Humanitarian briefing on Fiji

 

Humanitarian briefing on Fiji

Remarks by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Delivered by Lucas Tavares, FAO Liaison Officer

26 February 2016, United Nations, New York

 

Mr. Chair,

 

Thank you for giving me the floor.

 

I join the previous speakers in expressing our solidarity to the people and the Government of Fiji.

 

Before Cyclone Winston hit Fiji, FAO was already working with the government and local communities to build capacity to conduct post-disaster needs assessments. National teams are now using this capacity to measure the damage in the affected districts.

 

FAO had also recently started to implement a European Union funded program to support the integration of disaster risk reduction in agriculture in Fiji and Vanuatu. This effort will be an important element in building back better, more resilient food systems.

 

FAO is already responding to Cyclone Winston. The Food Security Cluster in Fiji we co-lead with WFP has been activated to ensure coordination of interventions by the numerous food security and agriculture actors and avoid duplication of efforts.

 

A FAO procurement officer should arrive in Fiji this weekend to assist the rapid purchase of seeds, planting material and related agricultural and fisheries inputs for distribution as soon as possible. In addition, FAO is deploying a technical officer to join the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination team in Fiji.

 

FAO is also financing an emergency response manager, an assessment assistant and technical officer for response support, benefitting Fiji and also Tonga.

 

FAO’s actions are part of a wider effort, complementing and supporting the response by the Government of Fiji. We would like to recognize and applaud the Government of Fiji that, as the first responder, will be distributing seeds this weekend by drawing upon domestic stocks.

 

The quicker Fiji farmers and fisherfolk can restart their production, the faster they can rebuild their lives and livelihoods and help ensure food security, and the faster they can become protagonists of the efforts to rebuild the country.

 

FAO has already made available 500 thousand US dollars to support this process. This will allow us to offer immediate assistance, but a much larger investment will be needed. The timely support of the international community is crucial.

 

Now is the time for reconstruction.  But let us keep in mind that investing in disaster risk reduction, in early warning systems and in building resilience before disaster hits saves lives, livelihoods, is essential for our efforts to reach sustainable development, and is essential to respond quickly to disasters.

 

We are seeing this in Vanuatu: building on earlier collaboration in disaster preparedness, FAO is already working with the Government and partners to develop a strategy for the post-humanitarian phase.

 

In The Philippines, rapid response by FAO and partners in 2013 allowed affected farmers to begin planting less than two months after Typhoon Haiyan. By making the farming season, these families were able to feed themselves and contribute to ensuring food security in affected communities.

 

I would like to end by recalling that the vulnerability of SIDS and other countries to natural disasters is being exacerbated by climate change. Extreme events are becoming more frequent, more unpredictable and more violent. Building resilience is, therefore, crucial. And as the Permanent Representative of Fiji, Ambassador Peter Thomson stated yesterday: the successful implementation of the Paris Climate Change Agreement reached at COP21 is fundamental.

 

Thank you for your attention.