Tonga will soon improve its ability to better plan for climate change, protect communities, and safeguard infrastructure and ecosystems with a powerful 3D mapping technology known as LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), producing highly accurate, three-dimensional images that capture every ridge, depression, and coastal edge, to form a detailed picture of Tonga's land and coastline.
When the technical survey is complete, Tonga will have achieved full national LiDAR coverage across every low-lying island. This will mean improved coastal flood modelling, infrastructure planning, sea-level rise projections for government.
Multiple government ministries, the UN Development Programme, the Pacific Community (SPC), and private sector specialists are all working from the same data, toward the same goal, made possible through the Green Climate Fund-supported US$23.9 million Tonga Coastal Resilience Project (TCRP).
This new survey will enable:
- Flood and inundation modelling – precisely mapping which areas flood under cyclones, storm surge, and sea-level rise scenarios.
- Coastal risk maps – identifying areas most vulnerable to coastal flooding and guiding future decisions on infrastructure, coastal management and community protection.
- Sea-level rise planning – modelling impacts under half a metre, one metre, two metre, and four metres of sea-level rise.
- Infrastructure investment – helping identify low-risk areas for future development and steering investment away from the highest-risk zones.
The data collected will significantly enhance Tonga’s ability to assess climate risks, model future sea-level rise scenarios, strengthen disaster preparedness systems and inform long-term coastal infrastructure planning.
Tonga is also set to become one of the very few Pacific Island Countries with comprehensive national LiDAR coverage in 2026.
This coastal mapping survey is being conducted over Tongatapu and Ha’apai island group from 21 March to 18 April 2026 using a specialized survey aircraft.
The 2026 LiDAR survey is conducted by Fugro, an international geo-data specialist agency with extensive expertise in aerial and maritime mapping. During implementation, SPC and Fugro technical teams will work closely alongside the Mapping and Surveying Division within Tonga's Ministry of Lands, Survey, Planning and Natural Resources (MLSPNR) to ensure knowledge transfer and technical collaboration.
