In a changing climate, how can we better prepare for flooding, drought and other water-related disasters? With increasingly variable rainfall, Pacific Island Countries are faced with having to explore a range of options to manage their water resources more effectively and build resilience against these challenges.
Real time satellite telemetered data from remote river and groundwater stations, and innovative technologies to capture river flows during high flow floods are just a few examples of hydrological infrastructure which enable monitoring of water, and data collection for improved understanding and early warnings. Hydrological services support many sectors, including water, agriculture, health and energy security, disaster risk management and the design of climate resilient infrastructure.
The role of sustainable hydrological infrastructure will only become more critical as the impacts of climate change and variable rainfall across the Pacific become more pronounced. However, the limited availability of real-time data, observation infrastructure, modelling and forecasting systems along with data management and analysis is a significant gap across Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs).
Increasingly, there have been calls for a regional approach to support national hydrological services through a regionally developed strategy to provide framework guidance to PICTs for programmed support at both regional and national levels.
To address this, a Regional Hydrological Services Forum (Forum) co-hosted by the Fiji Meteorological and Hydrological Service and Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) will be held in Suva from 18-20 February, 2025. The Forum is supported by Australian Water Partnership as part of its package of support to SPC towards a climate resilient Pacific by improving hydrology capacity including flash flood early warning systems.
The Forum will bring together the Directors of National Hydrological Services of PICTs along with representatives from regional and international agencies, technical agencies, development partners, and representatives from academia.
The purpose of the Forum is to develop a workplan to frame a regional strategy for enhancing hydrological services in PICTs. The regional forum will recognise the critical importance of rivers, streams and groundwater resources and the role that hydrological services play in supporting development and contributing to climate and disaster resilience actions across sectors.
Forum participants will come together to identify a path towards improving capacities of agencies responsible for hydrological services through a regional and national strategies.
A regional strategy would articulate the collective needs and priorities of national agencies who provide hydrological services across PICTs to support national goals for climate resilience, disaster risk reduction, and economic development.
“AWP’s support has been instrumental in enabling SPC to advance the regional hydrological agenda and enhance hydrological services in the Pacific.” said Pete Sinclair, Water Resources Advisor at SPC.
Development partners supporting the Forum alongside SPC include the World Meteorological Organization and UNESCO. The Forum will also provide an opportunity to leverage funding and coordinate activities towards improving hydrological services in the Pacific moving forward.
Featured image: Hydrologist with the Fiji Meteorological Service providing an overview of the pilot site for a flood early warning system project led by SPC.