[test] Water and Climate Management in the Pacific

[Graeme Frost]

Opening Address, Russell Howorth

Water and Climate Management in the Pacific


Introduction

On behalf of the SOPAC Governing Council, some of whom are represented in
the room, and the Director of SOPAC, I wish you a warm welcome to our part
of the globe, and in particular to Fiji and the UNESCO IHP Regional Steering
Committee meeting for Southeast Asia and the Pacific and the associated
Conference here in Sigatoka,  from 27th to 31st October, 2003.

As many of you will be aware, UNESCO and SOPAC have worked in close
collaboration for more than a decade in the fields of hydrological science
and water resources management to  strengthen hydrological services in the
Pacific island countries. UNESCO and SOPAC co-organised meetings on
hydrology in the Solomon Islands in 1994 and Fiji in 1997 and a Memorandum
of Understanding was signed between our organisations in 1998.inorder to
further strengthen the collaboration Our organizations have also sought to
increase the awareness outside the region of the unique challenges and needs
facing the Pacific island countries with regard to freshwater resources
management. 

This is the first-ever IHP Regional Steering Committee meeting to be held in
the Pacific and it  provides a great opportunity to further advance regional
cooperation, not only within the Pacific, but also to develop linkages to
potential partners and donors in the Asian region. 

We acknowledge the generous support for this event from the Japanese
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), the
UNESCO Jakarta Office and the Department for International Development
(DFID).

Climatic Extremes and Geo-hazards in the Pacific

The focus of this conference is "Water Resources Management in Climate
Extremes and Natural Disasters". Here in the Pacific we are regrettably
blessed with an abundance of both these types of natural phenomena. 

The Pacific Islands receive typically 10 cyclones per annum, with their
associated wind damage, sea storm surges and frighteningly intense rainfall
resulting in flooding, sediment erosion, landslides and sea inundations. In
Fiji, Cyclone Ami earlier this year provided the most recent evidence on
Vanua Levu and nearby smaller islands. Ironically we can at the same time be
suffering from ENSO related droughts. In the Pacific we have particular
vulnerability to these climatic extremes because our catchments and aquifers
are so small. The response to the climatic event is almost instantaneous,
with so little natural storage and buffering. The result is we have little
warning and little time to respond. 

Reports from Fiji only a week ago say that drought in the country is quickly
getting worse as rivers, wells, and other sources of fresh water begin to
dry up. Rainfall in the country is estimated to be down around 40 percent.
ABC Radio Australia News recently reported that a Fijian government minister
has estimated that one out of 17 families in the country are now beginning
to suffer from the drought as water sources dried up. A Fiji newspaper
mentioned that more than 87,000 Fijian dollars were spent for carting water
to areas with water cuts in a period of one week. Luckily some rainfall over
the past week eased this critical situation and there has been a reduction
in the number of water supplies under immediate threat.

The same scenario plays out for energy here on Viti Levu where most of the
power is hydro. The Monasavu Dam is in reality empty and the rain last week
did little to offset the energy crisis. The dam level remains tens of meters
below normal and FEA is to spend $21 million FJD on importing generators on
loan to secure the energy production capacity can be maintained over the
next three months in anticipation that rainfall will have by then returned
to normal .

Whether the terrain is small and steep surface water catchments on volcanic
islands, low-lying atoll islands with fragile freshwater lenses or uplifted
karstic limestone islands with only groundwater resources, they all are very
susceptible to the hazards of either too much or too little water.

If this is not enough however, I can add to this list the hazards of
earthquake and associated landslides and tsunamis, volcanic eruptions and
even civil unrest. It is safe to say that water resources management indeed
water scarcity in these extremes is something of a challenge for us all.
However, coupled with the limited human and financial resources in the
Pacific, our options for management through these extremes and responses to
them are limited.

There is growing scientific evidence to show that the increasing variability
in the hydrological cycle associated with the El Nino has been witnessed
over the last 30 years and is going to intensify further as global warming
adds to the natural climatic turbulence.

Hence the need to act and plan now so as to be able to reduce the financial
and human losses and impacts.  As an example, in the 1990s, damage from
storms, floods and droughts cost the world economy more than US$50 for every
man, woman and child on earth. The US $300 billion costs of repairs and
relief were up by a factor of 4 on those of the 1980s. Based on this trend
impacts and costs will continue to increase.

The Role of Hydrology and Water Resources Management

The growing number of weather-related disasters puts ever-increasing demands
on humanitarian relief and is already threatening governments' attempts to
achieve poverty alleviation and sustainable development targets.

To address some of these impacts water resource planners  need to be able to
match the forecast demands of future populations for water, food, power and
industrial development with the supplies that can be made available on a
sustainable basis from rivers, lakes, reservoirs and aquifers.

Many tools and options are available and this conference will explore some
of the best and newest practice available in the Asia-Pacific region.
Examples from the Pacific will include freshwater lens management in
droughts, and flood flow estimation from cyclonic rainfall.  I hope we will
learn of and be able to apply some of the approaches being discussed later
from tropical Asia too.

Other initiatives, such as the "Dialogue on Water and Climate" has brought
together a wealth of evidence on climate variability and climate change. The
Dialogue on Water and Climate has started an alliance of local, national,
basin and regional initiatives throughout the world. On the basis of lessons
learned from the various Dialogues, the international organizations that
have been part of the Dialogue intend to continue building bridges between
the climate and water communities, an area requiring improvement in every
country.

Governments' attempts to achieve the United Nations Millennium Development
Goals adopted by 147 heads of State and Government, and 189 Member States,
to tackle hunger and poverty are put at risk by the threat of more frequent
climate extremes and natural disasters. As MDG 7 on Environmental
Sustainability targets in regard to water "to halve by the year 2015 the
proportion of people who are unable to reach or to afford safe drinking
water". It is imperative that in order to come anywhere close to achieving
this target that water management strategies are developed at the regional,
national and local levels which promote both equitable access and adequate
supplies.

To achieve this it is necessary to integrate the water resources management
and the hydrological science into the national sustainable development
strategies of our countries. At the World Summit on Sustainable Development,
Pacific Island Countries along with the golabal community committed to 2005
for establishing National Sustainable Development Strategies. I encourage
you, representatives of the water scientific community, to apply your
expertise to address this critical issue.

In the Pacific we have developed a regional strategy that takes a holistic
approach to achieving sustainable water management. The Pacific Regional
Action Plan on Sustainable Water Management specifically identifies Water
Resources Management and Island Vulnerability as two of its six thematic
areas. I am pleased to note that UNESCO and SOPAC existing and future
activities feature in this strategic approach. The contribution that the
UNESCO IHP makes to Pacific water resources management is clearly
articulated and I welcome it. Closer collaboration between out organisations
and our members can only be of benefit to all.

UNESCO Regional Steering Committee

This brings me onto my last point. We recognise at this time that the
Pacific island countries are perhaps under-represented on the IHP RSC for
Southeast Asia and the Pacific. I hope that having discussed and experienced
small island hydrology over this week, that you will recognise that we have
something to contribute to the IHP, which at least at present is not there
to full potential. In this regard I invite the RSC membership to consider
how best to integrate the hydrologists of the Pacific Small Island
Developing States into the RSC, for the benefit not just of my Pacific
colleagues, but perhaps of the RSC as a whole. In this regard, I highlight
the 10-year review of the Barbados Programme of Action for Small Island
Developing States currently underway that will come to conclusion at an
International Meeting to be held in Mauritius next August. 

I wish you a successful and highly stimulating meeting and hope that you
enjoy our island paradise and culture.

Thank you

Mr G.R.Frost
Network Officer
> SOPAC  South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission
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