Tonga Met identifies reform needs [1]
Friday, August 9, 2019 - 19:44. Updated on Friday, August 9, 2019 - 19:45.
Tonga's National Meteorological Service needs reforming in order to manage an increasing number of climate related hazards and projects, 'Ofa Fa'anunu, told the 5th Pacific Meteorological Council meeting in Samoa this week, when he presented Tonga's country report.
The service also needs more specialized meteorological information and more highly trained staff, especially in its forecasting section.
The time has come to reform Tonga Met's organizational structure, 'Ofa Fa'anunu, Director of Meteorology, told the meeting, being held in Samoa from August 7-10.
‘Ofa, who is also the current President of the World Meteorology Organisation Region 5, (which looks after the Asia/Pacific region) headed the Tongan delegation and presented the Country Report on National Priority Actions of the Pacific Islands Meteorological Strategy (PIMS) 2017-2026.).
Reforms
He said reforms are necessary for the Meteorology Department to perform its functions under the Meteorology Act of 2017 and in order to implement multi-million dollar projects in multi-hazard early warning systems.
“Organizational restructuring is needed to have the capacity to deal with the large number of projects the Met Service is engaged with..,” he said.
Two key areas are research for development, and upgrades to systems such as Automatic Weather Stations and communications.
It was timely with the organizational reform currently happening with the WMO, to improve efficiency, improve resource use and funding mechanisms and for better service development.
Tonga Met is expected to perform an increasing scope of activities, he said. Reform would help them meet the demand to support resilient development priorities of Government in response to weather and climate change. Reform would also establish career paths to improve the functions of Tonga Met and National Emergency Management Office (NEMO) throughout the Tongan islands, and also help them to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
Future
'Ofa said that in future the Meteorology Department wanted to provide its own forecasting services to Aviation, which is still done in Fiji. They also need to develop Marine forecast and services, and among many other things better co-ordinate hydrological services.
Fa’anunu leads the Tongan delegation in this meeting and also several other key important Pre-PMC events. These events included meeting as the new President of World Meteorological Organization Regional Association V (WMO RAV), .
Also attending the WMO meeting is Director of Geology Taniela Kula, Chief Meteorologist Laitia Fifita, Senior Forecaster Selu Finaulahi and Assistant Geologist Folauhola Latuila.