United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) works in more than 170 countries and territories, helping to achieve the eradication of poverty, and the reduction of inequalities and exclusion. UNDP helps countries to develop policies, leadership skills, partnering abilities, institutional capabilities and build resilience in order to sustain development results. Papua New Guinea (PNG), one of the world’s least-explored countries, is home to about 8 million people, 80 per cent of whom live outside urban centres. 

PNG is vulnerable to both inland and coastal flooding. The country suffered from severe coastal flooding in 2008. As many as 75,000 people were though to have been displaced from 8 different provinces. In Papua New Guinea’s North Coast and Islands regions, coastal flooding is the most important climate change-related hazard. It threatens both coastal populations and important economic centers, including provincial capitals and economic. In the hinterland areas, climate change-related inland flooding is the most pressing hazard with the largest potential for widespread damage. The lack of water impoundments and/or water reticulation schemes serves to increase the vulnerability of the largely agrarian communities.

Antea Group and partner Hydroc GmbH were appointed by the UNDP PNG Country Office to carry out the Assessment of an “Early Warning System for Inland and Coastal Flooding” in 5 provinces in PNG. The purpose of this assignment is to assess the status of Early Warning Systems and emergency communication networks for inland and coastal flooding.  A series of field missions will be carried out to East Sepik, Madang, Morobe, Northern and New Ireland Province in order to gather information from different sources; subsequently  recommendations for improving and/or establishing new systems and procedures will be proposed and presented in a national stakeholder’s workshop.