Excellencies,
Hon. Ministers,
Heads of Delegations,
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,


Ni sa bula vinaka.


I am pleased to be here today and to participate in this very important meeting. In saying this, I wish to take this opportunity to thank the Hon. Minister Julie Bishop for making this meeting possible and for all the protocol facilitation and courtesies accorded to me and my delegation since our arrival.

On Agenda 1, I wish to briefly share with you some of the initiatives that had been undertaken by the Fijian Government to strengthen our national response to natural disasters. This includes the Post Disaster Needs Assessment that was undertaken following the devastating effects of Tropical Cyclone Evan in December 2012.

Mr. Chairman,

Tropical Cyclone Evan had caused widespread destruction across various sectors of our economy and affected the livelihoods of many Fijians. However, we were fortunate that no lives were lost.

Suffice to say, Government had made substantial investment in disaster preparedness and mitigation measures. This resulted in the timely distribution of relief materials and efficient coordination with national, regional and international partners. This proved to be a worthwhile investment.

Over the years - our assessments, planning and response coordination have improved drastically. And building on these achievements was viewed by Government as very critical. Furthermore, by placing the humanitarian concerns at the top of the Government’s relief and response agenda, it speaks volume of the Fijian Government’s commitment and dedication not only to strengthen our post-disaster national assessments but also to better identify and prioritize rehabilitation activities.

Mr. Chairman,

Long term recovery and rehabilitation, however, often requires us to go back to the drawing board and take a fresh look at the impacts of disaster in order to answer questions such as: What sectors of our economy were hit the hardest? What is the cost of lost production in the manufacturing or agricultural sector? The disruption to market trading or loss of infrastructure? And who among our citizens were the most affected?

To address these questions, we undertook a ‘whole-of-government’ approach to assess the effects of Tropical Cyclone Evan in all sectors. We chose to pursue a post-disaster needs assessment (PDNA) – the first assessment of its kind in Fiji with the support of partners like the World Bank, SPC, UNDP, among others.

In doing this assessment, we applied a rigorous and globally recognized methodology that enabled us to take stock of physical damage to property, infrastructure, and productive assets as well as to account for losses resulting from the disruption of economic flows brought in by the natural disaster. This significant loss dimension did not often feature in previous assessments. Having a better understanding of both of these measures and how they affect each sector provided the Government with a stronger knowledge base to plan and budget.

Further to this, the assessment included a capacity development component, whereby 60 members of the Government staff received training. The tools and methodology remained with us and now Fiji is equipped to undertake assessments if and when again needed in the future. Also, as a result, we have staff that can be deployed to assist our neighbouring countries should they also choose to pursue such assessments following disaster incidence.

Mr. Chairman,

For these reasons, we commend our partners for their assistance to develop this capacity. This is where we all need to be – to have the skills within our systems so that we can better fend for ourselves in the future. I believe that all Disaster Risk Management capacity building should aim for this. Capacity Building must be an area of priority for all our countries given our high vulnerability to the impacts of natural disasters.

Mr. Chairman,

Fiji is itself pursuing an integrated approach to addressing climate and disaster risk. Through our recently launched Green Growth Framework, we have committed to developing our own National Strategic Plan for Climate Change and Disaster Resilience.

For the future, we are looking to regional initiatives like the Strategy for Climate and Disaster Resilient Development to provide the umbrella regional guidance. This will assist countries in their capacity building efforts in terms of both Disaster Risk Management and Climate Change.

We also recognise other efforts such the MSG Humanitarian and Emergency Response Coordination Centre that has been put in place to improve coordination of response for the MSG countries.

Needless to say, there is a lot that we can do to assist each other in this area. We also need to work better with our development partners and the CROP agencies to strengthen our collective efforts in addressing the needs of our countries through bilateral and regional efforts, including through triangular co-operation.

Mr. Chairman,

In conclusion, for the purpose of the outcomes of our meeting today on this agenda item, I am aware that our senior officials had worked on the draft outcomes yesterday. The current draft encapsulates various issues which resonate well with us in addressing our national and collective responses to natural disasters. Accordingly, I wish to express our support towards its adoption.

I thank you Mr. Chair!


END.