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The Sixth Pacific Meteorological Council (PMC-6) Meeting closed today 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 today 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 Mr 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 to join the 250 delegates at the PMC-6 today was Prof. Petteri Taalas, the Secretary General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). He has held the position since 2016 and he 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 Prof. 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, Mr 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. Mr 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.”
The Sixth Pacific Meteorological Council (PMC-6), the First Development Partners and Donors Engagement Meeting and the Third Pacific Ministerial Meeting on Meteorology (PMMM-3) are held in Nadi, Fiji respectively from 14 – 18 August 2023. They follow a range of pre-PMC meetings held in Nadi Fiji from 7 – 12 August 2023.
The PMC-6, the First Development Partners and Donors Engagement Meeting and PMMM-3 is supported by a strong partnership between the following: The Government of Fiji, the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), the European Union’s Intra-African Caribbean Pacific Climate Services and Related Applications (Intra-ACP) Project, United Nations Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT), Climate and Oceans Support Programme in the Pacific (COSPPac), Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), Climate Risk Early Warning Systems (CREWS) Pacific Project, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Pacific Community (SPC), Varysian, GCF Funded VanKIRAP project, the People’s Republic of China's contribution to SPREP and OTT HydroMet.
For more information on the PMC-6 please visit the Pacific Met Desk website https://www.pacificmet.net/pmc-6-2023 or email [email protected] and insert PMC-6 Query in the subject line.
