13 April 2023, Port Vila, Vanuatu – The Vanuatu Klaemet Infomesen blong Redy, Adapt mo Protekt (Van-KIRAP) Project Technical Working Group (TWG) today endorsed the procurement of a new weather radar for Vanuatu, which will greatly boost the capacity of the country’s weather monitoring and early warning systems.
The endorsement came out of the sixth meeting of the TWG, with the purpose of providing updates on the progress of the project since the group last met in 2022. Updates were presented by the project’s five focus sectors – agriculture, fisheries, water, public works, and tourism – as well as the implementing agencies.
The meeting coincides with the Van-KIRAP Project Steering Committee meeting, which will be held next week. The TWG acts in an advisory role to the Steering Committee on issues that will be discussed and reviewed during its meeting.
According to Van-KIRAP Acting Manager, Mr Sunny Seuseu, the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) as the Accredited Entity to the Green Climate Fund has given the green light for the procurement of the weather radar to go ahead, and that this is now a top priority for the project team.
“The weather radar will allow the Vanuatu Meteorology and Geo-hazards Division to collect better information to provide to the community. It will ensure that high quality data for planning and responding to climate variability and change is available and accessible for decision makers and end-users,” he added.
Vanuatu’s Head of Weather Forecasting, Mr Fred Jockley, informed the TWG that the recent Parliament session had approved additional in-kind funding to be redirected to support the establishment of the weather radar.
The TWG unanimously agreed to endorse the procurement of the weather radar, as well as the extension of the project for a further 24 months to ensure it is successfully installed and sufficient training is provided to the VMGD staff on how to operate and maintain the radar. It will go before the Steering Committee during its meeting next week for their consideration.
The Van-KIRAP TWG is comprised of technical representatives from the Vanuatu Meteorology and Geo-Hazards Department, one representative from each of the five target sectors and representatives of government ministries and departments, civil society organisations, and intergovernmental organisations.
During the meeting, representatives of each of the five target sectors were given the opportunity to provide updates on existing work being conducted in their respective fields, as well as updates from the implementing partners the APEC Climate Centre, Australian Bureau of Meteorology, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation and the Vanuatu Meteorology and Geo-hazards Department.
The Vanuatu Klaemet Infomesen blong Redy, Adapt mo Protekt (Van-KIRAP) project is a five-year, USD 22 million project which aims to support climate resilient development in Vanuatu through the development, communication, and application of climate information services to benefit agriculture, fisheries, tourism, infrastructure, waste sectors and communities. It is funded by the Green Climate Fund and implemented by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme in partnership with the Vanuatu Meteorology and Geo-hazards Department, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Australian Bureau of Meteorology, and APEC Climate Center.
For more information, please contact Mr Sunny Seuseu, at [email protected].