Fiji’s weather office says it is now moving to formally integrate traditional knowledge into its scientific forecasting systems, a shift it believes will strengthen climate services across the country.
Acting Director of the Fiji Meteorological Services, Samisoni Waqavakatoga told participants at the eighth National Climate Outlook Forum that the agency wants to “incorporate traditional knowledge into our modern scientific forecasting system to better our services”.
He said many sectors struggle to interpret technical data.
“Sectors and stakeholders cannot interpret and translate data because their equipment are considered too technical, hence the introduction of the forum,” he said.
“The forum (NCOF) was introduced to help stakeholders and other sectors to understand our data, because most of our equipment are deemed too technical.”
This year’s two-day forum, held at the FMS office in Laucala Bay, focused on the theme of Ocean and Traditional Knowledge.
Mr Waqavakatoga said the ocean shapes Fiji’s culture and daily life and also exposes communities to risk.
He said rising sea levels, warming seas, shifting currents and extreme weather were already being felt around the country.
He said scientific tools such as forecasting models and early-warning technologies are vital, but traditional knowledge also holds value.
This is notable, he said, in “the reading of winds and skies, understanding of seasons and patterns of marine life and a deep call for stewardship that have sustained our oceans for centuries”.
Representatives from The Pacific Community (SPC) Climate and Ocean Support Program in the Pacific, Maritime Safety Authority of Fiji, The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environmental Programme, Blue Prosperity and other sectors attended the forum to discuss ways to combine the two knowledge systems for more precise climate information.
