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Solomon Islands media receives training in climate change and disaster reporting

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Solomon Islands media training

25 June 2015, Honiara, Solomon Islands

Newsroom journalists received training in climate change and disaster reporting at the Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) in Honiara this week.  Coordinated by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) in partnership with the Secretariat of Pacific Community (SPC), FFA, and the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology, the journalists received valuable training in understanding climate change, disaster risk management, and how these affect one of Solomon Islands’ biggest industries, tuna fishing.

More than ten journalists from local media attended the training, and as part of the workshop, presentations from the Climate Change Division, FFA, SPREP and SPC covered understanding climate change, eco-based adaptation to climate change, the effect of climate change on fisheries, climate change and gender, disaster risk management, and understanding national warning systems from the National Disaster Management Office.

 

Climate change media training

The participants also had the opportunity to visit the Regional Fisheries Surveillance Centre at the FFA, learning about the Regional Observer Program which seeks to enhance Pacific Island countries’ efforts to stop illegal, unlicensed and unregulated (IUU) fishing throughout the region.

Knowledge garnered from the training will help the local media better understand the terms related to climate change and disasters and report more accurately.

The training was funded by the Pacific Media Assistance Scheme through ABC International, as part of the Broadcasters Climate and Disaster Resilience Plan project that has been rolled out across eight Pacific island countries including Cook Islands, Kiribati, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. It is being implemented by SPREP in partnership with SPC, and Solomon Islands is the seventh country to complete this project.

For further information, contact Nanette Woonton at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or Dr Kirstie Meheux at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Last Updated on Thursday, 09 July 2015 09:18  

Newsflash

Tuesday 22 April 2014, Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), Honiara – Staff of SPC's Solomon Islands Country Office were saddened to witness the human tragedy of the recent floods. The loss of life when the Mataniko and other rivers burst their banks and the old Mataniko bridge collapsed highlighted the plight of poor squatters with little choice but to occupy land that regularly floods.

Country Office Manager, Mia Rimon, contacted SPC Director-General Dr Colin Tukuitonga and the Director of SPC's Applied Geoscience and Technology Division (AGTD) Mike Petterson with a request for assistance. A request came also from the Solomon Islands Ministry of Lands, Housing and Survey (MLHS) to provide a geohazards assessment.

SPC responded to these appeals for help; the AGTD Director arrived in Honiara with his team and met with the permanent secretaries of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, MLHS and the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Rural Electrification (MEMRE). They presented unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV, or drone) technology to the government to obtain precise imagery of the flooded areas.