Relationship between natural disasters and poverty: A Fiji case study

SOPAC miscellaneous report 678:

This Fiji case study provides an understanding of the relationship between disasters and poverty in selected Asia Pacific regions. It offers a study method for the use of other Pacific Island countries and territories in their disaster risk management. The study also provides specific multi-pronged policy recommendations for decreasing disaster risk and increasing resilience.

The objectives of this study are to: (i) develop and pilot a method to assess empirically the relationship between disaster and poverty in the Pacific, using Fiji as the case study; (ii) identify policy implications of the improved understanding of the relationship between poverty and natural disasters, including recommendations for improved data collection and management; and (iii) draw out the relevance of the Fiji study for the Pacific and make policy suggestions to help other Pacific Island countries and territories in their disaster risk management.

This study is a collaborative endeavour of the Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission (SO PAC), the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction Secretariat (UNISDR) and the United Nations Development Programme – Pacific Centre (UNDP–PC), with financial support from the World Bank under Track 1 of the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR). It has been prepared for the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction Secretariat’s 2009 Global Assessment Report on Disaster Reduction.