Analysis of the households surveys on Loss and Damage.

Ginny and Iris imputing the data.

The data input from the loss and damage surveys has begun today. The enumerator in charge is Mr. Ginny Jose. He has been recolecting the 211 surveys being finished to date, waiting for the software needed to analize the data. Last week, they received the statistical analysis software, SPSS. The ten surveyors have interviewed half of the expected 400 households for this survey. Apart from the socio economic questions, there are open questions where the people could tell their experiences with extreme weather events, which have affected them. Results from this surveys will be produced after their analysis during August and September, and then presented in October in an international meeting at the University of the United Nations in Bonn, Germany. Eigth countries from Africa and Asia will present their data, mostly on the effects of droughts. Kosrae's coastal data will be the only Oceania's country represented in this meeting.

Osamu and Elsina giving Ginny their surveys

Meet Miss Iris Monnereau, consultant of FSM PACC Project

On July 2, the FSM PACC Project received the visit of  Miss Iris Monneraeu. She comes from the Netherlands, to work as a consultant to interpret the data of the Loss & Damage and  the Socio-economic surveys. She gave a  two days workshop to ten enumerators and a note taker on how to conduct the surveys. Four hundred households around the island will be interviewed to obtain socio-economic data and the negative impacts of climate change issues on their properties. There are three enumerators from Lelu and Tafunsak and two for Utwe and Malem municipalities.

On July 5th, the enumerators were taken to Lelu Municipality to practice the data collecting for the surveys. The survey will beging on July 9th,and will continue for a month.                                                                 

Consultants on coastal erosion came to Kosrae

On July 6th, we received the visit of three consultants on shoreline management. They are, Mr. Doug Ramsey, a coastal engineer from the National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research Ltd., New Zealand. Mr Ramsey, knows Kosrae shoreline very well. He spent two years (1998-2000) in Kosrae, studying our coastline. He published the Kosrae Shoreline Management Plan in the year 2000. Dr. Arthur Webb, a coastal process advisor with SOPAC in Fiji and Mr Fenno Brunken, a climate change advisor with the German Technical Cooperation Agency , based in Pohnpei. Next day, they went with the PACC team to make a rapid assessment of Kosrae's coastline. They analized the current status of the shoreline and the best practices to be less vulnerable to the effects of storm surges.

From left to rigth, Mr. Abraham, Mr. Ramsey, Mr. Brunken, Dr. Webb and Miss Monnereau.

On July 9th, the consultants met with Mr. Simpson Abraham and the Governor, Hon. Lyndon Jackson. Then they met with different stakeholders. They shared with us some recommendations on what is needed to become more resilient to the damage done by storm surges. Their recommendations included the relocation of the coastal road with the infrastructure to higher grounds and the first areas to be targeted. They explained us that using coastal defenses will be only a short term solution. They also emphasised that now is the time to apply to donor agencies for money because the uncertaintantly of funds in the future. The three consultants told us to plan in terms of one or two generations ahead, so we need to begin now.

Mr. Ramsey explaining his recomendations to the participants