19 May 2025, Honiara, Solomon Islands – Identifying priority areas for funding and mapping out activities to be implemented under the Weather Ready Pacific (WRP) Programme, a Pacific-led and Pacific-owned initiative established by Pacific leaders in 2021,which seeks to strengthen the resilience of Pacific island communities to the impacts of extreme weather events, is at the centre of a series of meetings happening this week in Honiara.
The second WRP Planning Meeting kicked off today at the Heritage Park Hotel, bringing together Directors of Pacific National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) and National Disaster Management Offices (NDMO) with technical partners from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, the New Zealand National Institute for Weather and Atmospheric Research, the Pacific Community as well as other important regional development partners including Japan International Cooperation Agency, the World Meteorological Organization, and the World Bank.
The countries and technical partners will use the planning meetings to discuss and plan activities to be implemented under WRP, utilising a first tranche of funding of AUD 7 million to kick start Phase One of WRP received from the Government of Australia by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) as the WRP implementing agency. This is part of the Government of Australia’s investment of AUD 30 million to support the WRP.
The Second Steering Committee meeting will also be convened this week, which will report on the WRP progress since the last Steering Committee meeting and approve funding priorities and WRP development processes. The first WRP Donors Meeting will also be convened, which will allow for discussions between donors of WRP on existing and potential opportunities for efficiencies and further funding pathways for WRP.
Australia reaffirmed its support to the Programme, with Ms. Nicole Smith from the Australian High Commission in Honiara, confirming that Australia and SPREP have signed an agreement to release the remaining AUD 27 million as committed by the Government of Australia in 2023. This funding will be used to implement the phase one activities of the Programme.
Speaking on behalf of the New Zealand Government, Ms. Rebecca Robertson, Senior Adviser for Climate Change and the Environment with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said that New Zealand is committed to supporting all efforts to safeguard lives and livelihoods and to build resilience for future generations.
“This week marks another exciting step in the Weather Ready journey,” Ms. Robertson said.
“I look forward to hearing from all the partners on the plans ahead and to take stock and reflect on how far we’ve come since we last met in September last year.”
She also added that New Zealand is proud to partner with the Weather Ready Programme and is committed to ensuring its success.
The Government of the United Kingdom, through the Weather and Climate Information Services (WISER) programme have also been working closely with the WRP team, and have reaffirmed their support, having committed GBP 500,000 to the inception phase of the programme, and supporting the development and implementation of the Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) mainstreaming workshop held in Nadi earlier this year.
Mr. Salesa Nihmei, Officer-in-Charge of SPREP’s Climate Science and Information programme, under which the WRP Programme sits, expressed his gratitude to the Met Directors, partners and donors for staying on for the WRP meetings to help chart the way forward for the Programme.
“Six years ago, in 2019, Weather Ready Pacific was but a dream,” Mr. Nihmei said.
“Members of the Pacific Meteorological Council envisioned a programme that would ensure information for preparedness and response to extreme events, address long-term strategic gaps in capability, and unite our region beyond silos.”
“Today that dream is a reality. WRP is now one of the 28 prioritised Regional Collective Actions under the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific. What began as a vision will soon be transforming many lives,” he added.
Mr. Nihmei encouraged countries to “dream boldly” when identifying priority needs and activities to be implemented by the programme with the new funding available to them.
The Weather Ready Pacific Programme Planning and Steering Committee meetings are being held from 19 – 22 May 2025.
For more information, please contact WRP Programme Manager, Mr. ‘Ofa Fa’anunu, at ofaf@sprep.org.