Multi-hazard early warning systems in Fiji
Five countries are featured in the Global status of multi-hazard early warning systems 2024 report that demonstrate national efforts. Each case study includes details of the key institutions involved in MHEWS at the national level as well as the legislative frameworks and national plans that can support MHEWS.
National context
142 UNESCAP Risk and Resilience Portal: Fiji. Available at: https://rrp.unescap.org/country-profile/FJI Fiji is a small island developing State facing a range of climate change impacts, including sea level rise, saltwater intrusion, ocean acidification, coral bleaching and changing rainfall patterns. These impacts are leading to increased risks of disasters, including flooding, landslides, tropical cyclones, heatwaves and drought.142 Fiji has faced several extreme weather events in recent years that have each caused considerable damage and loss of life. However, the country's long history of development is characterized by innovative approaches, societal mobilization and adaptation rooted in tradition and continuity, which present opportunities to develop effective people-centred MHEWS.
Fiji is adapting and building up the resilience needed to safeguard peoples' lives and economies in the face of intensified climate-related risks. Challenges that the country faced during recent hazardous events - including tropical cyclones Winston (2016), Harold (2020) and Yasa (2021), in addition to the COVID-19 pandemic - highlighted the need to revise the policy frameworks on both DRR and MHEWS.
Highlights and successes
Fiji has made significant investments in EWS and DRR. These include commissioning 13 tsunami warning systems in 2019; developing impact-based forecasting; upgrading observation networks; developing policies and strategies related to DRR, meteorology and hydrology; creating new positions; and capacity-building for staff. In addition, measures have been taken to enhance risk awareness and strengthen the public's preparedness and response to disasters. These efforts demonstrate the government's strong commitment to strengthening resilience to disasters through improved EWS.
Key stakeholders:
The Fiji Meteorological Service (FMS) is part of the Ministry of Public Works, Transportation and Meteorological Services and provides timely and reliable weather, hydrology and climate information directly to the public to improve overall preparedness before a disaster strikes. FMS serves as a RSMC for tropical cyclones, under the WMO TCP.
The National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) is responsible for coordinating disaster management activities in Fiji. It provides leadership and direction in the planning, preparedness, response and recovery phases of disasters. The NDMO also works closely with other government agencies, NGOs and international partners to ensure a coordinated and effective response to disasters.
The Climate Change Division is responsible for coordinating Fiji's response to climate change. It works closely with other government agencies, NGOs, and international partners to develop and implement policies and strategies to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change.
The Seismology Section of the Mineral Resources Department is in charge of monitoring earthquakes and tsunami in Fiji. The Fiji Seismological Network comprises six outer remote satellite stations that send a continuous, real-time data set to the main hub at the Mineral Resources Department in Suva, 24 hours a day.
Other key EWS stakeholders include regional organizations such as the Pacific Community, the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme, the United Nations, the Pacific Islands Association of NGOs, the Fiji Council of Social Services and the Fiji Red Cross Society, as well as local and faith-based organizations, women's groups and organizations for persons with disabilities
Platforms, policies and plans:
Fiji is currently reviewing its national disaster management regulatory frameworks to strengthen disaster risk governance and move from a response-based approach to proactive disaster risk management. The endorsement of the National DRR Policy in 2019 set priorities for disaster preparedness and response, and mainstreamed disaster risk reduction into sectoral plans and programmes. The FMS Strategic Plan provides strategic context and direction on EWS, and sets out activities and processes that will be undertaken by FMS to achieve its objectives.
The government of Fiji has developed an anticipatory action framework in close collaboration with the United Nations for tropical cyclones in Fiji. The framework is supported through the CERF and aims to assist vulnerable communities before the cyclone makes landfall based on forecasts and agreed triggers. This demonstrates proactive collaboration between different stakeholders and the importance of early warning and risk information for setting up an effective anticipatory action.
Activities and projects:
Understanding disaster risk. Fiji has made significant progress in understanding disaster risk by conducting national and local risk assessments and mapping exercises, as well as investing in EWS, climate monitoring and scientific research. Measures have been implemented to enhance public awareness of disaster risks and promote risk-informed decision-making.
Enabling MHEWS. Fiji is developing its MHEWS strategy under the leadership of the NDMO and FMS through the EW4ALL initiative. Consultations with key government and nongovernment stakeholders were conducted to determine gaps, needs and priority actions on EWS. Enhancing capabilities. Through various ongoing initiatives such as CREWS (see Box 4), the Climate and Oceans Support Programme in the Pacific and the Pacific Resilience Programme, in addition to bilateral support, Fiji has enhanced its monitoring and forecasting of meteorological and geological hazards.
Fiji also receives financial and technical support through the Multi-country Project Advancing EW4All project to develop national project proposals (see Box 41), with a technical workshop held in March 2024 (UNDP, 2024).
