Solomon Islands unveils Honiara urban resilience, climate action plan

The government of Solomon Islands has formally launched the Honiara Urban Resilience and Climate Action Plan (HURCAP) to enhance the capital’s resilience to climate change.

With research contributions by RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, the document forms part of UN-Habitat’s Cities and Climate Change Initiative (CCCI) and follow the endorsement of the Honiara Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment. The action plan provides for concrete actions to reduce the multitude of risks that the city faces and is aimed at implementing climate change adaptation actions.

The Minister for Lands, Housing & Survey, the Hon. Moses Garu, Minister for Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management & Meteorology, the Hon. Samuel Manetoali, and the Lord Mayor of Honiara, the Hon. Andrew Mua, officially launched the document.

Extensive community consultations revealed that climate change was only one factor exacerbating the vulnerability of certain areas and communities of the city.

Following years of urban growth resulting in a lack of adequate infrastructure and housing, as well as the flourishment of informal settlements over the years, a major flood disaster in 2014, and the persistent exposure to natural disasters (both climatic and non-climatic) has left thousands in the city highly vulnerable. The Honiara Urban Resilience and Climate Action Plan spells out a range of implementation actions for Honiara City Council and the Government of the Solomon Islands to build the resilience of the nation’s only major city.

The document is based on comprehensive community consultation and engagement with other governmental and non-governmental organisations to ensure the plan works for the benefit of the city and its residents. It is intended that the framework set out in the action plan will be supported and owned by the different groups that comprise the city. The multi-partner approach will be led with “full support” by Honiara City Council and the respective Ministries of Lands, Housing & Survey, and Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management & Meteorology.