The Sixth Pacific Meteorological Council (PMC-6) Meeting closed Wednesday buoyed by the potential of the Weather Ready Pacific Programme for the safety of our Pacific Islands.
The Seventh Pacific Meteorological Council (PMC-7) will be hosted by Vanuatu in 2024, with the Eighth Pacific Meteorological Council (PMC-8) and the Fourth Pacific Meteorological Ministers Meeting (PMMM-3) to be tentatively hosted by the United States in Hawaii in 2026.
Bringing together Heads of the Pacific National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHS) to deliberate across three days, the PMC-6 leads into the Third Pacific Meteorological Ministers Meeting on Friday 17 August, and the Donor Roundtable on Thursday 16 August 2023.
The PMC-6 also brought together the National Disaster Management Office Directors from across the Pacific, civil society, development partners and the private sector.
Coordinated by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) in partnership with the Fiji Meteorological Service as host of the PMC-6, the event closed on a high note, reflecting upon the unity of the PMC.
“That’s what makes us strong, that sense of family, of togetherness, of looking out for each other and of recognising those that have gone before us and those that have helped us along the way,” said Sefanaia Nawadra, Director General of SPREP.
“It has been an excellent meeting; I know we are all pleased with what we have gotten out of this meeting. Having our National Disaster Management Office Directors sitting with us is a reflection of what we already have in our countries. I hope this is something that will continue.”
Also joining the 250 delegates at the PMC-6 was Professor Petteri Taalas, the Secretary General of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). He has held the position since 2016 and completes his term at the end of this year.
“Being with you all has demonstrated that you can join your forces and find a common approach,” said Professor Taalas.
“I would like to thank SPREP, our key partner here for the excellent collaboration, you are one of the gold medal partners of WMO it has always been a pleasure to collaborate with you.
“I have had the pleasure to serve as a Director of WMO for ten years and my vision has been to make WMO more visible and impactful at the national level. I would like to thank many of you for the friendship on a personal level over the past ten years. Thank you.”
The closing ended with acknowledgements made by the Chair of the PMC-6, Bipen Prakash the Acting Head of the Fiji Meteorological Service.
Fiji agreed to host the event following the COVID-19 pandemic which saw the PMC-6 postponed from 2020 and to be held in the Cook Islands, to Fiji in 2023. Prakash extended his acknowledgements to all that supported and attended the event, including his staff.
“And with those words, I declare the Sixth Pacific Meteorological Council, closed,” he said.
SOURCE: SPREP/PACNEWS
