ClimateWatch Vanuatu: Building community climate resilience
Project Information
Across Vanuatu, trusted and meaningful weather forecasts are critical for communities to respond to the increasing threat of natural disasters and extreme weather. The ni-Vanuatu have long used traditional knowledge for climate forecasting, but circulation and inter-generational transfer of knowledge is decreasing. Meanwhile, there is a reluctance in many ni-Vanuatu communities to acknowledge and respond to contemporary climate forecasts. This project builds upon existing local programs to deliver the ni-Vanuatu community and Vanuatu government a digital tool (ClimateWatch) to collect traditional knowledge data and monitor ecosystem changes with climate (phenology) over time.
ClimateWatch Vanuatu was launched in 2023 and is the first mobile application of its kind available in the local Bislama language. By involving the community as Citizen Scientists, the program enhances local engagement and resilience to climate change, as well as helps communities harness and preserve their traditional knowledge, which is crucial for predicting weather patterns and preparing for climate extremes.
The program monitors species from agricultural, marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Data from the project will contribute to hybrid climate forecast products (i.e. forecasts developed using both contemporary and traditional knowledge systems) to provide meaningful forecast information to ni-Vanuatu communities, while ensuring traditional knowledge is shared nationally and incorporated in existing ecosystem-based adaptation (EBA) initiatives. Insights gained from the project will inform the design of future programs in Pacific Island nations facing similar challenges.
Project Updates
1. Building Community Capacities to Collect and Apply Climate and Traditional Knowledge Data: Since its launch, the program has trained over 100 people, including 20 teachers in how to use teach the app. The app has over 200 registered users and, to date, over 800 data points have been collected by the Vanuatu community members to strengthen national weather forecasting and traditional knowledge databases.
2. Establishing ClimateWatch Trails Nationwide to Enhance Local Monitoring Efforts: A total of 10 ClimateWatch trails have been developed, spanning every province of the country. At each trail location, Community Climate Champions have been appointed to promote the initiative and support users in collecting valuable data.
3. Integrating ClimateWatch Data Collection Into Schools: School workplans and lesson plans have been developed and piloted to align data collection through the ClimateWatch app to the Traditional Knowledge school curriculum
4. Supporting National Climate Forecasting Through Community-Generated Data: ClimateWatch data has been utilised in government climate and cyclone forecasting.
Check out ClimateWatch Vanuatu data collection in real time via the web interface.
Project Status
Ongoing
