Opinions expressed in thispublication are not necessarily thoseof the SOPAC Secretariat, neitherdoes the mention of any firm orlicensed process imply endorsement

In this Issue

Staffing Situation…....……..….1

Pacific Islands HydrologyTraining Program….…............2

Pacific RegionalAction Plan..............................3

Hydrological trainingphotos.......…...........................3

RWH Project...........................4

Dialogue on Water& Climate................................5

Flash floods in Navua, Fiji......5

World Water Day....................6

Sanitation Park Project.......…7

Wassup...................................8

Ni sa bula vinaka and welcome to another issue of the SOPAC Water & Sanitation Newsletter, from now on calledWATS’News. For quite some time, the issues weren’t forthcoming and we at “Water” felt that enough time had beengiven to the Issues to lie dormant and that it was time to awaken the lady from her long slumber. This issue will coverwhat might be called the major activities from the time of the last issue (July 2001) up to the present time.

We have had our fair share of rain and shine; days of sitting in the office behind a computer and other days under thescorching sun somewhere on an outer island in the Pacific doing field surveys. It has been a lot of learning experiencesfor us and we hope to bring you the real picture when you leaf through this edition of WATS’News.

In this issue, we bring you the highlights of World Water Day 2004 celebrations held in Suva, reports from ourSanitation Park Project and give you an update on progress from our Rainwater harvesting project in Vava’u, Tonga.

Also in this issue, we take a look at the first phase of the Hydrological Training for PIC hydrological officers held hereat the Secretariat in April of this year and other initiatives that the Water Sector has been involved with recently.

Staffing SituationWe have farewelled three of ourstaff since the last edition ofWATS’News went to the printers.

Mr Clive Carpenter, former head ofthe Water Resources Unit cumWater Sector, Dr Luke Mosley, ourWater Quality Officer and Ms IlanaBurness, Assistant Project Officer -Water.

All three had played pivotal roles inthe running of the Water Sectorduring their stay and we wish themwell as they move on to greenerpastures.

Well, all is not lost!!! The WaterSector still retains three core staff,namely Mr Marc Overmars,(Hydrogeologist), Ms RhondaBower, (Sanitation Officer), and MsAlena Lawedrau-Moroca (WaterResources Officer) who are allbusily meeting the commitments ofthe Water Sector.

We have contracted a WaterQuality Officer, Mr SarabjeetSingh, formerly employed by Fiji’sPublic Works Department, toexpand the water quality networkthat Luke had set up.

In addition, we expect anAustralian Volunteer, Ms SarahDaviesat at the end of this monthto further the work on waterdemand management as ourWater Engineer.

Also housed within the WaterSector is Mr Stephen Booth,Water & Sanitation Specialist whois also the Project Leader for theSOPAC/EU EDF8/F9 Project.

Water will soon be a “full-house”again serving the PICs the bestwe can.

Volume 5, Issue 1.July 2004

Pacific Islands Hydrology Training Program

In their own words, the trainees had alot to say regarding the training:

“Thanks to the organizers,facilitators and the fundingagencies for materializing thethought that addresses developingthe SID countries in the region” –Epi (LWRM-Fiji).

“I have learnt a lot….lots of newinformation” – Sammy (Vanuatu).

“This course is one huge stepforward in providing a betterhydrological network for SmallPacific Island countries…” –Sepesa (PWD-Fiji).

“I found practicals to be the mostinteresting, as it lets participantsachieve their goals in the field ofHydrology…” –Iosefatu (Samoa).

“I am fortunate to attend thiscourse, it was well organized andproperly executed” – Paula (PWD-Fiji).

“Overall, the course was veryinteresting, doing fieldwork,collecting data…I learnt a lot ofthings that will really help me in mywork” – Saiyad (MRD-Fiji).

“At work I usually assist in holdingthe staff but after we covered thetopic I should be able to carry out

levelling” – Jonati (MRD-Fiji).

“The selecting of a site was onevery important aspect I learnt…”– Kane (Cook Is).

“I was interested in constructingrating curves, it assisted me infinding discharge at high and lowflows…” - Autu (Sol Is).

“I will definitely be back for thenext phase...” – John (PNG).

“I have a lot to take back homewith me…” – Dickson (FSM).

A special thank you to the Fiji Instituteof Technology (FIT) team that cameto demonstrate the use of SHMAKkits in stream health monitoring.

Plans are to have the next course ofthe hydrology training programmerun in 2005 and 2006 thanks tofunding being made availablethrough NZAID. Additionalparticipants will be involved fromPalau, Guam, Nauru, MarshallIslands, Kiribati, Niue, Tonga andTuvalu.

A training program for Hydrology andWater Resources technicians from 7Pacific Island countries, namely Fiji,Cook Islands, Samoa, SolomonIslands, Papua New Guinea, theFederated States of Micronesia andVanuatu ended on a high note at theSecretariat on the 14th of May.

