Management of disasters and emergencies in Papua New Guinea had been undertaken in accordance with the Disaster Management Act (Chapter 402). Whilst this legislation is purposeful the functions and responsibilities entailed in the Act have not been effectively and efficiently deployed. It is for this reason and consistent with the Act and the direction of the National Executive Council a National Environment and Disaster Mitigation Authority is being established .
Disaster preparedness and climate change adaptation and vulnerability
Disasters, and therefore disaster response, in the Pacific are expected to be affected by climate change. This research addressed this issue, and focused on the immediate humanitarian needs following a disaster, drawing upon adaptive capacity as a concept to assess the resilience of individual organisations and the robustness of the broader system of disaster response..
Four case study countries (Fiji, Cook Islands, Vanuatu and Samoa) were chosen for deeper investigation of the range of issues present in the Pacific.