11 April 2023, Port Vila, Vanuatu – Raising the level of understanding of the various climate drivers in the Pacific and strengthening the capacity and understanding of climate officers within the Vanuatu Meteorology and Geo-Hazards Department (VMGD) on prediction software such as SCOPIC and ACCESS-S, are at the centre of a four-day training being held this week in Port Vila.
The Climate Science and Seasonal Forecasting training will also look at updating and reviewing the VMGD Early Action Rainfall Watch, as well as provide a refresher for climate officers on how to effectively engage and contribute to the Ocean and Climate Online Outlook forum (OCOF) ahead of OCOF 187 later this week.
It is being conducted by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) through support from the Climate and Oceans Support Programme in the Pacific (COSPPac) Phase 2 Project,
“As we all know, Vanuatu is classified as one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to the risks of natural disasters,” Mr Jerry Timothy, Acting Manager of Vanuatu Meteorological Services said.
“We therefore play an important role in ensuring that our communities and well prepared and protected against these risks by continuously seeking to improve our capacity as climate officers to carry out the important work of keeping our communities informed by producing quality and accurate climate information,” he added.
SPREP’s COSPPac Climatology Officer, Mr Philip Malsale, and Mr Sunny Seuseu, Project Manager for the Vanuatu Klaemet Infomesen blong Redy, Adapt Mo Protekt (Van-KIRAP) Project, identified a unique opportunity for VMGD to address the need for more capacity within the organisation.
“This training is happening at the perfect time to address the need for more capacity within VMGD. As more demand for sector-specific products comes through, we will need to train more people and build the capacity of more staff of VMGD to ensure that we can cater to that demand,” Mr Seuseu said.
A baseline survey amongst the participants of the training, with the aim of ascertaining the level of understanding and knowledge that existing staff currently possess on climate drivers, ACCESS-S and SCOPIC, development of EAR Watch bulletins.
The aim is that by the end of the training, the participants will be able to say that their level of understanding has increased from where it is at present.
The Vanuatu Meteorology and Geo-Hazards Department Climate Services and Seasonal Forecast training workshop is conducted by SPREP in partnership with the COSPPac Phase 2 Project. It is being held at the VMGD headquarters in Port Vila from 11 – 14 April 2023.
For more information, please contact Mr Philip Malsale at [email protected] or the Pacific Meteorological Desk Partnership at [email protected].