The integration of climate change adaptation and disaster reduction.
• Disaster proofing critical facilities, and post-disaster recovery.

Recommendations from this special event will feed into the policy deliberations of the Global Platform. SOPAC commends this event as providing an important opportunity to raise the visibility of the Pacific region in the global ISDR system and to forge new and to strengthen existing partnerships with the DRR community based outside of the Pacific Islands region.

The Special Event will take place on Monday, June 15, from 9:30 – 13:00 hrs in Room 16 at the CICG (Geneva International Conference Centre), 17 rue de Varembé CP 13, CH
Geneva. A detailed concept note with additional logistical information will be shared shortly.
Interested participants are requested to confirm their participation with Angelika Planitz of the Pacific Sub Regional office of the UNSIDR (planitz@un.org) and Mosese Sikivou
(Mosese@sopac.org ).

We would greatly appreciate you sharing this invitation with other colleagues within your organization and we look forward to your participation at the mentioned meeting.

Yours sincerely
Cristelle Pratt
SOPAC DIRECTOR