18 February 2025
Fiji’s Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Lands and Mineral Resources, Mr. Paula Cirikiyasawa, Directors and Senior Officials from National Agencies providing hydrological services across Pacific Island Countries and Territories, First Secretary (Climate Change), Australian High Commission Suva, Ms. Niamh Dobson, Our donor partners from the Australian Water Partnership, the World Meteorological Organisation, and UNESCO, Our development partners from the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), the New Zealand Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the World Bank, and the United States University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, Colleagues from SPREP and SPC,
Bula Vinaka and a warm welcome to the Pacific Regional Hydrological Services Forum. On behalf of SPC Management, I am delighted to welcome you all. Your presence here reflects the collective commitment to strengthening hydrological services in the Pacific, ensuring they remain robust, responsive, and fit for purpose in the face of evolving challenges.
I would also like to acknowledge our partners, the Australian Water Partnership (AWP), the World Meteorology Organisation (WMO) and the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for both their funding support to the meeting as well as their technical input and support with planning.
SPC’s Role in Hydrology
Support for hydrological services has been a long-standing request from our member countries, and SPC has had the privilege of working in this space for over 30 years—dating back to our SOPAC days. Throughout this time, we have focused on strengthening national capacities in hydrology, providing support in groundwater assessment, monitoring, and management.
More recently, we were pleased to collaborate with the Australian Water Partnership to take an important first step in re-establishing and expanding regional support for surface water hydrology. A key priority of this initiative has been enhancing flash flood early warning systems, an area of concern that affects many of our member countries.
Our approach has always been collaborative—working closely with national hydrological agencies to ensure that technical support builds on existing capacities, infrastructure, and needs, while remaining relevant to the Pacific context.
The Importance of Hydrological Services
Hydrological services play a critical role in predicting, understanding, and communicating water-related challenges—directly supporting our national development priorities and climate resilience efforts. However, many national agencies face challenges in maintaining the necessary capacity and resources to fulfill their full range of services effectively.
By improving the collection, management, and analysis of hydrological data, we can enhance the ability of national agencies, communities, and decision-makers to respond to water-related challenges with evidence-based solutions, ultimately strengthening our collective resilience.
Strengthening Partnerships for Sustainability
Ladies and gentlemen, all of these would not be possible without partnerships and collaboration. Our work with national counterparts, fellow CROP agencies, and development partners has reaffirmed the need for genuine, sustained dialogue and durable partnerships to support hydrological services.
We acknowledge the contributions of the Pacific Meteorological Council, the Pacific Water and Wastewater Association, and the Pacific Regional Disaster Managers Meeting in advancing hydrological services, and we appreciate their continued collaboration.
We also take this opportunity to recognise the hydrologists in the room—your dedication and expertise are the driving force behind hydrological priorities in your respective countries. Your insights and experiences will be invaluable as we work together to elevate and accelerate support for hydrological services across the Pacific.
Forum Objectives
Over the coming days, our focus will be on:
- Enhancing our collective understanding of the role and importance of hydrological services
- Identifying pathways to strengthen national hydrological capacities
- Fostering a coordinated, collaborative approach to leverage existing and future initiatives, and
- Addressing gender representation in the hydrology sector by identifying concrete actions to strengthen the participation of women in this field.
I encourage you to actively contribute to the dialogue and look forward to the outcome of this forum.
Introducing Fiji’s Permanent Secretary for Lands and Mineral Resources
At this point, it is my honour to introduce our Chief Guest, Mr. Paula Cirikiyasawa, Fiji’s Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Lands and Mineral Resources.
Mr. Cirikiyasawa brings with him two decades of experience in the civil service and with UNDP, with a proven track record of leadership, innovation, and strategic vision. Though relatively new to the role, he will oversee the Ministry’s strategic direction and operations, focusing on innovation, expansion, and sustainability.
It is with great pleasure that I now invite Mr. Cirikiyasawa to deliver the keynote address.
I thank you.