Goal: To ensure safe and resilient water supply for vulnerable Pacific Island communities

Summary/Activities: Given their small size, unique geography and fragile water resources, Pacific Island communities face significant challenges in terms of water and sanitation. Climate change poses further risks by increasing the frequency and severity of natural hazards such as cyclones and raising sea levels. In Fiji and Vanuatu, UNICEF is working with the Government to roll out the Drinking-Water Safety Planning (DWSP) approach. UNICEF and their NGO partners have trained Village Water Committees to prepare Water Safety Plans, which allows them to identify, prioritize and mitigate existing risks to water supply. Once the village committees have made improvements and are engaged in management activities agreed on by the community, additional support is provided to develop an investment plan to ensure that enough safe water can be provided for everyone throughout the year. When required, training is also provided to enhance operation and water system maintenance skills. In Vanuatu, the Department of Water Resources and its NGO partners used the same approach to ‘build back better’ following Cyclone Pam, a Category 5 tropical cyclone that hit in March 2015. The Water Safety Plan process ultimately resulted in rehabilitated or replacement water supply systems that were more resilient than those previously in use, thus ensuring resilience in some of the islands’ most vulnerable communities.

More info: https://rsr.akvo.org/media/db/project/3668/document/WASH%20resilience%20PICs%2029%20Oct%202014.pdf http://www.jstor.org/stable/24686577?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents http://www.who.int/wsportal/wsp/en/ https://www.unicef.org/pacificislands/1852_26267.html