This website provides information, advice and resources on coastal erosion, storm related flooding and the effects of climate change on the coastal margins of Kosrae. The aim is to provide information to help underpin sustainable approaches to managing and reducing the impacts these hazards cause.
The information contained within this website was originally prepared by staff at the Development Review Commission (DRC), now the Kosrae Island Resource Management Authority (KIRMA), between 1998 and 2000 and periodically updated and added to since then.
Kosrae Island Resource Management Authority
The Kosrae Island Resource Management Authority (previously known as the Development Review Commission) was established in 1992 by the Kosrae State Government. It is a semi-autonomous Government Agency with the responsibility for encouraging sustainable economic and social development, whilst at the same time minimising harmful impacts to Kosrae’s unique environmental and cultural resources. KIRMA’s mission statement is to “Oversee the wise use and protection of Kosrae’s natural resources, balancing the need of economic and social development with those of environmental quality and respect for traditional ways.”
The main KIRMA staff reponsible for coastal management issues, and who have assisted in the development of much of the information on this website, are Robert Jackson, Director, Simpson Abraham (now with SPREP), Andy George (now Director of Kosrae Conservation and Safety Organisation) and Blair Charley. The coastal hazard work also benefitted greatly from the assistance of other past and present staff including Loto Ismael, Larson Livaie, Eric Waguk and Merinda Wakuk.
Doug Ramsay
Doug worked as Coastal Management Adviser for the Development Review Commission on Kosrae between 1998 and 2000 (and still helps out when required). He is a Chartered Civil Engineer specialising in shoreline change and coastal inundation, coastal engineering, the hazard interactions between people and the coast, and the effect of climate change on coastlines. Between 1992 and 1998 and 2000 to 2003 he worked in the UK for HR Wallingford, an international environmental and engineering research and consultancy organisation. In 2003 he moved to the National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research (NIWA) in New Zealand where he is currently Manager of NIWA’s International activities.
Since moving to New Zealand he has continued to work in the Pacific. This has included various coastal hazard and climate change-related projects in Tuvalu, Tokelau, Kiribati, Tonga, Fiji, Samoa, Palau, American Samoa and the Cook Islands for a range of clients including NZAid, UNDP, World Bank, ADB, GIZ and the Governments of Kiribati, Tonga, Fiji, Samoa and Tokelau. He has recently completed two review chapters for the Australian Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency PASAP programme: Coastal erosion and inundation due to climate change in the Pacific and East Timor and Anticipated Climate Change
Impact on the Coastal Protection Role Provided by Coastal Ecosystems in the
Pacific and East Timor. In New Zealand he led the revision of the Ministry for the Environment publication: Coastal Hazards and Climate Change: A guidance manual for Local Government in New Zealand, and has recently completed a complimentary technical guidance manual: Defining coastal hazard zones for setback lines. A guide to good practice.