A critical element of any decision-making process is the availability and access to relevant information. The Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change and Resilience Building (PACRES) Project is working cross fifteen Pacific ACP countries to support regional and national climate change portals to increase access to and reach of climate change and disaster resilience information.
In the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), the project is supporting the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Emergency (DECEM) through enhancing the FSM Environment, Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management Data Portal with the addition of a Climate Change Functionality feature. Working with Eighty Options Pty Ltd, PACRES has consolidated the existing portal into FSM’s INFORM portal, updated information and knowledge management products required for national climate change and disaster planning response and enhance community awareness.
From 16-17 October 2023, PACRES Project Manager, Mr Semi Qamese has been on the ground in FSM, discussing with the national focal points and users on the Climate Change Functionality features and Landing Page on the INFORM portal. The newly added features allow users to search items within climate and disaster risk management topics, navigate the current climate change projects list, search related legislation and policies, and find information and knowledge products.
Mr Qamese highlights the importance of the work that goes into maintaining access to climate change information and resources. He says, “we must ensure there is adequate support to regional and national climate change data portals, this increases accessibility of climate change and disaster resilience information and is critical for long term sustainability”.
Staff from DECEM competent on the new features of the portal include, Assistant Secretary of the Environment Division, Ms Cynthia H. Ehmes, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Climate Change Division and Adaptation Unit, Mr Correy Abraham, Programme Manager for the Climate Change Division and Adaptation Unit, Kohsak Keller Jr and IT and Communications Officer, Mr Skiis Dewey.
As key users of the FSM Environment, Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management Data Portal, DECEM staff are now well versed on the utilisation of the newly added features of the portal, through collecting, uploading, and updating spatial and non-spatial datasets and information required for climate change and disaster resilience planning and thus contributing to national decision making.
ABOUT PACRES
PACRES aims to improve regional, national adaptation and mitigation solutions to climate change concerns faced in 15 Pacific ACP countries. The 15 Pacific ACP countries are: Cook Islands, Fiji, Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
The €12.18 million PACRES is funded primarily by the European Union (EU) (€12 million) with targeted support from Monaco and the Swiss Confederation and is delivered jointly by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programmme (SPREP), the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS), the Pacific Community (SPC) and the University of the South Pacific (USP).
For more information on the PACRES project, please contact Semi Qamese, PACRES Project Manager at [email protected].
