Page 36 - IB AUG 2017

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Traditional knowledge in Pacific meteorology

THIS month, all Pacific Meteorological Ser- social science, between policies and tech-
vices, donors, development partners and nical work in the world of Meteorological
stakeholders will be coming together for services. What may be difficult to explain
the Fourth Pacific Meteorological Council in meteorological terms can be easily un-
to be hosted in Honiara, Solomon Islands, derstood through traditional knowledge
because that is what our Pacific communi-
from Augus t14 –17, followed by the Second ties can relate to and understand. When
Pacific Ministerial Meeting on Meteorology talking about seasonal forecasting, not
on August 18. everyone can understand the technicality
Siosinamele Lui, climate traditional of the information, but if we use tradi-
knowledge Officer at SPREP talks about tional knowledge, the seasonal terminol-
the role that traditional knowledge in Met ogy, language and prediction techniques
Services in the Pacific. We get to know more communities are used to, it increases the
about one of the key people behind the Siosinamele Lui. Photo: SPREP intake of scientific information as well as
scenes of the Pacific Meteorological Council. organising daily activities to festivals, increasing community resilience. In some
communities, they know that it will be an
Ms Lui has spent a decade working for the planting and harvesting of crops to mar- active cyclone season if the turtles nest
Samoa Meteorological Service, in particular riage ceremonies. higher up in the sand dunes (Vanuatu TK).
the Geoscience and Oceans observations Traditional knowledge has always ben- This knowledge adds value to seasonal
before working at SPREP. She was instru- efitted our communities. The knowledge forecasts.
mental in establishing the Earthqåuake and attained and passed down from generation Q: We are gearing up the fourth Pacific Me-
Tsunami Monitoring Network and Warning to generation allowed our communities teorological Council. What are you hoping
to survive. Our Pacific communities have
Centre for Samoa and has also enjoyed pro- and are still using traditional forecast- will be an outcome from this meeting?
viding advice and mentoring other young ing methods and techniques to forecast LUI: I would like to see the following out-
Pacific island women working in this area. weather and climate events. comes at the conclusion of the meeting:
1 Endorsements of the Climate Roadmap.
“I was always interested in oceanography, From looking at the biological (animal The Climate Roadmap is a detailed guid-
volcanoes and earthquakes and the Met Service and plant behaviour) and astronomical ance of how we are going to achieve the
was the closest to working with all three at the indicators (moon phases, stars) our Pacific priorities set out in the Pacific Islands
same time. Prior to working with the Met Service, communities knew what will happen two
I previously worked at the Department of Envi- to three months ahead before the onset of Meteorological Strategy. This includes an
outline of activities to be done at the re-
ronment and Conservation as a Conservation the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) gional and national level to achieve these
officer.” phases. Traditional knowledge provides priorities.
Last year SPREP embraced a project on Cli- the extra information, a traditional warn-
mate Traditional Knowledge in partnership with ing system which allows communities to 2 Forging new donor partnerships
the Australian Bureau of Meteorology in Niue, prepare, respond and utilise traditional 3 Endorsement of key recommendations
from the different PMC panel of experts
Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu. coping strategies and mechanisms that Q: How do you see the outcomes of this
The goal of which was to help preserve weather have helped increased communities re- meeting impact the lives of our Pacific
and combine traditional knowledge with current silience. island communities and people? Why is this
met forecasts and increase the recognition of Q: So what is it that you do with the coun-
traditional knowledge to build resilience to ex- tries as part of your work to help record and an important meeting for our region?
LUI: The outcomes of the meeting deter-
treme events. Work for this will include collecting, increase value of traditional knowledge? mines the support we at the Pacific Met
documenting, storing and analysing TK stories LUI: I work with the Climate Services teams Desk can provide to the countries, sets
to identify climate indicators used by pilot com- as well as my TK counterparts from the priorities the region focuses on, ensures
munities. There will also be a verification of the Australian Bureau of Meteorology.
indicators to check the accuracy of data collected I work with the five TK countries to set collaboration and a coordinated approach
to address issues that are common to
before TK is integrated with modern forecasting. up their TK climate monitoring networks, national Met Services. The Climate Tra-
Q: Could you tell us a little bit about climate conduct TK survey and database train- ditional Knowledge project is supported
traditional knowledge? ings, provide TK verification and forecast
LUI: Climate traditional knowledge is integration training, provide technical by the Australian-funded Climate and
the knowledge held by those living on the advice and assist them with producing and Ocean Support Programme in the Pacific,
the Australian Bureau of Meteorology,
land, whether they are indigenous or non- publishing information products based on World Meteorological Organization and
indigenous peoples, which can be used for the climate traditional knowledge collected the Pacific Meteorological Desk Partner-
climate forecasting. This knowledge is by the Met services.
not static and can continually evolve over Q: What is something really interesting ship at SPREP.
time and it is often imbedded in practice that you have learnt in this? - Partners for the Pacific Meteorological
and belief. LUI: This project makes it easier to have Council include all Pacific Meteorological Ser-
vices as well as the National Oceanic and Atmo-
Q: How does climate traditional knowl- conversations about climate change and
edge benefit our communities? climate science with communities. spheric Administration (USA), the International
LUI: Our communities have always The TK project is a communication tool, Research Institute for Climate and Society (USA)
been using TK to forecast and plan, from and it bridges the gap between science and and the UK Met Office.

36 Islands Business, August 2017