Forum discusses challenges faced around Pacific region

National

THE geo-political landscape in the Pacific region is quite challenging to enhance sound disaster and risk management in the region, an expert says.
Prof Ilan Noy, a professor in economics and chair in Economics of Disasters at Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand, highlighted this during a forum on green infrastructure and poverty reduction in the Pacific Island countries held in Port Moresby on Wednesday.
“In terms of disaster risk management in the Pacific region, it is  challenging because of the diverse geographical setting of the region and the landscapes in each country,” Noy said.
“This includes lack of key infrastructures like telecommunications and early warning detection infrastructures as well the governance systems in different nations within the region.”
Noy said the different Pacific Island countries have different governance systems and that was a challenge in itself when trying to address it regionally.
“We currently don’t have a system in place to measure the
risks and disaster and that is a concern,” he said.
“Also more than 20 countries have their own governance systems and when trying to get it into uniform workable system is not that easy.”