Venue: NOVOTEL
Permanent Secretaries,
Heads of Organizations,
Workshop Participants,
Ladies and Gentlemen
Bula vinaka and a very good morning to you all.
I am indeed honoured to be here this morning to open the 1st jointly organized workshop by the International Partnership Programme (IPP) CommonSensing Project and the Government of Fiji through the Ministry of Lands & Mineral Resources.
Firstly, a Bula Vinaka and warm greetings to our partners who had come as far as the United Kingdom and Switzerland and also to participants that have travelled from around the country, Bula Vinaka
Ladies and Gentlemen
It was during the Ministry’s attendance att the 7th Session of the UN Global Geospatial Information Management at New York in August, 2017 that the approach was made.
A submission was forwarded to the International Partnership Program (IPP) Common Sensing Project and the rest is history.
I would like to express on behalf of the Fiji Government our gratitude to the UK government for accepting our humble request.
International Partnership Programme (IPP) CommonSensing Project is implemented by a consortium of international partners led by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) Operational Satellite Applications Programme (UNOSAT), Satellite Applications Catapult, The Commonwealth Secretariat, Radiant Earth, Sensonomic, Devex, UK Meteorological Office and lastly the University of Portsmouth.
The CommonSensing project is funded through the UK Space Agency under their International Partnership Programme (IPP) and aims to build climate resilience in Fiji by improving access to climate financing, enhancing food security, and developing evidence based disaster risk reduction strategies, which in turn will contribute to the sustainable development of our nation.
Through the CommonSensing project, the International Partnership seeks to maximize the practical impact on the lives of the Fijian people and by this partnership the use of space solutions to solve our specific development challenges, and in doing so increase our capacity.
This project will also help us find solutions and enhance our decision making through the use of satellite and remote sensing technology.
This project will span for the next 2½ years ending 31st December, 2020.
Ladies and Gentlemen
The CommonSensing project commenced with the Inception Phase, in January 2018, with the visitation of the partners (larger group) to our shores in February and March. They visited various government and non-government organizations for landscape analysis and the definition of our requirements.
I understand that the Main Phase of this project will commence 1st July and will focus on:
- The provision of climate finance support and advice
- Capacity building and knowledge exchange
- Development of end-to-end service delivery tools for improved climate action
- Knowledge transfer customized to Fiji’s requirements
Ladies and Gentlemen
Today, we have the CommonSensing Project team to present their findings from the February/March inception mission and their proposed approach to address some of our needs.
The CommonSensing Project team will be working closely with Ministry Economy through the Climate Change Office, Ministry of Agriculture, National Disaster Management Office, Fiji Meteorological Service and lastly the Ministry of Lands for technical use and coordination.
The CommonSensing will be meeting these organisations in the coming days to ensure that they have a better understanding on the specific areas they will be engaged and how to best work in partnership going forward.
We dream for a smarter, more resilient Fiji, and I challenge the ministries responsible, to work together to make this dream a reality.
Ladies and Gentlemen
With those words, I wish you well in your discussions and deliberations; I encourage you all to actively participate and contribute to a progressive CommonSensing Project partnership.
Vinaka Vakalevu.
View PDF->Minister Speech – CommonSensing Workshop