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Access to safe drinking water is a basic need and is one of the most important contributors to public health and to the economic health of communities. Pacific island countries have yet to overcome the challenge of providing a safe and adequate supply of drinking water to its populations. Infectious, waterborne diseases, such as Typhoid and Cholera and newly emerging pathogens are a major cause of morbidity and mortality within the Pacific region. The World Health Organization (WHO) report that about 2 million people in the world die each year due to diarrhoeal diseases, most of them are children less that 5 years of age. The worst affected are the populations in developing countries. Lack of access to safe drinking water is one of the main contributors to this situation. Traditional approaches that rely on sampling and testing water have failed to achieve extensive improvement in access to safe drinking water. Pacific island countries are committed to achieving targets specified in the Millennium Development Goals (2000), including halving the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water by 2015. A new strategy is now being promoted globally that is based on risk management principles – drinking water safety planning.

The importance of safe drinking water for health and development in the Pacific Island Countries (PICs) has been reflected in many regional action plans and policies. Through the Regional Action Plan on Sustainable Water Management (Sigatoka, Fiji, 2002) Pacific Island Countries outlined actions that were needed to achieve sustainable water management through collaborative efforts by water sector authorities and inter-sectoral partners. The WHO workshop on Drinking Water Quality Standards and Monitoring in Pacific Island Countries (Nadi, Fiji, 2005) developed a Framework for Action on Drinking Water Quality and Health in Pacific Island Countries, designed to support the implementation of drinking water quality actions envisioned in the Regional Action Plan. The Pacific Island Countries embraced the Water Safety Plan concept during the workshop and this was reflected in the Regional Framework. It was recommended that PICs should use Water Safety Plans to better manage their water supplies to ensure safe quality drinking water for Pacific communities.

Flooding imposes significant costs on households and businesses located in the lower Vaisigano catchment area. SOPAC, under the European Development Fund (EDF) project Reducing Vulnerability of Pacific ACP States, has worked with the Government of Samoa to develop the Samoa Flood Management and Action Plan, which identifies actions for government agencies, the private sector, NGOs and communities responsible for flood and floodplain management that can assist in reducing flood risks in Samoa, particularly in the lower Vaisigano catchment area located in Apia, which is subject to frequent flooding.

This proposal has been prepared by the Ocean and Islands Programme (OIP) within the Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC) in collaboration with the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA). It has been prepared in response to an invitation1 from the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) to assist the Cook Islands in deriving coastal related information to underpin and inform climate change adaptation decisions for coastal areas of Mangaia Island.

The Training of Trainers (TOT) Workshop on Rainwater Harvesting took place in Vava'u, Tonga from 12-15 May 2004. Involving community extension workers from the Village Women's Development Programme (VWDP) of the Tonga Community Development Trust (TCDT), the training was based on a participatory approach that emphasised 'learning-by-doing'. Using a step-by-step process, workshop participants were introduced to various participatory tools and took part in participatory activities and exercises that they could potentially use during future training on rainwater harvesting in communities.

The Government of Niue (GoN) is restructuring its Public Service which is a timely opportunity to integrate water management functions adopting the IWRM approach and principles in lieu of the current sectoral approach adopted over the last 3-4 decades. This will be an opportunity to integrate NGOs, civil society and all stakeholders in the process of water and wastewater management. The strengthening of the national capacity will enhance efficiency to deliver the required services by the public institutions, but also the awareness of the community on the sustainable use of water as a finite natural resource.

Active participation from people is key to the success of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). The purpose of these guidelines is to support government departments and organisations in mobilising people towards IWRM.

These goals are a big challenge to small Pacific Islands Countries with their small land masses, remote locations and small but rapidly growing populations making them vulnerable. Vanuatu shares these and other challenges to sustainable development. In Vanuatu real GDP per capita is still lower than in the 1980s, infrastructure is poorly developed, the population is rapidly growing at 2.6% per year, water resources are declining and in many places contaminated, and household water supplies are inadequate or absent. The country's capital and human resources are stretched and a better forward is needed.

The Solomon Islands is characterised by scattered islands that vary considerably in size, physical and hydrologic characteristics. The types of islands range from high volcanic to tiny low coral atolls. The higher islands have river systems whilst the low coral atolls have no natural surface water systems and are completely dependent upon rainwater catchments and groundwater.