ICT and Climate Change in the Pacific Islands

David Sheppard, Espen Ronneberg, Taito Nakalevu, Seema Deo, Nanette Woonton, Ewan Cameron � on behalf of SPREP

SPREP MembersAmerican SamoaAustraliaCook IslandsFederated States of

MicronesiaFijiFranceFrench PolynesiaGuamKiribatiMarshall IslandsNauruNew CaledoniaNew ZealandNiueNorthern Mariana IslandsPalauPapua New GuineaSamoaSolomon IslandsTokelauTongaTuvaluUnited States of AmericaVanuatuWallis and Futuna

What does SPREP do on Climate Change?� The Climate Change Program and its staff, at

SPREP�s headquarters in Samoa, is part of the Pacific Futures Programme, which is one of two core Action Programmes on the Environment. The main focal areas:� Strengthened Meteorological Services� Understanding Climate Change

impacts� Vulnerability and Adaptation� Mitigation� Policy Development on Climate

Change and negotiations support

Strengthened Meteorological Services

� Who holds the best data and information on weather and climate in our Pacific countries? Our national weather services!

� Ensuring that national meteorological services are operating well is a concern at SPREP. National weather services have the important responsibility of measuring and recording the weather and climate as it changes from hour to hour, day to day, to international standards in order to accurately measure climate change and determine how this change can impact Pacific communities and their environment in the future.

� This responsibility comes under the SPREP Pacific Islands Global Climate Observing System (PI-GCOS) project. The Project Coordinator works directly with meteorological services from all the Pacific Islands countries.

Understanding Climate Change impacts

� Making climate change science accessible to the general public is important but isn�t always easy to do. At SPREP, we aim to make climate change information friendlier by working through in-house outreach and education resources to raise awareness of climate change and its impacts to a variety of audiences.

� SPREP also encourages and facilitates research where possible by encouraging the sharing of information, conducting assessments of vulnerability and adaptation, and linking climate change science and policy.

� The Climate Change Program together with the Information Resource Centre (IRC) and the Education and Awareness Section of SPREP are responsible for this activity.

Vulnerability and Adaptation� Assessments of community vulnerability and adaptation to

climate change is a major strength of the Climate Change Program of SPREP.� CBDAMPIC completed a project to identify the resilience

of village based communities to past, present and future climate change and variability in Samoa, Vanuatu, Cook Islands, and Fiji.

� This study yielded useful information as to the everyday role that weather and climate has on communities and their social, cultural, traditional, and economic activities and interaction both within the community and externally.

� It also sought and found strengths in community�s traditional and cultural values to sustain their resilience and adaptability to climate change.

� SPREP and its project partners found roles for external actors such as government and donors to assist in safeguarding these communities in a climate changed future world.

Mitigation� SPREP developed the Pacific Islands Framework for

Action on Climate Change (PIFACC) 2006 � 2015 as a guide for climate change activities and efforts in the Region.

� Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change (PACC) project formed under the PIFACC framework is currently in its development phase and will involve most SPREP members in its programme.

� The Pacific also has a role in supporting the global endeavor in reducing the causes of climate change and SPREP assists the Pacific mitigation effort by assisting countries in the development of renewable energy opportunities, such as wind and solar energy, through development of policies and identification of such sources.

� A recently completed project in this regard is the Pacific Islands Renewable Energy Project (PIREP), and SPREP is currently progressing work on a new regional renewable energy project to be in place in 2007.

Policy Development on Climate Change

� The Pacific Islands Framework for Action on Climate Change (PIFACC) will also guide climate change efforts of SPREP and its member countries.

� SPREP also has a role in providing technical and legal advisory services to Pacific Island countries in implementing their obligations to the United Nations which drives international climate change activities as well as other related major international activities relating to the environment.

� The Climate Change Adaptation Adviser is responsible for these activities and liaising with countries on policies and strategic negotiations on climate change issues.

� SPREP has staff and resources assisting members includes in-house legal expertise for example in multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs)

PI-GCOS� Programme focused on supporting climate

observing systems in the region� Participation: National Weather Services of Alll

Pacific Island Countries� Objective: Enhancement of Pacific Climate

Observations via enhancement of Pacific climate networks and capacities.

� Total SPREP coordination support funding (2008) � USD100,000 (NOAA / US GCOS)

Status� PI-GCOS Implementation Plan projects, 20 of

32 under progress by PI-GCOS partners in region (including PICTs, US NOAA, Australian Bureau of Meteorology, NZ MetService) with total estimated funding of more than USD$5m

� Joint activities and strengthened partnership with Ocean Observing System (PI-GOOS, SOPAC) and Hydrological Observing System(Pacific HYCOS, SOPAC)

� Remaining projects are under proposals and seeking funding for implementation

How big is the Pacific region?

