Enhancing Community Resilience in Honiara, Solomon Islands

Creating real-world impact on climate resilience by building local capacity and enhancing agency.

SDGs

climate resilience disaster risk reduction Honiara Solomon Islands nature-based solutions gender equity informal settlements community resilience climate action

Rapid urbanisation and climate change are two of the most significant challenges facing cities and societies in the Global South.

Pacific Small Island Developing States (SIDS), such as the Solomon Islands, are amongst the most vulnerable countries to climate change. As one of the world’s fastest urbanising countries, its capital, Honiara, has a growing urban footprint and is overstretching the urban development and planning capacity of government entities. This is resulting in unplanned urbanisation, associated growth of informal settlements and a lack of adequate infrastructure.

Leading_urban_resilience_and_climate_adaptation-Professor_McEvoy_with_informal_settlers_in_Ontong_Java_Honiara-RESEARCH-1440x865.jpg

Professor Darryn McEvoy is a geographer who has been researching and contributing to climate change adaptation throughout his career. With an interest in participatory action research, he has concentrated his efforts in Honiara over the past decade. He has delivered a diverse range of impactful projects. Below are some recent examples.

Climate Resilient Honiara: Making Communities Less Vulnerable to Climate Change and Disaster Risks

Climate Resilient Honiara (CRH) is a large-scale five-year project (2019-2024) supported by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Adaptation Fund and administered by UN-Habitat.

CRH comprises a suite of applied research projects involving a multidisciplinary research team of engineers, planners, architects and designers from across schools at RMIT. It is supported locally by the Ministry of Lands, Housing, and Survey; the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, and Disaster Management; and Honiara City Council.

Project phase 1 (2019-2022)

The project’s initial phase generated a scientific evidence base to identify local climate adaptation priorities. Activities focused on raising awareness and capacity building at both community and ward levels. Using a ‘bottom-up’ and inclusive approach, the team ran training workshops on climate risk communication for women and youth; workshops on urban organic farming best practices for young women; and ‘Planning for Climate Change’ capacity building workshops for Ward Councillors.

Further knowledge transfer activities included training workshops for graduates of Solomon Islands National University (SINU) on Nature-based solutions (NbS), conceptual design studios for RMIT students, and a co-production workshop with community members for a linear park along the Mataniko River.

Project phase 2 (2023-2024)

Now in the final phase of the project, the team is implementing local climate actions in partnership with local organisations in Honiara. They are also continuing their efforts to raise awareness and build capacity with the relevant communities and government partners. In June 2024, the team will run a two-day workshop in Honiara for government officials and will develop a knowledge transfer platform to pass on all the relevant project details and information.

Inclusive and Disaster Resilient Shelter Guide: Urban Informal Settlements, Honiara, Solomon Islands

McEvoy has also worked on a project to develop a Shelter Guide for disaster resilient housing, with funding from the Australian Humanitarian Partnership (AHP) Disaster Ready Program, in collaboration with Mittul Vahanvati (GUSS) and Usha Iyer-Raniga (PCPM).

The guide was developed specifically for residents given they would be the first responders if a disaster did occur and would need to start acting before government or international aid arrived.

This guide is very much about enabling self-reliance. It has technical detail on building shelters, and about how to strengthen and recover.

- Darryn McEvoy

Shelter needs workshop with women, youth, and people with disabilities (PWD) (Photo credit: Solomon Yeo)

The Guide has been endorsed by the Red Cross and will be used to ‘train the trainers’ at World Vision and the local universities.

Nature-based solutions (NbS) for enhanced climate resilience of informal settlements: Koa Hill

The deep engagement that the team has developed with communities in Honiara has helped to ensure the program’s success. This is particularly evident for the project that investigates nature-based solutions in Koa Hill, an informal settlement exposed to floods and landslides.

Working with local consultants PacSol, Kastom Gaden Association and SINU, the team focused on raising awareness and training of NbS, working together to co-design and run pilots and working with the local residents to implement nature-based solutions to reduce disaster risk.

Community members of Koa Hill actively participated in planning and implementing the nature-based solutions, contributing 50% of the labour as well as traditional ecological knowledge and cultural management practices.

The resulting solutions included riverbank flood defence, landslide prevention, and creating an urban garden to improve local food security.

On-site consultation meetings and awareness raising of NbS (Photo credit: Yuyun Qomariyah)

In the week before they were to start planting, the area was hit by an earthquake and flooding. A lot of materials were lost, and the bamboo that had been planted previously was destroyed. In response, the whole community came together and spent a week cleaning up so that they could complete the planting.

McEvoy said it was fantastic to see the whole community getting involved, including the local consultants.

Vetiver grass planting and bamboo replanting on the riverbank (Photo credit: Yuyun Qomariyah)

It was really exciting to see just how much commitment and care that the local consultants had for the people in the community. They went above and beyond and eventually helped the community with a complete upgrade of the settlement.

In the past, residents used fridge doors for transportation across the river, the only means of access to the community (known as ‘floaters’). These have been replaced, new steps to the river punts have been constructed, as well as new jetties, bridges, and a raised footpath for the rainy season. A plant nursery of vetiver and lemon grass has also been constructed, along with a play area for young children, and a volleyball court for teens.

We've since showcased the Koa Hill project in a community forum with five different informal settlements, and they've all expressed excitement about wanting something similar in their communities.

McEvoy said the Koa Hill community showed their gratitude with a moving celebration during a community meeting at the end of the project.

This project is an excellent example of a successful ‘community-led’ initiative and has led to interest from other local areas. It was an incredible event and it was held just because they wanted to say thank you.

The project was funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency and administered by UN-Habitat.

Fencing installation on the riverbank (Photo credit: Yuyun Qomariyah)

Impacts

McEvoy believes that the relationships built with the communities has been one of the most valuable aspects of the project.

I think this has been the most rewarding project I've ever done in my life, both professionally and personally. It became very clear that the more you give agency and empower local communities, the more that could be achieved, well beyond just a simple research project.

And if you're talking about impact, it is by empowering people, bringing them together as a community and identifying young leaders, so they form a cohesive community again.

Research team

Professor Darryn McEvoy (School of Engineering, STEM College)
Dr Serene Ho (School of Science, STEM College)
Dr Mittul Vahanvati (School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, DSC)
Dr Ata Tara (School of Architecture and Urban Design, DSC)
Professor Usha Iyer-Raniga (School of Property, Construction and Project Management, DSC)
Kim Gordon (Research and Teaching Associate, DSC)

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RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Luwaytini' by Mark Cleaver, Palawa.

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