Challenges and gaps
Limited financial and human resources are the main constraints in advancing DRR and MHEWS initiatives. There is a need to increase the capacity of officials at the subnational and local levels. Fiji is also highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, which exacerbate disaster risks. The economic losses from disasters as a percentage of GDP tend to be very high. Challenges in EWS include limited monitoring capacity, insufficient tsunami tide gauge locations and delays in disseminating warnings. There is a need for common alerting protocols, inclusivity in early warning messaging, the maintenance of traditional knowledge, and accurate and up-to-date data and community feedback.
Unlike the other NMHS featured in the case studies, FMS hosts an RSMC and the WMO Tropical Cyclone Centre in Nadi. With support from the Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre of Australia's Bureau of Meteorology, RSMC Nadi provides EWS services and guidance products for smaller small island developing States in the Pacific. RSMC Nadi has also been a focus for SOFF implementation and the CREWS Pacific SIDS Project (see Box 4 in section 3.1.1 and CREWS in Fiji).
Despite good progress on MHEWS implementation and maturity scores that often exceed regional and global averages (of the assessed countries featured within the dashboard; see Figure 4.3), gaps and challenges remain across the four pillars at the national level and there is a need to improve the quality, breadth and effectiveness of EWS. These gaps have arisen from insufficient funding and fragmentation of investments; limited technical capacity and infrastructure; limited human resources; and a lack of coordination among key EWS stakeholders. There is also a need to improve observation equipment and the capacity to make full use of it, and to maintain the equipment effectively. In addition, there is a need to enhance the accessibility and inclusivity of early warning messages, establish community feedback mechanisms and integrate traditional knowledge into EWS.
Lessons learned and good practices
Fiji's efforts to develop a MHEWS road map under the EW4All initiative have demonstrated its commitment to the global DRR effort. A two-day workshop on EW4All, organized by the NDMO in collaboration with United Nations partners, focused on taking stock of existing MHEWS from various organizations together with gaps, needs and opportunities. The results of the workshop fed into the development of the MHEWS road map and will also inform the EW4All GCF project proposal. With the road map in place, the government will prioritize a multi-hazard, end-to-end, and people-centred approach to ensure the efficiency of EWS. Moreover, an intersectional approach is advocated for inclusivity and equity in recognition of the diverse impacts of disasters and climate change
CREWS in Fiji
CREWS has supported Fiji through its Pacific small island developing States multi-year regional project, which is nearing completion of the implementation of its second phase. A proposal for phase 3 is under development (see Box 4 in section 3.1.1).
Project activities in Fiji have supported the FMS and RSMC Nadi, the RSMC and the Tropical Cyclone Centre hosted by the country. RSMC Nadi has been crucial in supporting project activities at the regional level by enabling a cascading approach to forecasting in the region, bringing economies of scale to the transfer of knowledge from the regional centre to national institutions in the Pacific.
At the national level, CREWS has assisted in the development of the new national strategic plan for the FMS and fostered cooperation between all NMHS in the region. For example, the project has strengthened regional coordination mechanisms such as the Pacific Partner Coordination Framework and launched a dashboard that maps regional early warning stakeholders to facilitate the exchange and sharing of meteorological and hydrological data and other related environmental information. CREWS has also enabled the development and operationalization of the Flash Flood Guidance System for Fiji (see Box 18 in section 3.3.1). Fiji has also benefited from tools developed by the Coastal Inundation Forecasting Demonstration Project, including the development of the Fiji Forecasting Guidance System. In addition, thanks to CREWS support, FMS staff have completed online training modules and participated in workshops on forecasting and warning services and the CAP.
At the regional level, the CREWS project has supported the implementation of a high-resolution NWP mesoscale model at RSMC Nadi, together with the provision of the necessary high-performance computers.
Community engagement activities have been another focus of the project, including an information campaign on tropical cyclone forecasting and a media package for TV and radio stations. Moreover, the Inclusive Early Warning Early Action checklist and implementation guide used across the regional project has facilitated the systematic integration and monitoring of gender and disability inclusivity to ensure that EWS are peoplecentred, gender-responsive and disability-inclusive and tailored to the specific needs of various groups.
SOFF in Fiji
Together with the Australia Bureau of Meteorology as peer adviser and the World Bank as implementing entity, Fiji has finalized the readiness phase and is developing an investment funding request that will also consider Fiji's role as an RSMC and Tropical Cyclone Centre.
Together with the government of Fiji, SOFF hosted a regional workshop for the Pacific in Nadi in April 2024, bringing together key stakeholders from across the Pacific islands, including regional organizations, development partners, United Nations organizations, WMO and the SOFF Secretariat to discuss progress and opportunities for regional approaches in developing GBON and in connecting initiatives to provide early warnings that make a difference locally.