Providing greater awareness among Pacific Island countries on how to effectively respond and manage the aftermath of both man-made and natural disasters, is one of the aims of the first Pacific Emergency and Disaster Management Workshop for Polynesia held in Nuku'alofa this week.

Hosted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Emergency Centre in Tokyo and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in partnership with other regional organizations, the one-week workshop brings to Tonga disaster management personnel from Samoa, Tuvalu, Kiribati, New Zealand, Australia and Japan.

In an address to open the workshop on May 10, the Minister of Works Noble Nuku, who is also responsible for Tonga's Disaster Management Unit, said Pacific islands are more vulnerable to natural and man made disasters and the workshop could not have been more timely.

He said the Pacific Islands had very limited capacity in disaster management and did not have enough funds to respond effectively.

"It is therefore critical for us to be well prepared in disaster risk management so as to lessen the disruption to our lives, and this was evident in the tsunami that struck Samoa and Tonga last year," he said.

He added managing the aftermath of disasters in situations where people are left displaced after homes were wrecked is a challenge for the workshop to look at.

"We must make sure that we are able respond effectively and we cannot afford to be complacent that is why I am very grateful for this workshop because it would help ensure a safer and resilient Pacific Islands to disasters," said the Minister.

Issues addressed during the workshop includes looking at technical areas or response to large scale disasters such as water, sanitation, food, shelter and emergency, the distribution of emergency aid and assistance, coordinating large scale and multi sector disaster response, managing information and working with the media.

Participants were also expected to compare disaster management approaches, share practices and learn from each other in order improve practices.

A similar workshop was held for Melanesian countries in the Solomons in May 2009.