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Description |
Vanuatu is geographically located in the "ring of fire" and the "cyclone belt" of the Pacific. Overall, the country is extremely vulnerable to natural disasters and is the world's most vulnerable country out of 111 countries, assessed according to the Commonwealth Vulnerability Index. It is at risk from a wide range of climate-related hazards - more than most other Pacific countries. These hazards include coastal erosion, tropical cyclones, floods, landslides, and drought, which are expected to increase in severity and frequency as a result of climate change, warranting emphasis on climate proofing of infrastructure, policy and institutional capacity building for disaster risk management, and improving climate resiliency. Added to vulnerability posed by its location, a combination of rapid economic growth, a young and rapidly growing population, urban drift, urban land speculation, agricultural intensification, deforestation, weak coastal management systems, poor sewage and waste disposal, and the use of imported energy sources threaten the integrity of the natural resource base. Key environmental management challenges include: (i) climate change and sea level rise; (ii) soil erosion and land degradation; (iii) coastal erosion; (iv) loss of forests; (v) loss of biological diversity; (vi) water pollution; (vii) waste disposal and recycling; (viii) reef destruction and overexploitation of marine resources; and (ix) natural disasters. Even now, an increasing frequency and severity of flooding has been reported in the country due to tropical cyclones and storm surges. Flooding and inundation of urban and rural areas have negative economic impacts as national investments in infrastructure and agriculture are located primarily in low-lying coastal areas around the perimeter of the major islands.
Vanuatu does not have an infrastructure master plan or land use plan for its major cities. Although a number of Government agencies have recently undertaken a planning/zoning exercise for Luganville. Port Vila, the capital city, is yet to develop a master plan or establish any form of land zoning to guide urban development, though there is a plan to extend the city 3 km beyond the current town boundaries under a Ministry of Lands (MOL)-led exercise. The coordinated development of Port Vila will require substantial domestic capacity in long-term urban planning and building of institutional infrastructure. Likewise, several of the infrastructure and urban services (such as water supply, sanitation, and drainage), will require comprehensive planning.
Port Vila has a piped water supply system that is adequate for current needs of the urban population - a private concessionaire runs the water supply system and provides reliable services. In contrast, drainage and sanitation have so far not received public and private support in terms of planning and investment. The city has no storm water drainage system, and the city often suffers from flooding with the increased frequency of heavy rains. Sanitation is an emerging problem because of the rapidly growing urban population whose health needs (including hygiene and sanitation) are a priority, on one hand, and the extremely limited sanitation services provided by the government, on the other. The Port Vila municipal authority has only two trucks to collect the city's garbage from residential and commercial areas, which are insufficient for the city's need and pose a major public health hazard. Likewise, there is no national sanitation policy, and no formal building codes are followed in Port Vila. As a result, monitoring of the safety tanks in the city's buildings are not conducted by any authority.
The Government has a Priorities and Action Agenda (PAA), which was developed with ADB support, for the period 2006-2015, and a medium-term action program for the PAA, entitled "Planning Long, Acting Short," which prioritizes a set of near- and medium-term development initiatives.
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