Santiago network workshops for Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) were held in the Pacific on 26-27 September 2024. The workshops were part of the Pacific Resilience Week, under the theme of Managing Climate and Disaster Risk for a Resilient Pacific. It was hosted by the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat in partnership with the Government of Fiji, and the United Nations. 

The workshops were attended by participants from 14 island states – the Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

During the formal opening of the Pacific Resilience Week, Fiji’s Deputy Prime Minister, Biman Prasad, said, “[The workshop] provides a platform for this region to communicate loss and damage capacity building needs and priorities to the secretariat of the Santiago network.”

Speaking at the workshop, Camila Minerva Rodriguez, the SIDS representative on the Santiago network Advisory Board said, “This signifies an important step towards setting up a Santiago network tailored to responding to the needs of particularly vulnerable countries. [...] The inputs from this workshop will come [at] a pivotal time towards ensuring that we set up ways of working tailored to country needs and honouring the commitment for a country-driven network that correctly responds to the reality of experienced loss and damage on the ground.” 

The workshop took place just weeks following the third meeting of the Advisory Board of the Santiago network, that was held from 4-6 September 2024. The Advisory Board concluded that meeting with the approval of guidelines to further allow the Santiago network to function, including how countries can make requests for technical assistance. 

During the workshop, these guidelines and procedures were introduced to the participants, with specific sessions focusing on in-depth discussion on the template to make requests for technical assistance based on the countries needs. Countries were also given information on the process for organizations, bodies, networks and experts to become members to the network to provide insight into the network’s processes as selected members will respond to the technical assistance requests.

Following the sessions, countries were already able to identify initial areas of need. Among the identified priorities were the collection of data on loss and damage, including the impact of loss and damage on culture; vulnerability and risk assessments to inform national and subnational level action; capturing, using and sharing traditional knowledge; accessing funds for loss and damage response; and hazard-response planning.

A country representative from Vanuatu, one of the first countries to make a formal technical assistance request to the network, reiterated the importance of the Santiago network for the region and encouraged countries to take advantage of this opportunity to support their loss and damage activities.

The workshop also touched on the potential coherence and complementarity between the Santiago network and the Fund for responding to Loss and Damage. Daniel Lund, a board member of the Fund, acknowledged that this discussion is still at an early stage but highlighted that technical assistance through the Santiago network can support the programmatic approaches of the Fund, as well as funding arrangements for responding to loss and damage.

During the Pacific Resilience Week, regional organizations, including the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme and the Pacific Community, provided snapshots of the climate change impacts and challenges of the region, while also identifying ongoing initiatives that seek to build the resilience of countries.

Ahead of the Santiago network workshop, two workshops focused on comprehensive risk management and climate mobility were conducted. These were aimed at helping countries identify their technical assistance needs.

In addition to the workshop in the Pacific, the Santiago network has conducted several workshops for developing countries in 2023 across Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Asia-Pacific region. Additional workshops to provide information on the Santiago network’s functions and engage with communities and countries vulnerable to climate change impacts are being planned. LDC and SIDS-focused workshops in other regions will be held in 2025.

The Santiago network was established in 2019 to provide technical assistance to developing countries, including LDCs and SIDS, for action relevant to loss and damage. To find out more about the network, please explore the Santiago network website. 

Participants attending the Pacific Resilience Week, 22-27 September 2024, in Suva, Fiji, at the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) secretariat. Photo credit: UNDRR