After several postponements, the disaster waste management contingency planning training workshop and stakeholder consultation in Lautoka City was finally conducted on March 23, 2022. More than 50 stakeholders participated.
After the welcome remarks by Mr. Mohammed Anees Khan, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Lautoka City Council, and the opening address by the Commissioner of the Western Division of the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO), Mr. Mesake Ledua, Dr. Glenn Fernandez provided an update on the project. Ms. Sainimere Veitata, a Fijian PhD student in Kyoto University shared the results of the training needs assessment conducted in October 2019. Mr. Shalend Singh, the Senior Health Inspector of Lautoka and Chair of the Pacific DWM Technical Working Group, discuss the outline of the DWM contingency plan with the attendees. Then Ms. Liza Velle Ramos presented on the DWM contingency planning experience of Makati City. Dr. Ryo Tajima, Senior Researcher in Japan’s National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES), presented on preparing a Temporary Storage Site (TSS) before a disaster. Professor Gretchen Kalonji, the Dean of the Institute for Disaster Management and Reconstruction of Sichuan University formally closed the workshop. She enjoined the organizers and attendees to build on their newly established ties and continue collaborating even after the end of the project in August 2022.
The training workshop was ably hosted by Mr. Rouhit Karan Singh, the Health Services Management of Lautoka. The Fiji Times, Fiji’s longest-running newspaper, covered the event.
Post-Typhoon Disaster Waste Management 