This morning the Deputy Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Development Forum Mr Penijamini Lomaloma received the visiting Professor at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (APCSS) in Honolulu Hawaii Dr. Rouben Azizian.
Professor Azizian’s specialty at the APCSS is Regional Security Architecture, Security Sector Development, as well as Russian, Central and South Asian, and Oceania Security Issues.
The APCSS is a U.S. Department of Defense institute in Honolulu, Hawaii that addresses regional and global security issues.
Discussions today included the security dimensions of climate change and disaster response and crisis management. The latest UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Assessment Report included for the first time an extensive chapter on the implications of climate change for human security. The consequences of climate change include the destabilizing effects of storms, droughts, and floods. Domestically, the effects of climate change could overwhelm disaster-response capabilities. Internationally, climate change may cause humanitarian disasters, contribute to the breakdown of law & order.
Speaking after the meeting Mr Lomaloma said, “The links between climate change and natural disasters reveal the need to incorporate climate change considerations into regional planning and response strategies. Climate and weather patterns are already changing in the Pacific and are expected to continue in coming years, potentially changing the face of emergencies and disaster.”
“We are pleased that we can have these discussions today with the APCSS about how we can collaborate so that we can build resilience and robustness in our disaster response systems in the face of the extreme weather events that climate change is bringing to our region.”
