Vanuatu is highly exposed to natural hazards with cyclones regularly damaging property and causing long-term cumulative economic harm.
This has been confirmed by a report put together by the United Nations Development Programme, titled as the ‘Economic Impacts of Natural Hazards on Vulnerable Populations in Vanuatu’.
The report also stated that tropical cyclones with associated storm surges and flooding are the principal hazard affecting Vanuatu, but the country is also exposed to earthquakes and tsunamis, volcanoes and droughts.
The report was launched Wednesday under the new ‘Leaving No One Behind in the Digital Era- Pacific Insurance and Climate Adaptation’ Programme.
The programme is the first of its kind for the region where market based climate risk insurance solutions will be made available to Pacific islanders in Fiji and Vanuatu first, then to other island countries.
Speaking at the launch in Fiji yesterday, the New Zealand High Commissioner to Fiji, Jonathan Curr said the NZ government is grateful to be part of the initiative and help the pacific island countries.
“New Zealand’s Climate Change Programme is designed to support climate change response at multiple levels, from building long-term adaptive capacity and capability by strengthening the enabling environment for action, to delivering direct, tangible, “on the ground” interventions.”
The report also states that WorldRiskIndex ranks Vanuatu as the most hazardous country in the world on the basis of its high exposure to natural hazards and relatively low coping capacity.
Meanwhile, the newly launched Climate Risk Initiative will be made available first in Vanuatu and Fiji and then progressively to other Pacific Island countries.
The initiative, jointly developed and to be implemented by the United Nations Capital Development Fund, the United Nations University Institute for Environment Society and the United Nations Development Programme.