Parts of European Union superimposed on central Pacific region encompassing 8 Pacific Island nations

Why concern over climate change? Because impacts are being observed in SIDS

The Pacific Islands

The Pacific Ocean, its islands, and Pacific NMHSs

�Key importance to weather and climate community for oceanographic and atmospheric studies for overall understanding of global climate dynamics

�Home to El Nino, source of greatest interannual global climate variability

�Now more than ever a great need to understand the dynamics of ocean and atmosphere of Pacific region

The Pacific Ocean

�1997-98 El Nino

�1998 - 99 La Nina

Global to regional to local�2000 GCOS Pacific Region workshop

�Resulted in development of a Pacific component of the GCOS�PI-GCOS now active since 2004, based with the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), Apia, Samoa�Provides an opportunity to be an interface to the local and regional, with the international aspects of environmental observing systems, more specifically on climatological and meteorological areas of interests

The Pacific Ocean, its islands, and Pacific NMHSs

Key Weaknesses�Lack of proper, recognized and supported mandate, and institutional support �Limited financial resources for procurement/maintenance�Lack of proper infrastructure, facilities�Lack of technical tools �Lack of available skilled human resource base, �Lack internal structure and financial resources for HR development and retention

Tonga Met Office

NMHS Issues and a swot of sortsPossible future threats

�Nil/Reduced/Split mandate, institutional responsibility for related themes e.g. climate change monitoring (environment ministry), operational aviation meteorology (aviation authority), early warning systems (tsunami etc.)�Further reduced fiscal year budget for HR and technical support and development�Increased competition for science graduates (skilled and unskilled) from local and overseas employers

Office of CEO Ministry of Agriculture

Livestock Forestry FisheriesMeteorologyCrops Quarantine

Geophysics GeologyClimateWeatherHydrology

Samoa Met Office Ministry Structure

The Pacific Ocean, its islands, and Pacific NMHSs

Current strengths� Stable staffing environment� Core technical staff trained with

good chance of long term retention� Projects underway to assist in

technical areas (PI-GCOS, PI-CPP etc)

� Proposals written and submitted (WMO VCP, bi-lateral, multi)

� Regional training programmes/workshops for met and climate in Fiji, NZ, Aust providing up-skilling opportunities

� Relationships/partnerships with NOAA, NIWA, ABM

Future opportunities� Participation in climate change

and other environmental programs

� Improved channels for gaining assistance

� Consolidated plans for expansion of local monitoring networks

� Career paths for HR retention and development

� Continued participation in available training programmes and in new ones

� CROP regional programmes� Extreme weather, climate, now

geo-related extreme events

NMHS Issues and a swot of sorts

The Pacific Ocean, its islands, and Pacific NMHSs

� National Meteorological Services in the Pacific� Operations are primarily focused on supporting basic

observations in support of weather and aviation requirements and some weather forecasting

� Resource challenged� Want to improve existing services and products of any that are

offered

Pacific Regional Organization MembersAmerican Samoa, Australia, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, France, French Polynesia, Guam, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa,

Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, United States of America, Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna

Supporting Pacific NMHS: roles for regional Pacific organizations

Tech

nica

l Ins

titut

ions

Economic Institutions

NMHS

Tertiary education institution

Regional partner institutions

A regional approach to partnerships and synergy

Also recognize a need to develop ex-region partnerships

Opp

ortu

nitie

s fo

r fin

anci

ng,

tech

nica

l res

ourc

ing

here

Pacific Technical Support Project (TSP) for PI-GCOS� U.S./New Zealand Bi-Lateral Project dating back to 2003

� Based at New Zealand Meteorological Service and funded by the U.S. GCOS Program at NOAA�s National Climatic Data Center; cooperation with the International Pacific Research Center at the University of Hawaii

� Intent is to provide sustained maintenance, logistics, and training related to having robust GCOS observations in the region

� Activities include� regular maintenance visits� support for unscheduled maintenance needs� support for equipment replacement (e.g., hydrogen generators) and expendables (balloons and radiosondes)� workshops related to data management and other climate observing activities

Other Met Service Application Projects

� NMHS seasonal forecasting tool implemented�Water Resources in Tonga, Samoa �Grazing industry in Vanuatu�Fishing in Solomon Island, and Republic of Kiribati�Pearling in Cook Islands�Media Interaction

� Training / capacity building in assessment of Climate Change & Vulnerability and Extreme Events

� Defining end-user requirements and communication strategies

� Upper air and surface station maintenance and restoration

� NMHS national implementation plans, national GCOS reports

� Assist in provision of Automatic Weather Stations� Sea-level and climate monitoring projects� Basic meteorology / climatology / hydrology training� Data management and rescue� � and more �

a wide range of activities, ranging from basic instrumentation to institutional strengthening

continued steps, challenges� Continue advocacy of PI-GCOS in climate

change arena. SPREP advocated for and successfully made intervention in UNFCCC COP13 for more support from regional developing partners to assist funding regional implementation plans.

� Assist in regional review underway of Pacific Islands met services for decision by Pacific Islands Leaders on sustainability of weather and climate services

� continue to undertake joint Observing System work with PI-GOOS, and Pacific HYCOS, sister observing programmes in ocean and hydrological monitoring in the Pacific (quarterly newsletter of Observing Systems called Vai Pasifika now 2 years old). Please sign up!!!

� Jointly working with partner agencies SOPAC and NZ NIWA, in reviewing and conducting end-user workshops under the Island Climate Update project

� THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION

Contact Us!� For more information, you can find us

online at www.sprep.org

� David Sheppard � Director� Espen Ronneberg � Climate Change

Adviser� Taito Nakalevu � PACC Project Manager� Seema Deo � Education and Social

Communications Adviser� Nanette Woonton � Associate Media and

Publication Officer� Ewan Cameron � Pacific Year of Climate

Change Campaign Coordinator