5 November 2025, Koror, Palau – The vital work of the Weather Ready Pacific (WRP) Programme in advancing the Early Warnings for All (EW4All) initiative across the Pacific was highlighted during the final day of the Pacific Disaster Risk Ministers’ Meeting in Koror, Palau.
Launched in 2022 by the United Nations Secretary-General, Mr. António Guterres, the EW4All initiative aims to ensure that everyone on Earth is protected from hazardous weather, water, and climate events through life-saving early warning systems.
In the Pacific, the Weather Ready Pacific Programme serves as the vehicle to implement the global initiative. WRP is a Pacific-led and Pacific-owned programme designed by the region’s National Meteorological Services and supported by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP). It aims to reduce the human and economic costs of severe weather, hydrological, and ocean-related events across the Pacific.
SPREP’s Director of Climate Science and Information, Mr. Salesa Nihmei, outlined the steps being taken to strengthen and sustain the programme to ensure that National Meteorological Services can effectively deliver on their life-saving mandates.
“At the recently concluded steering committee meeting of the WRP, we agreed to add a pillar on Risk Information and Preparedness to further strengthen the implementation the programme with the National Disaster Management Offices,” said Mr. Nihmei.
“The programme also completed its Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL) Framework, which connects our work at the national level to regional and global frameworks. Secondly, the Gender Equality, Disability, and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) component ensures the programme remains inclusive.”
Mr. Nihmei noted that meteorology in the Pacific remains a male-dominated field and acknowledged the Pacific Disability Forum (PDF) for its collaboration under a new Memorandum of Understanding with SPREP.
“This partnership, supported by the UNDRR, ensures that the WRP truly inclusive and serves all members of our communities,” he added.
He also highlighted the establishment of a Readiness Fund to support National Meteorological Services in implementing local-level activities in partnership with National Disaster Management Offices (NDMOs). Through the Readiness Fund, national agencies can apply for up to USD 10,000 per year in funding to enhance coordination and preparedness, and to implement activities at the national level.
Another significant milestone of the programme is the Sustainability Framework, which introduces a ten-pillar benchmark to ensure long-term continuity of early warning systems. This benchmark measures sustainability across areas such as financing, equipment maintenance, and partnerships between countries and development partners.
“Over the past few years, we have worked closely with partners such as UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Pacific Community (SPC) to ensure a coordinated, holistic approach to early warning systems in the Pacific,” said Mr. Nihmei.
“We are grateful to Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, whose initial contributions make up about 20 percent of the total funding required to fully implement WRP. We also acknowledge JICA for funding the Regional Training and Instrument Centres in Nadi, Fiji. This is a crucial step in building regional capacity.”
The Weather Ready Pacific Programme was officially endorsed by Pacific Leaders in 2021, and in 2023, the Pacific Meteorological Ministers Meeting declared WRP as the regional vehicle to implement the EW4All initiative.
“Early warning systems are not new to our region,” Mr. Nihmei said. “What Weather Ready Pacific brings is coordination, ensuring that our Pacific-driven approach connects early warnings to disaster management, sustainability, and inclusion, so no one is left behind.”
The Solomon Islands Minister for Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology, Hon. Polycarp Paea, acknowledged the support of the Weather Ready Pacific Programme to the Solomon Islands, particularly with funding the installation of a Weather Radar that will strengthen the capacity of the Solomon Islands Meteorological Service to provide life-saving early warnings to communities.
For more information, please contact Mr. ‘Ofa Fa’anunu, Weather Ready Pacific Programme Manager, at [email protected], or Mr. Salesa Nihmei at [email protected].