19 December 2024, Suva – The importance of protecting and utilising traditional knowledge of weather and climate to guide forecasts, warnings, and advisories, was highlighted this week during a workshop in Suva at the Fiji Meteorological Service (FMS) office at Laucala Bay.
The workshop, which was attended by officials from the office of iTaukei Affairs, Ministry of Public Works, Meteorological Services, and Transport, was delivered by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) through the Climate and Oceans Support Programme in the Pacific (COSPPac) project.
Mr. Salesa Nihmei, Acting Director of the Climate Science and Information Programme, in his opening remarks stressed the importance of traditional knowledge to the work of the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHS), stating that, “it adds value to the current services provided by NMHSs and helps connect and bridge the communication gaps between Met Services and communities.”
“If we talk about reaching the last mile in our services and warnings, then traditional knowledge is that bridge that will connect us,” Mr. Nihmei added.
Mr. Misaeli Funaki, Director for Fiji Met Services, highlighted that Fiji’s resilience and adaptability are contingent on the traditional ecological knowledge held by its ancestors and people.
“This work is about having the ability to marry traditional knowledge and the science we have, when you put the two of them together, you have a total package. In Fiji, there are communities that the science cannot reach because of their remoteness, but they have survived and are resilient to this day, by using their traditional knowledge,” Mr. Funaki said.
The workshop with FMS is the beginning of the traditional knowledge project where FMS together with Ministry of Itaukei Affairs and other stakeholders and communities will collect, store, monitor, and harness the traditional knowledge held by Fijian communities to improve its weather forecasting services.
“This traditional knowledge journey, is a very exciting journey for Fiji, it recognises the effort and the knowledge our elders have and will present an opportunity to celebrate the traditional knowledge protected and harnessed by the communities of Fiji and build sustainable relationships between FMS, its numerous stakeholders, and its people,” Mr Funaki added.
“It is also an opportunity to enhance our capability and the science we use in our work, and in working together with our communities, improve our forecasts as well as the responses from our people” Mr Funaki said.
FMS will join several of its neighbouring Pacific meteorological services on the path to protecting, documenting and using traditional knowledge of weather and climate to build Pacific communities’ resilience in the face of severe weather events and climate change.
For Ms. Vuniyayawa, one of Fiji Met Services longest serving staff, she sees the integration of traditional knowledge into FMS’s communications to the communities as a demonstration of appreciation and recognition of the Fijian culture and way of life, and its harmonious existence with nature.
“This project will enhance the visibility and accuracy of FMS’s services, and at the same time, build relationships between FMS and its stakeholders,” Ms. Vuinyayawa stated. “I believe that this will reignite the use of traditional knowledge across all generations, and bring the importance and relevance of traditional knowledge to the current issues we face today.”
The Climate and Oceans Support Programme in the Pacific (COSPPac) project exists to help different communities interpret climate, oceans and tidal data to produce valuable and relevant life-changing climate services. Funded by the Australian Government through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and New Zealand Government through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, COSPPac is implemented by the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), SPREP, Geoscience Australia (GA), National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) and the Pacific Community (SPC), and works with Pacific countries on projects that provide information for Pacific communities to prepare for, and mitigate, the impacts of severe climate, and oceanographic events.