Urban development in the capital of Tonga is picking up pace with the Asian Development Bank-supported Integrated Urban Resilience Sector Project - the third in a series of projects designed to address the urban growth issues faced by Nuku’alofa, writes the Asian Development Bank.
Much of Nuku’alofa’s limited building space is below tide levels, according to the article. At the same time, the capital needs better urban infrastructure and public services such as water supply and waste management to sustain urban growth. To address these challenges, the latest project in the series will focus on the long-term impacts of climate change in the design and upgrading of urban infrastructure and associated services.
The Asian Development Bank writes that climate change projections should be considered as much upstream as possible, warning that “if climate change projections are only considered at the end, this usually involves the climate proofing of the selected infrastructure only”.
As well as reviewing previous relevant projects in Tonga and other Pacific Island countries, the so-called Integrated Urban Resilience Sector Project has prepared a flood management master plan and assessed proposals for improving drainage infrastructure. It has also designed a community-based disaster risk management program; a strategic plan to improve the water management skills of the Tonga Water Board; and a concept design for the improvement of sewage treatment.
The key proposed outputs include the implementation of effective flood risk management infrastructure; the improvement of the water supply service in Nuku’alofa; the enhancement of public and environmental health; and the strengthening of urban resilience.
