(Pohnpei, FSM) – An online training on solar system installation, operation and maintenance was conducted on the 1st and 2nd of November 2021, and civil work for rehabilitation and augmentation of water supply was initiated in the State of Yap in early November 2021, to enhance the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) Government’s capacity for emergency communications and disaster resilience. 

Organized by the UN Development Programme (UNDP), through the Japan funded Enhancing Disaster and Climate Resilience (EDCR) project, the two-day online training brought together 35 participants from the FSM Department of Environment, Climate Change and Emergency Management (DECEM), Department of Transportation, Communications & Infrastructure (TC&I), State Governments of Yap, Chuuk, Kosrae and Pohnpei, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and private sector representatives. The participants learned how to install, operate and maintain off-grid solar systems that were provided by the UNDP ECDR project to be used for operating high frequency (HF)/very high frequency (VHF) radio in remote islands for emergency communications.

Luan Lavern Gilmete from the FSM Department of Environment, Climate Change and Emergency Management said, “women's role in technology is largely overlooked, but if we see the bigger picture, women are the key to change if we want to reduce the use of kerosene and firewood in our homes.”

She added, “Ensuring women have access to sustainable energy is a fundamental human right, and I hope more opportunities like this are available to our women in underserved communities.”  

The project also initiated a discussion with the Southern Yap Water Authority (SYWA) to embark on their rehabilitation and augmentation of water supply in the Southern Yap district. The Southern Yap Water Authority in FSM received a drilling rig, air compressor, drill pipes and other materials from the UNDP EDCR project earlier in June.

These will be used to rehabilitate five wells in the Southern Yap State and develop an additional water source from the Quarry Pond to help ensure sustained water supply and greater climate resilience in the face of drought.

Kevin Petrini, recently appointed as Deputy Resident Representative and Country Manager for the newly established UNDP North Pacific Office in Pohnpei, FSM highlighted the need of strengthening the country’s capacity to prepare and respond future disasters. He further added that the UNDP EDCR project’s support to the solar system for emergency communications, and the sustainable water supply combined with the relevant capacity building and training are timely and crucial.

The UNDP EDCR project in FSM was initiated in March 2019. The overall project goal is to effectively address the consequences of, and responses to, geo-physical and climate-related hazards to protect lives, sustain livelihoods, preserve the environment, and safeguard the economy. The project aims to strengthen gender sensitive disaster communication and climate monitoring systems; enhance gender sensitive national and state disaster responder’s readiness capacity; and enhance community disaster resilience through improved water resource management and integrated gender and social inclusion awareness.

For more information, please contact:

Takiko Ifamilik, Finance and Administrative Officer, Enhancing Disaster and Climate Resilience in the Federated States of Micronesia Project, UNDP Office in FSM, Tel: +(691) 320 4456, Emil: takiko.ifamilik@undp.org

Summer Lee, Partnerships and Communications Specialist, Governance for Resilient Development in the Pacific Project, UNDP Pacific Office in Fiji, Mob: +(679) 866 2945, Email: summer.lee@undp.org