Source: National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA)
Nine projects to help communities prepare, reduce risk, respond and recover from emergencies are this year’s recipients of Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) Resilience Fund grants, administered by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA)
NEMA’s Director Civil Defence Emergency Management John Price says the recipients’ work will make a real and tangible difference for their communities.
“These grants help to build resilience by giving life to innovative approaches. This work will help enable everyone to be safe and keep safe.
“Applications were extremely strong this year, with a broad variety of applicants from regional and local CDEM Groups, iwi and the private sector.
“There’s a wealth of knowledge, skills and experience in our communities and lots of great ideas and concepts which can lead to better outcomes for communities.
“The Resilience Fund works in with our National Disaster Resilience Strategy and looks for ideas that address known gaps and opportunities in the system and can be developed for use by other CDEM Groups. This means that the whole country will benefit from the ideas of a few.”
The fund has allocated $688,535 to nine projects, including two which will boost capability on the West Coast of the South Island.
The grants will also fund four projects which focus on the role of Māori and marae in the emergency management system.
“In emergencies, Māori and marae play a crucial role in readiness, response and recovery across the country. Building the extensive capability and expertise of iwi and Māori will strengthen the system overall and benefit all New Zealanders.” John Price says.
In addition, $200,000 has been allocated to the AF8 Alpine fault earthquake readiness and response plan as part of an ongoing funding arrangement.
“We know that we will likely experience a rupture of the Alpine Fault in the next fifty years, and it is critical that we all take responsibility for disaster preparedness.
“It is not a matter of if but when – we are all in this together.”
The nine successful applications are:
- Governing and Managing Disaster Recovery in Uncertain Times – research successful governance and management structures for disaster recovery, based on case studies and existing guidance (Simon Markham Consulting Limited, $54,000)
- Refinement and implementation of a framework for Professional Engineering Services during Emergencies (Nelson Tasman Civil Defence Emergency Management, $50,000)
- Ruapehu Marae Resilience Program – deliver training to 25 marae in the Ruapehu rohe to enhance their resilience during emergencies, self-manage during events and assist the local community (Ruapehu EMO, $115,000)
- Enhancing Situational Awareness for Extreme Weather Response – using AI to collect and analyse information to enhance the quality of intelligence products (Waikato Regional Council, $99,000)
- Te Ātiawa Response and Resilience Development – enhancing emergency response capabilities within the Te Ātiawa community (top of the South Island) (Te Ātiawa o te Waka-a-Maui, $121,600)
- Training for 26 Te Arawa marae and Te Arawa Lakes Trust staff – to ensure consistent emergency response practices across marae and enhance coordination with CDEM (Te Arawa Lakes Trust, $52,835)
- A project to establish emergency caches of supplies across the region to support emergency response coordination and operations (West Coast Emergency Management Group, $110,000)
- Building on ‘Resilient Westport Evacuation Planning’ for Greymouth, Hokitika and Franz Josef (West Coast Emergency Management Group, $45,000)
- Consistent and effective flood warning and evacuation protocols (National Flood Warning Steering Group c/o Regional Software Holdings Ltd, $41,100).
Notes:
The CDEM Resilience Fund is a contestable fund to enhance New Zealand’s hazard risk resilience. CDEM Groups, other organisations and individuals are eligible to apply.
Applications were considered by a panel against criteria with emphasis on improved collaboration, improved resilience locally and regionally, and consistent approaches.
The Resilience Fund is distributed on an annual basis. For full details on the successful applicants, vist https://www.civildefence.govt.nz/cdem-sector/cdem-resilience-fund.
