Natural Hazards Regional Partnerships and Integration

Lead Agency

NOAA Pacific Services Center (PSC).

Participating Jurisdictions

American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), Guam, Hawai‘i, and the U.S.

Objective

Enhance communication, coordination, and collaboration among federal natural hazard mitigation–related network partners in the Pacific Islands.

Description

A Roundtable of Federal Hazard Mitigation Partners in the Pacific Islands (FHMPPI) was held in Honolulu, Hawai‘i, on March 11 and 12, 2003. This meeting brought together more than 50 representatives from Pacific Island agencies, institutions, and organizations involved in hazard mitigation–related projects and activities being conducted at the federal level. The goal of the meeting was to enhance communication, coordination, and collaboration among the federal ohana, or family, of hazard mitigation network partners in the Pacific Islands. This project supports follow-on activities identified by the roundtable participants as summarized in the 2003 "Embryonic Action Plan, Including a Conceptual Framework, for Regional Communication, Coordination, and Collaboration among Federal Hazard Mitigation Partners in the Pacific Islands.”

A key activity called for in the 2003 action plan is to convene and conduct a follow-up to the 2003 FHMPPI meeting within the next year. To this end, a 2004 Roundtable of Federal Hazard Mitigation Partners in the Pacific Islands has been scheduled for March 16 to 18 in Honolulu, and an organizing committee has been established. Other efforts associated with this activity that will be accomplished under this work plan include the development of a meeting agenda, identification and confirmation of presenters, development of pre- and post-meeting materials, and contracting with the meeting facilitators. It is anticipated that a summary of proceedings from the 2004 FHMPPI meeting and an updated action plan will also be developed as a result of this effort.

The 2003 action plan also calls for establishing a Web site where information on the March 2003 FHMPPI meeting and other FHMPPI activities, as well as a mechanism to facilitate regular ongoing dialogue among the network partners, can be found. Work in support of these activities will be carried out under this project. Web site content, including presentations and summaries of panel discussions and roundtable deliberations from the 2003 FHMPPI, 2004 FHMPPI, and other FHMPPI activities, will be developed and hosted on the PSC Web site. An FHMPPI activity report will also be developed and distributed on a quarterly basis via the Internet.

A key component of the 2003 action plan is the call for formation of a regional coordinating council or some such entity. The council’s role will be to

• support ongoing dialogue between the providers and users of hazards-related products and services;
• support capacity-building by serving as a conduit for technical expertise, assistance, and training; and
• evaluate and prioritize hazards-related product and service needs to leverage financial support.

This entity will be composed of individuals from within the federal ohana, including but not limited to NOAA, Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the U.S. Geological Survey, tasked with the delivery of hazard mitigation–related products and services in the Pacific Islands. It will also include representatives from both the user and provider communities (e.g., state and territorial emergency managers and university researchers). Regional coordination will be facilitated through the formation of hui o hana, or working groups, that encompass clusters of ongoing or proposed activity (Figure 1). It is envisioned that through a series of meetings and workshops each hui o hana will define its own scope of work, analyze gaps and overlaps, prioritize products and services needs, and outline an action plan. In this way, and through representation on the regional coordinating council, the hui o hana will provide guidance to the council. As time and resources permit, activities that support this concept will be carried out under this project. Examples of such activities include helping the hui o hana to organize, as well as assisting them by attending and scheduling meetings or workshops, and developing meeting agendas and action plans. Other activities that may be supported include participation in a series of informational and educational user workshops throughout the Pacific Islands and the development of a database of regional projects and activities.

Figure 1. Conceptual framework for regional communication, coordination, and collaboration among federal hazard mitigation partners in the Pacific Islands. A regional coordinating council (RCC) composed of individuals from within the federal ‘ohana, among others, will play the lead role in supporting dialogue between the users and providers of information. Members of the RCC will be drawn from several working groups or hui o hana. These working groups will provide guidance to the RCC in its efforts to evaluate and prioritize regional hazards-related product and service needs.

The Regional Coordinating Council will be made up of representatives of each of the hui, or working groups. These groups may include Climate Risk Management, Coastal and Ocean Processes and Observations, Communications Infrastructure and Information Dissemination, Data Analysis and Decision-Support Tools and Training, Data Management, Education and Outreach, Post-Disaster Evaluation and Performance Indicators, Seismic and Volcanic Risk Management, Traditional Knowledge and Practices, and Tsunami Risk Management.

Outcomes

• Better communication, coordination, and collaboration between the providers and users of hazards-related products and services and, as a result, the maximization of the benefits of such products and services, whether provided by NOAA or by other federal partners.
• Improved ability to leverage national and international support for the development and distribution of hazards-related products and services in the Pacific Islands.
• Increased recognition of the NOAA Pacific Services Center as a regional focal point for dialogue towards the establishment of resilient, sustainable Pacific Island coastal communities.
• A greater sense of community and appreciation for the unique physical and cultural characteristics of the Pacific Islands.

Project Partners

American Samoa Coastal Management Program, CNMI Coastal Resources Management Office, Department of Homeland Security Emergency Preparedness and Response Directorate, East-West Center’s Pacific Disaster Center, Guam Coastal Management Program, Hawai‘i Coastal Zone Management Program, NOAA Coastal Services Center, NOAA National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service, NOAA National Geodetic Survey, NOAA National Weather Service, NOAA Office of Coast Survey, NOAA Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, NOAA Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, NOAA Office of Response and Restoration, South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission, South Pacific Regional Environmental Programme, University of Hawai‘i, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Geological Survey, and others.