A consultation workshop for the development of Solomon Islands National Drought Policy is set to start Monday 5th to 8th September in Honiara.
The workshop is organised by the department of Meteorology, Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology Services in collaboration with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environmental Programme (SPREP).
It’s main objectives is to work towards establishing an effective National Drought Policy that implements early warning systems and vulnerability and impact assessments as well as effective drought preparedness, mitigation, response and communication plans.
Furthermore, it is to address the needs of national stakeholders and focus on strengthening institutional capacity in order to deal more effectively with natural hazards such as droughts and at the same time provide a platform for stakeholder engagement and share lessons learned.
A key speaker for the four days consultation is Robert Stefanski from the WMO, who would be presenting on the overview of developing a national drought policy.
Other important speakers will be from SPREP, Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Met Services, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, Health Ministry and other stakeholders.
Solomon Island is among the rest of the Pacific island countries and territories (PICTs) that are the most vulnerable locations globally to climate change and its associated impacts.
Therefore, it is critical for the Solomon Islands and all PICTs to have an effective national drought policy.
