Enhancing Climate Information and Knowledge Services for Resilience in 5 Island Countries of the Pacific Ocean

Pacific RISA has joined seven other regional technical partners in a Green Climate Fund (GCF) project titled ‘Enhancing Climate Information and Knowledge Services for resilience in the 5 island countries of the Pacific Ocean’, referred to as UNEP CIS-Pac5. The program, led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and funded by the GCF, aims to establish integrated climate and ocean information systems and multi-hazard early warning systems in Cook Islands, Niue, Palau, Republic of Marshall Islands and Tuvalu. UNEP CIS-Pac5 is anchored in a coalition of 8 regional and international technical partners, including APEC Climate Center (APCC), Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), East-West Center (EWC), Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre (Climate Centre), New Zealand National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), The Pacific Community (SPC), Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), and University of Hawaii (UH).” This five-year, USD 49.9 million project was initiated by UNEP to support climate resilience for 100,000 beneficiaries across the five Pacific Island countries through three outcomes:

1. increased generation and use of climate information in decision making;
2. strengthened adaptive capacity and reduced exposure to climate risks; and
3. strengthened awareness of climate threats and risk-reduction processes.

Pacific Island Developing States are disproportionately exposed to climate hazards and impacts such as more frequent or intense tropical cyclones, flooding, and drought. This project aims to increase local capacity to respond to climate events and reduce their impact by improving climate information services and early warning.

The Pacific RISA team is working in collaboration with the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the University of Hawaiʻi International Pacific Research Center to develop two national ocean portals, allowing local managers to readily access climate information, for the Republic of the Marshall Islands and Palau. The team is also working to use climate indicators to inform early warning systems focused on health and drought. These sector-specific climate early warning systems (CLEWS) will downscale and tailor existing data into actionable, locally relevant climate information such as real-time observations, forecast, and long-term trends. The first sector-based CLEWS workshop was held in early 2024, in Palau, with follow up planned for the coming year.

Development of climate products in Palau (click to download)

Find out more about the project here.

Research Team
Dr. Victoria Keener, Arizona State University, East-West Center
Dr. Laura Brewington, Arizona State University, East-West Center
Chelsey Bryson, East West Center
Dr. Jim Potemra, University of Hawaiʻi
Dr. John Marra, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Centers for Environmental Information
Elisapeta Kerslake, UN Environment Programme
One Jae Lee, University of Hawaiʻi