ClimateWatch Vanuatu: Building community climate resilience

In rural areas of 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 App) to collect traditional knowledge data and monitor ecosystem changes with climate (phenology) over time. The program will monitor 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, whilst ensuring traditional knowledge is shared nationally and incorporated in existing ecosystem based adaptation initiatives. Insights gained from the project will inform the design of future programs in Pacific Island nations facing similar challenges. 

Project Status

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 helping communities harness and preserve their traditional knowledge which is crucial for predicting weather patterns and preparing for climate extremes.

Since its launch, the program has trained over 100 people, including 20 teachers in how to use, and on-teach the app. The app has over 69 active users, and to date, over 160 data points have been collected by the Vanuatu community members to feed into the countries weather forecasting and traditional knowledge databases.

Check out ClimateWatch Vanuatu data collection in real time via the web interface.