Regional efforts to tackle natural disasters are to be strengthened after the establishment of a new regional partnership between two key Pacific technical organisations.
The Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission or SOPAC and the Pacific Islands Telecommunication Association, PITA, have a Memorandum of Understanding in Suva today for regional cooperation and disaster mitigation using the latest computer technology.
SOPAC's director Cristelle Pratt said the MOU was about bringing together organisations with the ability to use technology to help reduce the impact of disasters.
She says man-made and natural disasters are a real threat to Pacific countries and territories and strong technical organisations such as SOPAC and PITA, working in partnership, can provide a greater level of support for communities in disaster risk planning and recovery.
The president of PITA, Maui Sanford, says the MOU will strengthen domestic and regional preparedness and mitigation for disasters by SOPAC and PITA cooperating with telecommunication and information and communication technology needs.