Pacific Islands Early Warning Services Week
Early Warnings Systems were at the forefront of a series of three meetings held in Fiji from 15–18 April to enhance national and regional coordination in the Pacific Small Island Developing States.
Early Warnings Systems (EWS) were at the forefront of a series of meetings held in Fiji from 15–18 April. The overall goal of the three events was to enhance national and regional coordination on EWS to strengthen the capacity of Pacific Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to enhance preparedness to act when natural hazards loom. The week started with the second Pacific Anticipatory Action Regional Workshop entitled Advancing Anticipatory Action: The Pacific Way, which took place on 15 and 16 April. The Collaboration for Inclusive Early Warning Systems and Climate Services in the Pacific Regional Coordination Workshop took place on 17 April. The week then came to a close with the CREWS Pacific SIDS 2.0 Project Steering Committee Meetings on 18 April. The event harmonized various regional programmes and projects with the Early Warnings for All initiative and other global goals for sustainable development and disaster risk reduction.
Advancing Anticipatory Action: The Pacific Way attracted 124 participants from National Disaster Management Offices (NDMOs), National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs), National Red Cross Societies, and sectoral ministries of 16 Pacific Island States. Other participants included United Nations agencies, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and regional partners such as the Pacific Community and the Pacific Island Forum Secretariat. The Workshop took note of progress in anticipatory action initiatives, including the establishment of a national anticipatory action framework for Tropical Cyclones in Fiji, innovative use of social protection mechanisms, drought programming, and anticipatory action insurance products. Emphasis was placed on contextualizing anticipatory action to the Pacific and building on existing networks to enhance disaster response and preparedness.
The Pacific Regional Coordination Workshop on the following day gathered the representatives of Pacific SIDSs governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the private sector, regional organizations, and international agencies. The discussions explored the synergies between the Early Warnings for All initiative and Weather Ready Pacific programme, identifying gaps and challenges, and exploring how these and other regional initiatives can further complement each other.
The CREWS Pacific SIDS 2.0 Project Steering Committee Meetings on the final day updated the participating countries and regional partners on progress over 2023 and 2024. The CREWS implementation partners – WMO, United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), and the World Bank’s Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) – also consulted with the participating countries on the specific needs and gaps that could be considered for inclusion in the upcoming pre-approved next phase of the CREWS Pacific SIDS and CREWS Pacific Regional Drought projects.