Locations
H.E. J. Uduch Sengebau Senior, Vice President of Palau
H.E. Karasawa Akira, Ambassador of Japan to Palau
Ms. Tessy Nobuo, President of Omekesang
Mr. Waymine Towai, Executive Director of Palau National Emergency Management Office
Ms. Klouldil Singeo, Director, Bureau of Aging, Disability and Gender
Ms. Maireng Sengebau, Executive Director of Palau Red Cross
Ms. Tessy Nobuo, President of Omekesang Association of Palau
Partners from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the Pacific Community,
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,
Ungil Tutau
Ohayō Gozaimasu, Good morning to you all.
I join our partners in Palau in welcoming you to this training workshop on Protection, Gender and Social Inclusion in Disaster Risk Management.
I thank our partners, Palau’s National Emergency Management Office (NEMO), Bureau of Gender, Aging and Disabilities and Gender, Palau Red Cross, IFRC, SPC and Omekesang for jointly organizing this two-day training workshop with us as part of UNDP’s ‘Enhancing Disaster and Climate Resilience through Improved Disaster Preparedness and Infrastructure’ (EDCR project).
Through generous funding from the Government of Japan, the EDCR project in Palau was initiated in March 2019. The project aims to improve the capacity for preparedness and mitigation to human-made, geo-physical, climate and related hazards and enhancing resilience to climate change impact.
As reported globally, the COVID-19 pandemic has been exacerbating existing poverty, inequality and discrimination in many aspects in society.
I acknowledge that the impact of the pandemic is being experienced by the state and people of Palau even though there have not been direct health threats within the country. The impact increases vulnerability of those who are already in socially and economically difficult conditions.
Heavily dependent on tourism with 20 percent of all its workers employed in the tourism industry, Palau attracted 90,000 foreign visitors in fiscal year 2019, with the tourism industry contributing 20 percent to gross domestic product. Instead, it is now projected that Palau will experience a 51 percent reduction of tourists, with a total expected of about 44,075 visitors, and a further 89 percent reduction in fiscal year 2021. Overall, Palau is expected to experience a 22.3 percent decline in GDP and a loss of 3,128 jobs, primarily in the private sector.[1]
UNDP supports partners to engage women, persons with disabilities and socially, economically and culturally marginalized populations as stakeholders in successful planning and implementation of disaster risk management policies.
The EDCR project place ‘protection, gender and social inclusion’ in disaster risk management at its core. It is crucial to identify the risks of vulnerable populations in disaster situations and integrate in all aspects of disaster risk management through working together with those groups as stakeholders.
I am certain, thanks to Japan’s support to this project and strong commitment made by the partners in Palau and the Pacific, we will leave no one behind in Palau’s disaster risk management and sustainable development.
Finally, I would like to encourage all participants to engage each other in active discussion and benefit from this learning opportunity. I wish you all the best in your deliberations.
Thank you.
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