Summary of the Island Climate Update end–user workshop in Vanuatu
Andrew Lorrey (NIWA), Jim Salinger (NIWA), and Salesa Kaniaha (VMS)
The first Island Climate Update (ICU) end-user consultation workshop was held in Port Vila, Vanuatu on May 13–15, 2008. This workshop was hosted by the Vanuatu Meteorological Service (VMS), with the primary aim to interact with climate information end-users and determine their needs. The intention was to summarise the findings from the interaction and direct them at making improvements to the ICU product, services, and delivery format in the near future. The workshop also provided a template to guide future interactions with end-users that can be adopted by Pacific Island country national meteorological services (NMS) for the purpose of improving uptake of climate forecast information.
The highlight of the meeting consisted of break-out sessions where end-users interacted with climate scientists from Vanuatu (VMS), Australia (Bureau of Meteorology), New Caledonia (Meteo-France), and New Zealand (NIWA). This interaction was formed around a series of questions aimed at determining the common climate forecast issues, needs, and requirements among the end-users. Key end–users at this workshop included representatives from government, public works, health, energy, and agriculture sectors.
Workshop findings
The workshop demonstrated that the current ICU presentation and content has great value to Pacific Island NMS organisations because it contains a comprehensive South Pacific climate overview. The ICU document increases the confidence of in-country forecasts and outlines the regional climate context that enables the verification of local forecasts. However, it was also recognised that some of the ICU content is too technical and needs to be simplified. Common requests indicated the major areas needing immediate improvement are:
- More data on humidity, temperature, rainfall, SSTs, and evapotranspiration;
- Development of run-off and soil moisture indices;
- Greater lead time for temperature, drought, and tropical cyclone forecasts;
- Language simplification and graphics improvements;
- Faster delivery and better distribution of forecast information;.
Scheduled changes to the Island Climate Update
Recommended improvements that were suggested for the ICU from the Vanuatu workshop and previous surveys undertaken in 2006 and 2007 are underway. Expansion of the ICU website will include forecast details, climate diagnostics, tropical cyclone information, feature articles, and overall improved graphics. Many of the changes and product upgrades willbe completed by April 2009, and some have already been included in the printed version of the ICU, like the new multi-ensemble sea surface temperature forecast (see SST Outlook). In addition, supporting materials from the Vanuatu end-user consultation workshop can be provided upon request by email.
A schedule of improvements to the ICU that will be undertaken this year can be found at:www.niwascience.co.nz/ncc/icu. The ICU team appreciates all of the feedback on how the product can be changed to assist the uptake of climate forecast information.
