22 March 2025, Alofi, Niue – The capital of Niue was abuzz with activity on Friday evening as delegates from around the Pacific converged on the Millenium Hall to officially open a regional peer-to-peer learning workshop that looks to strengthen the integration of traditional knowledge and gender into climate services.
Long before the introduction of modern climate science and data, indigenous Pacific communities were able to monitor weather pattens and predict seasonal changes in the weather and climate through traditional knowledge. They observed the behaviours of their environment and surroundings and were able to use those observations to be resilient in the face of a changing climate.
The integration of traditional knowledge into climate science and climate early warning systems has been labelled a recipe for resilience. The regional gathering in Niue will look to strengthen understanding on traditional knowledge processes and protocols for climate and weather, and facilitate peer-to-peer learning between countries as they share their best practices and lessons learned to enhance community resilience.
The workshop will also aim to increase the capacity of National Meteorological Services and their partners to store, access, and use information about climate extremes and geohazards.
Delivering her keynote address, the Minister of Natural Resources, Ms. Mona Ainu’u recognised the importance of traditional knowledge to our way of life as indigenous Pacific people.
“Traditional knowledge is not complicated – it is something we all do and understand. Our ancestors lived and understood this way of life and they learned that from their ancestors who passed this knowledge on through the years. For us in Niue, we are now trying to make sure that this knowledge is documented and we can share it widely with our neighbouring countries in the region,” Hon. Ainu’u said.
“It is the same with gender. When we talk about women and climate, we know that women are there prior, during, and after disasters and so we need to also encourage the integration of gender into climate throughout the region,” she added.
The gathering is jointly hosted by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) through the Climate and Oceans Support Programme in the Pacific (COSPPac) Phase 3 project and the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Enhancing Climate Information and Knowledge Services for Resilience in 5 Islands Countries of the Pacific (CIS-Pac 5).
The UNEP CIS-Pac 5 is a USD 49.9 million programme led by UNEP and funded by the Green Climate Fund to establish integrated climate and ocean information systems and a multi-hazard early warning systems in Cook Islands, Niue, Palau, Republic of the Marshall Islands, and Tuvalu.
Ms. Elisapeta Kerslake, UNEP CIS-Pac Programme Coordinator, highlighted that the main objective of the coming week is facilitate peer-to-peer learning between the countries and to learn from the case of Niue in how they have managed to integrate traditional knowledge into the work of the Niue Meteorological Service.
“This week is about peer-to-peer learning. It is about us – UNEP, SPREP, and the Pacific Community (SPC) – listening and learning from you – our Pacific family – in terms of your experiences, challenges, achievements, solutions, and lessons learned on traditional knowledge and gender in climate,” Ms. Kerslake said.
Ms. Kerslake acknowledged that the countries are all at different stages of traditional knowledge implementation and gender integration.
“In Niue, there has been a lot of great work that has been done with the Girls’ Brigade and the Ekalesia Kerisiano Niue in terms of integrating traditional knowledge and gender into climate services through the work of the Niue Met Service,” she added.
“The coming week will be an opportunity to observe what Niue has done and facilitate the sharing and exchange of knowledge between the countries on what they can take back and implement in their own communities,” Ms. Kerslake concluded.
Traditional knowledge is a major component of the COSPPac 3 project, a four year project funded by the Government of Australia and the Government of New Zealand, and jointly implemented by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, SPREP, and SPC.
According to COSPPac 3 Traditional Knowledge Officer, Ms. Siosinamele Lui, traditional knowledge is how our communities make sense of the science and things that we don’t understand. The ability of our communities to survive, endure, overcome, adapt, and thrive despite the many challenges we face is a testament to that knowledge that has been passed down from generation to generation.
“Traditional knowledge is not new, and I acknowledge the work that has been done by the tupuna, the elders that came before us and have passed on, as well as the experts and elders who are with us today,” Ms. Lui said.
The COSPPac project, through Phase I and Phase II and now continuing on with Phase III, has been actively working closely with the Niue Meteorological Services over the years to strengthen its capacity and the integration of traditional knowledge into their work.
The Joint Regional Peer-to-Peer Learning on Integrating Traditional Knowledge and Gender in Climate Early Warning Systems workshop is being held in Alofi, Niue from 21 – 28 March 2025. Participants include representatives from 17 Pacific island countries as well as representatives from UNEP, SPREP, and SPC.
The official opening ceremony was well attended by the workshop participants, members of the community, and the Ekalesia Niue Women’s Committee, who highlighted some of the work they have also done under their Pia Project which was also funded by UNEP CIS-Pac 5, and have provided another avenue to earn income while keeping traditional practices alive and passing them down to the next generation.
For more information, please contact Ms. Siosinamele Lui at siosinamelel@sprep.org or Ms. Elisapeta Kerslake at elisapeta.eteuatikerslake@un.org.
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About COSPPac 3
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.
About UNEP CIS-Pac 5
The ‘Enhancing Climate Information and Knowledge Services for resilience in the 5 island countries of the Pacific Ocean’, referred to as UNEP CIS-Pac5, is a USD49.9 million programme, led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and funded by the Green Climate Fund (GCF), 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).
