Land and Guardianship: Port Resolution community powers new lifesaving weather station on Tanna Island

July 2025, Port Resolution, Tanna Island – In a powerful model of community-led climate action, the coastal village of Ifatarapa at Port Resolution has partnered with the Vanuatu Meteorology and Geo-hazards Department (VMGD) to install a critical new Automatic Weather Station (AWS), boosting the community’s defenses against intensifying extreme weather.

Funded by the Green Climate Fund (GCF) under the Vanuatu Klaemet Infomesen blong Redy, Adapt mo Protekt (VanKIRAP) project, the station’s success hinges on an unprecedented collaboration: Ifatarapa community at Port Resolution provided the land and committed to its long-term security and protection.

While the advanced technology – delivering real-time data on wind speed, rainfall, temperature, humidity, and atmospheric pressure – is vital, VMGD officials emphasise that the community’s role is the cornerstone of its sustainability.
"The people of Port Resolution didn't just accept this station; they championed it," said Mr. Fred Jockley – Acting Deputy Director of VMGD. 

"By providing the land and becoming the station's guardians, they’ve ensured this isn't just VMGD infrastructure – it’s their infrastructure, vital for protecting their families, their fishers, and their farmers. This partnership is how climate resilience must be built in Vanuatu."

Chief Sairo Narua and Mr. Nalau Jockley, of Port Resolution both echoed the sentiment.
"We know the storms are getting stronger,” said Chief Narua. “We feel the changes in our gardens and our seas.” 
Mr Jockley said the new Automatic Weather Station gives them the knowledge they need before disaster strikes. 
“Protecting it is protecting our future,” he said. “It belongs to all of us in Port Resolution."

The new AWS directly addresses Vanuatu’s vulnerability as a Pacific Small Island Developing State (SIDS) facing rising sea levels and increasingly severe cyclones. Its benefits are immediate and far-reaching:

1. Faster, Life-Saving Warnings: Real-time data enables VMGD to issue significantly faster and more accurate tropical cyclone warnings and heavy rain alerts for Tanna and surrounding islands.
2. Protecting Livelihoods: Hyperlocal forecasts empower farmers to plan planting/harvesting and fishers to navigate safely, directly supporting food security and local economies.
3. Long-Term Climate Insight: Continuous data feeds into national and regional models, improving understanding of Vanuatu’s changing climate for better adaptation planning.
4. Strengthening National Capacity: The station significantly expands VMGD’s monitoring network, crucial for achieving its mandate of protecting all 83 islands of Vanuatu.

The AWS installation is a key deliverable of the GCF’s VanKIRAP project, implemented by the Vanuatu Government with support from the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP). VanKIRAP focuses on strengthening climate information services and early warning systems across the archipelago.

"This station at Ifatarapa village in Port Resolution exemplifies VanKIRAP’s goal: empowering communities with the tools they need to adapt," said Mrs Moirah Matou, VanKIRAP Project Manager. 

"The active involvement and ownership shown by the Port Resolution community is the key ingredient for long-term sustainability and impact. It’s a blueprint for success across the Pacific."

As the AWS hums to life on the volcanic slopes overlooking Port Resolution Bay, it stands as more than just a piece of technology. It is a testament to what can be achieved when global climate finance (GCF), national agencies (VMGD), and local communities unite with a shared purpose: building resilience from the ground up, one island at a time.
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The Vanuatu Klaemet Infomesen blong Redy, Adapt mo Protekt (Van-KIRAP) project is a five-year, USD 22 million project which aims to support climate resilient development in Vanuatu through the development, communication, and application of climate information services to benefit agriculture, fisheries, tourism, infrastructure, water sectors and communities.

It is funded by the Green Climate Fund and implemented by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme in partnership with the Vanuatu Meteorology and Geohazards Department, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Australian Bureau of Meteorology, and APEC Climate Center.

For more information please contact Mr. Sunny Kamuta Seuseu, Manager, VanKIRAP Project on email: [email protected].