12 May 2025, Honiara, Solomon Islands – Representatives from Pacific National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) and technical partners have gathered in Honiara this week to convene the Climate and Oceans Support Program in the Pacific (COSPPac) Annual Meeting.
The meeting, which will be held over five days, will seek feedback and endorsement from stakeholders on new cross-cutting strategies that have been developed under the programme, such as the Communications Strategy, Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion strategy, Traditional Knowledge Strategy and the Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting and Learning Strategy.
The annual progress of the COSPPac Phase 3 Project will be reviewed, and the 2025-2026 work plan finalised, with the Steering Committee meeting at the end of the week to provide high level strategic decision making and guidance for the programme.
Speaking at the opening of the meeting, Mr. Karl Kuper, Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology, welcomed the participants to Honiara and stated that it was an honour for the Solomon Islands Government to host the annual meeting of the COSPPac Programme.
“This is more than just a gathering it is a platform to share reflections and learnings, showcase the achievements of COSPPac over the last year, and to address challenges to continue to strengthen collaboration across the region,” Mr. Kuper said.
“We commend COSPPac for introducing innovative services including seasonal and sub-seasonal predictions catered to our unique needs and also for bridging modern science and indigenous knowledge systems by integrating TK into forecasting and climate,” he added.
“We also commend COSPPac for enhancing disaster preparedness by aligning national policies with climate strategies and by actively promoting GEDSI within Meteorological services ensuring inclusive participation at all levels.”
The COSPPac programme is jointly supported by the Governments of Australia and New Zealand, who were both present to lend their support to the opening of the week’s discussions.
His Excellency Mr. Jonathan Curr, High Commissioner of New Zealand to the Solomon Islands said that this partnership reflects New Zealand’s commitment and support to building the resilience of Pacific communities through science, data, and knowledge sharing.
“Over its previous phases, COSPPac has delivered essential tools such as sea level monitoring, climate and ocean data systems, and traditional knowledge integration that have been critical to informing policy and preparing communities for climate impacts,” H.E. Curr said.
“The next phase is about going further – increasing focus on capacity development, communications, community engagement and integration of gender and inclusion. These are essential to ensuring that science-based services reach the people who need them most in ways that are trusted and accessible,” he added.
The sentiments were echoed by Ms. Lindsay Buckingham, Minister Counsellor of the Australian High Commission in Honiara, who commended the region’s sustained and innovative leadership in pushing climate change.
Mr. Levu Antfalo of the Vanuatu Meteorology and Geo-hazards Department (VMGD) and current Chair of the Pacific Meteorological Council, commended COSPPac as a flagship climate initiative in the Pacific region.
“The services developed under COSPPac are foundational – from basic data archiving to today’s sub-seasonal and seasonal climate products, now being delivered to sectors and communities for decision making,” said. Mr. Antfalo.
“Speaking from the experience of VMGD, COSPPac has allowed us to scale our capabilities and strengthen how we serve our people.”
The Chair encouraged the participants to be open, curious and collaborative throughout the week and to use the time to not only plan what’s next for COSPPac, but also to strengthen partnerships and affirm our collective vision for Pacific climate resilience.
The COSPPac 2025 Annual Meeting is being held from 12 – 16 May 2025 at the Heritage Park Hotel in Honiara, Solomon Islands.
The Climate and Oceans Support Programme in the Pacific Phase 3 (COSPPac 3) project is a four-year project funded by the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and the Government of New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT), which aims to support Pacific National Meteorological and Hydrological Services to deliver useful and usable climate and ocean information services to enable all Pacific peoples to remain resilient to the impacts of climate change and disasters. It is jointly implemented by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), the Pacific Community (SPC), and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme.
For more information, please contact Mr. Philip Malsale at philipm@sprep.org.