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Pacific commits to greater collaboration in improving the science of floods and drought

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Pacific commits to greater collaboration

18 Aug 2017 | Honiara

Regional collaboration is essential to managing the impacts of droughts and floods across the Pacific.

This was the finding of the Fourth Pacific Meteorological Council (PMC-4) this week, as it took a step towards the better management of floods and droughts through the establishment of a regional expert panel on hydrology.

Hydrology is the branch of science concerned with the behaviour and movement of the earth’s fresh water, and an understanding of hydrological processes is essential in managing the droughts and floods that regularly impact on the health and livelihoods of Pacific communities.

Meeting at PMC-4 in Honiara, Solomon Islands, Directors of Pacific National Meteorological and Hydrological Services considered a paper on the issue, jointly prepared by the Pacific Community (SPC), the Secretariat of the Pacific Environment Programme (SPREP), and the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).

Addressing the Council meeting, SPREP’s Espen Ronneberg and SPC’s Peter Sinclair outlined the challenges in maintaining effective hydrological services across the Pacific, and the benefits of a collaborative approach through the establishment of a dedicated hydrology panel under the framework of the PMC.

“While support for hydrological services continues to be provided to Pacific Island Countries and Territories through a range of national, regional and international programmes, more sustained support is needed,” Mr Ronneberg said.

Mr Sinclair noted the strong linkages that exist between hydrology and meteorology, and the benefits to improving coordination and collaboration between the sectors.  “Closer collaboration between hydrologists and meteorologists is needed to support the Pacific’s efforts in climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction,” he said.  “This collaboration is particularly important for the development of better warning and management systems for floods and drought.”

Mulipola Tainau Ausetalia Titimaea, Assistant Chief Executive Officer of the Meteorology Division of Samoa’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, welcomed the PMC’s endorsement of the expert panel.  “Apart from providing advice and guidance to the PMC, the panel is needed to assist with the development and new programmes and initiatives to support the capacity needs of hydrological services in the Pacific,” he said.

This collaborative approach to addressing the capacity needs of Pacific Island Countries and Territories follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on 27 July between SPC and SPREP, aimed to further strengthen collaboration efforts for the resilient and sustainable development of the Pacific region.

The Fourth Pacific Meteorological Council is being held in Honiara, Solomon Islands from the 14 – 17 August co-hosted by the government of Solomon Islands, Government of Australia through the Climate and Oceans Support Programme (COSPPac) and Pacific Australia Climate Change Science and Adaptation Planning Programme (PACCSAP), Government of Finland, National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), SPREP, WMO and United Nations Development Programme through the Resilience in the Pacific (SIDS) project.

This is being followed by the Second Pacific Meteorological Ministers Meeting on the 18 of August.

Media contacts:


Dave Hebblethwaite, Water Security and Governance Coordinator,  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or +679 9983059


Peter Sinclair, Water Resources Monitoring and Assessment Coordinator,  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or +679 9922113


Azarel M Maiai, COSPPac Capacity Development Officer SPREP,  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or +685 21929 ext 300

Last Updated on Thursday, 14 September 2017 10:38  

Newsflash

From The Manager's Desk

How time flies! We’re well into October and yet it seems that just yesterday we were coming out of the Pacific Platform for DRM in June. Strange but true. The rigours of the work schedule causes one to lose track of time. Next thing you know Christmas will be upon us and we’ll have to close the book on yet another year.

We’ve been part of some exciting initiatives over the course of the last few months and are happy to share some of them with you in this edition of Snapshots. Since the last edition in June, our team at the SPC Disaster Reduction Programme has increased further with the addition of 3 staff for the Pacific Catastrophe Risk Assessment & Financing Initiative, Phase 3 project.

Amongst other activities, we’ve become the lead for a new programme of support for resilience building from the World Bank (more in future issues of Snapshots), have been progressing well in terms of the EU-funded Building Safety & Resilience in the Pacific project and helped to showcase the great work the region is doing on the integration of DRM and Climate Change at the SIDS conference held in September.

I hope you enjoy reading this edition. Stay tuned for more...just around the corner.

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Mosese Sikivou
Deputy Director
Disaster Reduction Programme