REGISTRATION is ongoing for the Pacific Risk Management ‘Ohana or PRiMO Conference scheduled for Feb. 21-23 at the Crowne Plaza Resort, according to Mary Urena, coastal resources planner of the Division of Coastal Resources Management.
The conference is free of charge and its theme is “Resilience in Action.”
The event has been held biennially since 2003, mostly in Hawaii, and is a gathering of people and organizations dedicated to “making the Pacific Islands more resilient in the face of natural hazards,” Urena said.
The presentations will cover such topics as hazard mitigation planning, disaster management, nature-based solutions, risk mapping, climate impact projects focused on the CNMI and the Pacific, post-disaster recovery, natural resource management, and traditional ecological knowledge.
Urena said the conference is an opportunity to exchange knowledge with different leaders in resource and disaster management.
“We are a vulnerable community to different things, such as sea level rise, flooding, coastal erosion, climate change and often times when we live our day to day, we don’t realize it until it becomes a disaster,” Urena said. “This is our way to come together to think about it and also interact with folks who do work in natural resource management and disaster management.”
Urena said day one of the conference will feature two training sessions: “Social Science Basics for Coastal Managers,” and “Fostering Behavior Change in Coastal Communities and Planning for Coastal Hazards.”
She said a full agenda will be mailed to registrants.
Among those that should sign up are local government agencies, non-profit organizations, planning agencies, emergency response organizations, natural resource management agencies, hazard mitigation organizations, nongovernment organizations, community members, federal agencies, or “anyone who has interest in community resilience towards natural hazards.”
To register, go to http://tinyurl.com/bd5nuue6
