The Department of Climate Change (DoCC) this week hosted a first ever retreat and planning workshop for its staffs since its establishment in February this year. The purpose of the three day retreat workshop is to provide a proper induction for staffs that are all new to their roles and responsibilities, as it is only this year that the Government of Vanuatu ahead of many Pacific island countries has established its own Department of Climate Change. The retreat took place at Aquana Beach Resort at Eratap from July 3 to 5, 2019.

DOCC staff and members of the MOCC and VCAN attending the retreat workshop.

The three days retreat workshop has enabled staffs to become well vest and familiarise with relevant information and work processes and procedures that will help them with their daily implementation of their planned activities. As part of the induction training sessions in the first two days of the retreat, staffs presented their roles and responsibilities as stated in their job descriptions together with their work plans and budgets. Also as the Department is approaching the end of mid-year with its activities, staffs took the opportunity to develop its business plan and budget for next year 2020.

The retreat also bring in senior staffs from the different sections within the Ministry of Climate Change and Natural Disasters such as Finance, Human Resource, Director General’s Executive Officer, National Advisory Board to Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction (NAB) Secretariat staff and Project Coordinators under the new department. Each of the senior staffs have presented on various sections such as finance and administration, human resource issues, monitoring and reporting requirements and project proposal and planning among others, to allow the DoCC staffs to know better their roles and responsibilities and what is expected of them as public servants as per the Public Service Commission (PSC) staff manual requirements.

The Director of DoCC Mike Waiwai thanked the Oxfam for funding this retreat workshop through the Vanuatu Climate Adaptation Network (VCAN). VCAN is a Network composing of different Climate Change and Disaster Risk implementing partners within Vanuatu with the aim to coordinate and implement of all environmental protection and climate change programs. With the Mission to promote an enabling environment encompassing climate government, adaptation and mitigation approaches via inclusive and equitable services of the new department, it is the vision of the department to work towards a sustainable and Climate Resilient Vanuatu. The DoCC currently has six staffs including the Director who have all began their new roles at the beginning of this year.