New Project Aims To Improve Water Security In Solomon Islands

Iliesa Tora
RNZ Pacific senior sports journalist

Communities
across Guadalcanal, Makira and Central Islands provinces in
the Solomon Islands are expected to benefit from a new
climate adaptation initiative that will strengthen
freshwater security.

The ‘Protecting Freshwater
Resources for Increased Climate Resilience in the Pacific
Islands (PacFresH2O)’ programme will also improve Water,
Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) services, and build resilience
to the growing impacts of climate change.

The
programme was launched in Honiara by GIZ Pacific, and
implemented in partnership with the Solomon Islands
government, the Pacific Community (SPC) and the
non-government organisation, Live & Learn, last
week.

The five-year regional programme – backed by the
German government – supports the Solomon Islands and Papua
New Guinea to strengthen climate resilience through
sustainable freshwater resource management and
climate-resilient WASH services.

Solomon Islands’
Minister for Mines, Energy and Rural Electrification Derrick
Rawcliff Manuari said freshwater security is fundamental to
the health, dignity, livelihoods and future of the island’s
people.

“For Solomon Islands, climate change is not a
distant challenge; its impacts are already being experienced
by our communities through changing rainfall patterns,
drought, flooding, saltwater intrusion and increasing
pressure on our freshwater sources,” he said.

He said
the programme comes at an important time and directly
supports the Solomons gvernment’s commitment to ensure that
its people, particularly those living in rural and
vulnerable communities, have access to safe, reliable and
climate-resilient water and sanitation
services.

“Through this partnership, we are not simply
responding to today’s water challenges; we are investing in
the resilience, wellbeing and security of future generations
of Solomon Islanders.”

An investment in
people

GIZ Pacific said increasing pressure on
freshwater resources across Solomon Islands through changing
rainfall patterns, prolonged droughts, flooding, saltwater
intrusion and declining water quality has threatened access
to safe drinking water and sanitation, public health, food
security, livelihoods and the wellbeing of communities,
particularly those in rural and remote areas.

German
ambassador to Australia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands,
Vanuatu and Naoero, Beate Grzeski, said Germany was proud to
partner with Solomon Islands in strengthening climate
resilience and protecting one of the country’s most valuable
natural resources.

Grzeski said investing in
freshwater and climate-resilient WASH services is an
investment in people, supporting health, food security, and
sustainable development

PacFresH2O addresses the
challenges through an integrated approach that combines
climate-resilient freshwater resource management, improved
WASH services, Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM),
Nature-based Solutions, strengthened governance and
community-led action.

PacFresH2O head of programme
Charlotte Siegerstetter said the programme will deliver
practical and lasting benefits for communities while
strengthening partnerships for climate
resilience.

“Through this programme, we will support
practical, locally led solutions that improve water
security, strengthen climate-resilient Water, Sanitation and
Hygiene services, and help communities adapt to the growing
impacts of climate change.”

Meanwhile, SPC’s Litea
Biukoto said water is the foundation of resilient Pacific
communities.

She said, as climate change intensifies
droughts, flooding and pressure on our freshwater resources,
protecting and managing water sustainably has never been
more
important.

© Scoop Media