- The Policy aims to achieve economic growth and self-reliance within a framework of sustainable development that seeks to maximize opportunities presented by climate change and minimise the risks associated with all slow and rapid-onset natural and human-induced hazards, including those associated with climate change.
It will assist in meeting regional and international treaty obligations and objectives that the Government of FSM has agreed are worth pursuing such as the Pacific Disaster Risk Reduction and Disaster Management Framework for Action 2005 - 2015 (RFA), the Pacific Islands Framework for Action on Climate Change 2006 - 2015 (PIFACC), the international Hyogo Framework for Action: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters 2005 - 2015, and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The guiding principles of the policy include:A 'multi-hazard' risk management approach that integrates disaster risk management, climate change adaptation and GHG emissions reduction - Recognition that the assessment and treatment of existing risks is the starting point for reducing and managing future risks
- Innovative and creative thinking to seek approaches that simultaneously reduce threats and identify possible opportunities arising from climate change
- Strong horizontal and vertical coordination between sectors, national, state and community levels using an 'all-of-government', 'all-of-country' co-ordinated approach that emphasizes partnerships between the public sector, private sector and civil society
- Knowledge-based decision-making with an emphasis on understanding and addressing root causes of hazards and vulnerabilities and using a science-based, no regrets and precautionary approach
- Holistic, integrated community- and ecosystem-based bridge to reef' approach to risk reduction and natural resources management to ensure that adaptation measures are socially and ecologically sound
- Special attention to gender issues and the needs of marginalised groups, such as small atoll communities, the disabled and the elderly
- Recognising the rights of island communities to their ancestral lands, while acknowledging the role that migration has played, and will continue to play, as an adaptation strategy to a changing environment
The strategic outcomes, in support of the FSM Development Plan 2004-2023, include: - Economic resilience - among others through robust agriculture, forestry, fisheries, green economy, reduced reliance on imported commodities, and an environmentally responsible tourism sector
- Food, water and energy security - with safe, consistent access to water and clean, affordable energy
- Infrastructure and settlements - with resilience towards climate change effects, especially sea level rise
- Waste Management and Sanitation
- Health and Social Protection
- Education - including public awareness to enable best practice in adaptation and risk management
The strategic objectives of the plan, to which the government is committed to invest in, include: - Capacity Building and Public Awareness
- Disaster Risk Management - using existing and new policy and planning instruments, resources and capacities
- Climate Change Adaptation - through the allowing of adjustment of natural and human systems, development and economic activities to the gradual changes in climate and its impacts (sea level, air and sea temperature, precipitation etc.); reducing and managing the risks associated with more frequent, severe and unpredictable extreme weather events
- Prevent environmental migration through adaptation strategies, while addressing human mobility associated with natural disasters and climate change through durable solutions
- Ensure environmental migration is managed to the extent possible in a humane and orderly manner, including the protection of displaced populations
- Reduce GHG Emissions - through reducing dependence on, and use of, fossil fuels; Increased investment in the development of renewable energy sources; energy efficiency and conservation
- Establish sustainable funding for Disaster Risk Management, Climate Change Adaptation and GHGEmissions Reduction through participation in international financing programmes, the establishment and use of national funding mechanisms (including the Calamity Trust Fund), and the mainstreaming of Disaster Risk Management, Climate Change Adaptation and GHG Emissions Reduction into national, sectoral, state and municipal-level budgetary processes
- Develop and implement national, state and community-level Integrated Disaster Risk Management and Climate Change Action Plans
- Strengthen governance and management arrangements for Disaster Risk Management, Climate Change Adaptation and GHG Emissions Reduction including policy, compliance, legislative and regulatory frameworks, data management, performance monitoring and reporting frameworks that enable the ongoing assessment and management of disaster and climate risks and impacts
Implementation should be sought through a combination of dedicated initiatives and through mainstreaming of associated issues into all existing and future development programmes.