The 4-week programme was aimedat providing specialized training totechnical staff in the NationalHydrological Services of participatingPacific Island countries to assemble,maintain and apply data andinformation on national waterresources, and to be able to pass onthis knowledge and skills to others.

Mr John Fenwick, Mr Pete Mason andMr Mike Butler, all from NIWA(National Institute for Water &Atmospheric Research) developedthe lecture material in conjunction withSOPAC, WMO and UNESCO.

The programme included classroomsessions and fieldwork in theNabukavesi river and at the NaboroTreatment plant in a stream behind thenewly constructed Naboro landfill.

The overall emphasis was on thetechniques of data collection,processing and analysis and othertopics of relevance such as qualityassurance and safety aspects forworking in the field.

Group photo of the trainees to the 1st course of the Hydrological Training.

Pacific Regional Action PlanThe Pacific Regional Action Plan on Sustainable Water Management (Pacific RAP) is a strategic approach to achievingsustainable water management in the Pacific. It was the culmination of 9 months of preparatory consultation, 18national consultations, 6 thematic regional overviews, over 30 case studies, and the involvement of over 165 keyregional stakeholders during the Pacific Regional Consultation Meeting on Water In Small Island Countries (held inFiji in July-August 2002).

The regional consultation on sustainable water management that led to the RAP was held in conjunction with thePacific Dialogue on Water and Climate. This dialogue was initiated to improve the capacity in water resourcesmanagement to cope with the impacts of increasing variability of the world’s climate, by establishing a platformthrough which policymakers and water resources managers have better access to, and make better use of, informationgenerated by climatologists and meteorologists.

The Water Type II Partnership was advocated and agreed to by the stakeholders involved in the regional consultationmeeting and was submitted by the Pacific Island Countries to the UN Commission for Sustainable Development(CSD) in Johannesburg at the World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD) in August 2002.

The objectives of the Pacific Water Type II are, besides the establishing of a network for the Pacific water sector, toimplement the Pacific RAP and its sister strategies, the Pacific Wastewater Policy Statement and the Pacific WastewaterFramework for Action, in as coordinated and effective a manner possible.

The Pacific Type II Partnership Initiative on Sustainable Water Management is coordinated and facilitated by theintergovernmental organisation SOPAC (South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission), which has the regionalmandate to support the Pacific Island Countries in water & sanitation. SOPAC is assisted in this task by a deputyfacilitator, the University of the South Pacific.

Monitoring and evaluation are being carried out using a matrix inventory of previous, existing, planned and proposedactivities, including details of the stakeholders involved, the intervention objectives, implementation duration andstatus, and anticipated impact. It is anticipated the matrix will be updated annually using feedback and review fromthe stakeholders within the partnership.

Partners involved in the Pacific Type II Partnership Initiative on Sustainable Water Management include WorldMeteorological Organisation (WMO), UNESCO, National Institute for Water & Atmospheric Research (NIWA) andSOPAC.

As contribution to the Pacific Type II Partnership Initiative on Sustainable Water Management, NZAID made fundsavailable for the hydrological training programme in 2003 and the 1st course on surface water was held at theSOPAC Secretariat in Suva, Fiji from 19 April – 14 May 2004 with participation of hydrological technicians from theCook Islands, Fiji, Federated States of Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.The Pacific RAP has since been endorsed by 18 Pacific Island Countries, 14 at Ministerial level, and subsequently14 PICs have endorsed the RAP at Heads of State level, as have Australia and New Zealand.

Fieldwork at Sailoama, Fiji. Fieldwork at Naboro, Fiji.

Hydrological Training Photos

RWH Project in Vava’u, Tonga

One of the many rainwater tanks being used to collect water at the outer island site.

In the third quarter of 2001, SOPAC signed a ProjectDocument Agreement with UNEP to implement ademonstration project on rainwater harvesting in thePacific. The two main purposes of the project were toincrease women’s participation in implementation ofrainwater harvesting systems and to increase the quantityand quality of water for project communities. Further long-term objectives of the project included promoting anddemonstrating rainwater harvesting as a water source inthe Pacific and that the project would be replicated inother island countries.

Tonga was chosen as the preferred host country of theproject, based on a decision matrix that was prepared tocreate transparency in the site selection process.

Negotiations and project development continuedthroughout the first half of 2002 and detailed discussionswere held with the Tonga Community Development Trust(TCDT), a local NGO that was chosen to implement theproject, during the Sigatoka Conference on SustainableWater Management in August 2002. This resulted in thedrafting of a detailed plan of activities and a formal projectagreement was signed at the end of November 2002.

