Moving from Risk to Resilience: Sustainable
Urban Development in the Pacific
Allison Woodruff
Urban Development Specialist
Asian Development Bank

Annual Average Economic Losses due to Natural Hazards
Source: Pacific Catastrophe Risk Assessment and Financing Initiative

=

• Exposure is influenced by physical location
• Urban centers tend to be located along coasts and/or in floodplains
• Urban centers concentrate people, infrastructure, economic activities and social services

1 000
900
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
-
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%

• Vulnerability is influenced by socio-economic factors, urban governance
• Ability to respond and recover from shocks
• Poverty is linked to high vulnerability
• Basic service provision is the first line of defense

Poverty and Risk Vulnerability are
Linked

Local Government Response to Risk
IPCC WGII AR5 Chapter on Urban Areas:
• Urban governments are at the heart of successful urban climate adaptation because so much adaptation depends on local assessments and integrating adaptation into local investments, policies and regulatory frameworks
• Well governed cities with universal provision of infrastructure and services have a strong base for building climate resilience

Risk Sensitive Land Use Planning and
Development Controls
• Zoning to guide development away from hazard ‘hotspots’ to reduce exposure
• Development controls e.g. building codes to reduce vulnerability

Identifying Appropriate Locations for
Lifeline Infrastructure

Climate-Proofing of Major
Infrastructure Investments

Opportunities to ‘Build Back Better’
Following a Disaster

• Pacific Risk Information System
• Pacific Climate Futures web-tool
• Community-based vulnerability assessment e.g.
Cook Islands
• Informal settlement mapping
• Capacity of urban planners to analyze and apply risk information

Constraint: Land Management Systems
• Increasingly urban growth is taking place in peri-urban areas that fall under customary land ownership
• Similarly ‘urban villages’ being absorbed into urban areas as these grow
• Pohnpei, FSM piloted participatory approaches to land use planning by involving traditional landowners

Constraint: Institutional Coordination
• Many different stakeholders involved in urban management (national government , local government, sector agencies, utility service providers, private sector , communities disaster management and climate change offices)
• Nadi Basin Coordination Committee in Fiji offers one example of how urban stakeholders can effectively coordinate to address hazard risks

• Urban areas are particularly exposed and vulnerable to risk
• Municipalities can play a critical role in responding to risk
• Risk is often most effectively addressed when integrated with urban planning and management measures
• The Pacific faces a number of constraints in putting into place sustainable urban development measures

http://www.adb.org/ awoodruff@adb.org