Early Action Rainfall Watch - Vanuatu sub-national workshop

The Australia Pacific Climate Partnership, through the Climate and Oceans Support Program in the Pacific, has been collaborating with the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, SPREP and national meteorology services on the development and roll-out of Early Action Rainfall Watches (EAR Watch) across the region. The EAR Watch is a product issued by national meteorology services across the region. It aims to provide national and provincial disaster officers with information on the likelihood of very dry or very wet conditions to help communities better plan, prepare and respond as needed. 

in December 2019, the Vanuatu Meteorology and Geohazards Department, in collaboration with COSPPac, the Climate Centre, and SPREP, held the fist sub-national EAR Watch workshop. The workshop helped increase the capacity of provincial Community Disaster and Climate Change Committee members and representatives from key sectors (like health and education) to understand the content of EAR Watch bulletins and develop strategies for communicating this vital information to communities.

"As a provincial disaster officer, the EAR Watch can go a long way in educating people at the provincial level and also help with the National Disaster Management Office Response Plans... drought is identified as a hazard and this product can complement the existing plans in linking drought with actions." Kensley Micah, Sanma Provincial Disaster Officer.

Participants were also able to influence the look and content of the Vanuatu EAR Watch to ensure it effectively communicates key messages to targeted communities. 

"Traditional knowledge indicators are important to be included in the EAR Watch so people in the communities can relate to and take action. At the end of the day, we want people to prepare and take action, therefore traditional knowledge is the missing component." Clarence Tamara, Pele Island CDCC Madame Chair.

The workshop was highly successful and provides a model for further work to roll the EAR Watch out at the sub-national level across the region.