SOPAC personnel made an initial visit to the project sitein May 2003 to meet with stakeholders and the communityand to visit the selected sites of Utungake Village, on themain island of Vava’u, as the peri-urban site. Also duringthis initial visit, random water quality samples were takenfrom several locations within the village and there wasalso a household survey.

A second visit was made to Utungake and the outer islandof Matamaka that was chosen as the rural site inNovember 2003. It was during this visit that talks wereheld with members of the community regarding thenumber of homes that would be provided with water tanksand a village mapping exercise was carried out.

A third visit was made to Utungake in May, this year, andat the time of visit, 30 rainwater tanks had beenconstructed at the village and work was underway at theouter island site to construct another 8 tanks. During thethird visit, a workshop was conducted by SOPACpersonnel for the local NGO workers and other interestedmembers of the community. One of the main objectivesof the workshop was to introduce and expose theextension workers in the community training toparticipatory principles, facilitation techniques andexperiential training tools and activities that could be usedto address the following areas: 1) water quality, sanitation,hygiene and health; 2) the operation and ongoingmaintenance of rainwater tanks; and 3) roles,responsibilities, participation of women, men and familiesand related issues among community members.

The project is nearing completion and SOPAC incollaboration with TCDT are busily working on producinga Training Manual for Community Participation andGuidelines for Rainwater Harvesting that could be usedin other PICs to promote rainwater harvesting for domesticwater supply. In addition, a video on this demonstrationproject, produced with the assistance of SPC, will bedistributed throughout the region.

Dialogue on Water and ClimateFrom Vision to ActionThe need for regular climate information and hydrologicaltraining have been identified by NZAID as two needs forPacific Island countries that can be addressed throughtheir assistance to the Pacific Type II Partnership Initiativeon Sustainable Water Management.

NZAID agreed to the funding of a programme to providemonthly climate information through the Pacific IslandClimate Update and develop and strengthen the basichydrological training needs of small island countries inthe Pacific.

The publication of the ICU was intended to includehydrological information on islands, such as effects offorecasted climate on island’s water resources (rainfall,surface and ground waters).

The ICU was presented to hydrological techniciansparticipating in the 1st Hydrology Training Course thatwas held in April and May 2004. In addition, the ICU willbe disseminated to a wider group of end-users includingwater utility managers in the region.

The ICU will be further used during upcoming events suchas:

. Leadership Seminar for Pacific Island Water andWastewater Managers to be organized by the EastWest Centre in Hawaii, July 18 – 29, 2004,Developing Disaster Preparedness and MitigationPlans for Island Water Utilities.

. USP, East West Center, NIWA Pacific IslandTraining Institute on Climate and Extreme Eventsfrom 15-26 June 2004 at the USP, Suva.

. Follow-up

The Dialogue on Water and Climate is being continuedin the Pacific through several initiatives:

. US-NZ-Aus Tri-lateral Climate Accord Programme– Pacific Rim resource centers notably PEAC/NOAA in the US (Hawaii), BoM (Australia) andNIWA (New Zealand) coordination programme toimprove climate forecasting and application toolsto sectoral users (June 2003, Hawaii).

. The Pacific region hosted the UNESCOInternational Hydrological Programme RegionalSteering Committee meeting for Southeast Asiaand the Pacific (October 2003, Fiji).

. UNESCO/SOPAC organised a two-day symposiumon “Managing Water Resources under ClimaticExtremes and Natural Disasters” (October 2003,Fiji).

. Educational Training Services for EnhancedApplication of Climate

. Predictions in Pacific Island Countries an AusAIDfunded project executed by the Bureau ofMeteorology for National Meteorological Servicesand their user groups (including water resourcemanagers).

. CEHI and SOPAC will collaborate towards the

implementation of the Joint Programme forAction and provide input into the preparationsfor Barbados +10.

Flashfloods in Navua, FijiA week before the Hydrological Training for PIChydrologists began, a trough of low pressure lay over theFiji Islands group and brought with it heavy rain andflooding.

When the Hydrological Training participants visited NavuaTown on the afternoon of Monday, 19th April, fire officers,student nurses and volunteers were still trying to cleanmud and debris from in and around the Navua Hospital,which was extensively damaged by flood waters.

The scene at the Navua Hospital after flood watersreceeded on Monday, 19th April, 2004.

Bamboo bushes brought down in the floodwaters,seen stuck to the lower supports of the Navua

Bridge.

World Water Day 2004’s theme was, ‘Water and Disasters’and this year, the United Nations International Strategyfor Disaster Reduction and the World MeteorologicalOrganization were the main coordinators for thecommemoration of WWD.

Regionally, SOPAC, along with Live and LearnEnvironmental and Development Education were theorganisers for WWD 2004. This year, the main celebrationwas held at the new Tanoa Plaza Hotel in Suva from 10am till 12 noon, on Monday 22nd of March.

School students taking part in WWD quizcompetition.

Organisations and groups were invited to put up displaysat an exhibition. Exhibitors included NGO’s, the PrivateSector and government ministries. Invitations were alsosent to schools and the response was overwhelming withschool students from over 35 primary and secondaryschools from around Fiji attending the celebrations.

The Honourable Charles Mochan, British HighCommissioner in Suva, officially opened the event andSOPAC and Live and Learn, organised competitions andprize giveaways to students during the exhibition.

Apart from the main celebration carried out in Suva inMarch, other Pacific Island Countries organised their ownWWD celebrations in-country.

In the past, SOPAC had always taken the lead in theproduction of publication material for WWD and this year,together with Live and Learn, they produced a board gameand stickers.

These have been distributed to SOPAC’s island membercountries, and Live and Learn will also be incorporatingthe material into their training forums in Fiji, Vanuatu, CookIslands and Solomon Islands.

Part of the crowd that turned up at the Tanoa Plazafor WWD celebrations.

World Water Day Celebrations, 2004

We would like to acknowledge funding for this year’scampaign, provided by the British High Commission.

School students looking through the displays atTanoa Plaza. British High Commissioner to Fiji, Hon. Charles

Mochan opening WWD 2004 celebrations in Suva.

Sanitation Park Project14 communities around Viti Levu, Fiji were surveyed for aperiod of 4 weeks during the month of April, 2000 with aview to using the results of the survey as a means ofidentifying communities to be targeted for Phase 1 of theSanitation Park project. The project team was made up ofthe Ministry of Health (Environmental Health officers), FijiSchool of Medicine (EH lecturers & students), WHO,SOPAC and the village communities.

Phase 1 involved the project team providing communityawareness and mobilization on the issues of wastewaterdisposal and it’s hygienic implications.

In conjunction with this a “Sanitation Park” is now beingconstructed at the Fiji School of Medicine Compound. The“Park” accommodates a variety of dry working models ofa range of sanitation facilities considered appropriate forisland communities. The “Park” consists of systemsbeginning from pit latrines to composting toilets in a kindof “sanitation ladder” of available treatment and disposaloptions.

Construction work at the San Park.

The “Park” will not only provide an opportunity forinterested community members, students, leaders andcommunity health workers to examine how these optionswork (treat excreta) and protect human health, but willprovide important information on initial costs, requiredconstruction skills, long term operational and maintenancerequirements and costs, liaison requirements withcommunities, and social and cultural issues andsensitivities of communities, all of which have to beaddressed if long term sustainability of the sanitationsystems is to be achieved.

The second phase of the project would involve thecommunities then making plans for the development oftheir own waste disposal systems with the initial supportprovided through this project.

A PVC latrine model that will be installed at the SanPark.

The three communities, which have been chosen forimplementing the project are namely: Balevuto in Ba,Keiyasi in Sigatoka and Nadelei in Tavua. Members ofthe project team will be visiting the 3 villages to conductcommunity training workshops in the coming days andwe will be bringing you more news of the progress in ournext WATS’News Issue.

Mr Pita Vatucawaqa, a member of the Vunisinuvillage, also helping with the construction.

Wassup

Below is a log of proposals that the Water Sector is currently seeking funding for:

Hydrological Training Programme: additional funds are being sought to run the second and thirdcourses of this training programme after the successful culmination of the first course at theSecretariat on the 14th of May, 2004. These intensive short courses are aimed at developinghydrological capacity into more depth within the region.

Pacific Regional Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Programme: A proposal was submitted to theTaiwan/Republic of China annual contribution for 2004/2005 to support a variety of activities withinthe Water, Sanitation and Hygiene programme. Some of the activities included Annual WorldWater Day campaigns, community participation and gender activities in the water, sanitation andhygiene sector and the establishment and management of a regional “Wastewater Focal Group.

Send To:

SOPAC Sender: SOPAC SecretariatWater & Sanitation Private Mail Bag, GPO, Suva

Adapted from the Fiji Times“The purest form of natural water is rainwater, although this accumulates dissolvedgases, particularly carbon dioxide, in itsfall through the atmosphere…” - Sixth formchemistry.

“Water is such a stable and familiar substancethat we tend to forget its importance as achemical ...” - Sixth form chemistry.

“Considering the acute problems of waterscarcity that many are likely to face in thenear future, it would seem prudent not toignore the direct exploitation of nature’ssimplest and most fundamental source ofrenewable freshwater - rain”.(Nissen-Petersen & Gould, 1999)

Please send all contributions, comments &announcements to:Ms Alena Lawedrau-MorocaSOPAC SecretariatPrivate Mail Bag, Suva, FijiPh: (679) 338 1377Fax: (679) 337 0040Email: alena@sopac.org.fj