The Government of Fiji, through the National Disaster
Risk Management Office (NDRMO), in partnership with the
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), convening a
three-day workshop marking an important milestone in
Fiji’s efforts to strengthen its national early warning
system under the global Early Warnings for All (EW4ALL)
initiative.
The National Common Alerting Protocol
(CAP) Workshop and National Dialogue on Fiji’s
Multi-Hazard Early Warning System – a key step towards
implementing Fiji’s Multi-Hazard Early Warning System
Roadmap and strengthening national resilience to
climate-related and natural hazards – brought together
government agencies, telecommunications providers,
broadcasters, technical experts, development partners and
key stakeholders.
Supported by the Green Climate Fund,
the initiative seeks to enhance Fiji’s capacity to provide
timely, accurate and accessible early warning information to
communities through improved coordination, interoperable
systems and internationally recognised standards.
The
workshop builds on recommendations from Fiji’s inaugural
CAP workshop conducted under the “Mapping, Assessing and
Planning for Comprehensive Multi-Hazard Early Warning
Capabilities (MHEWS)” project implemented through the
Infrastructure for Resilient Island States
initiative.
Over the next three days, participants
will discuss the technical, institutional and governance
arrangements required to operationalise the Common Alerting
Protocol (CAP) in Fiji. CAP is an internationally recognised
standard that enables emergency alerts to be created once
and disseminated simultaneously across multiple
communication channels, including SMS, Cell Broadcast,
radio, television, websites, mobile applications and social
media platforms.
Advertisement – scroll to continue reading
By establishing a coordinated
national approach to CAP implementation, Fiji aims to
strengthen the consistency, reliability and reach of public
warnings across multiple hazards, ensuring that communities
receive actionable information when it matters
most.
Speaking at the opening of the workshop,
Minister for Rural and Maritime Development and Disaster
Management, Hon. Mosese Bulitavu said:
“Fiji
continues to face a wide range of hazards, including
tropical cyclones, floods, storm surges, droughts,
earthquakes, tsunamis, and emerging technological and
environmental risks. As climate change intensifies the
frequency and severity of many of these hazards, the need
for effective, timely, and people-centred early warning
systems has never been greater. Historical records show that
tropical cyclones alone have affected more than 1.8 million
people in Fiji over the past decades, causing significant
loss of lives, livelihoods, infrastructure, and development
gains.”
UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction Head
of Pacific Sub-Regional Office, Gabrielle Emery
said:
“When we began this journey several years ago,
one of the key areas was we have a very strong system to
already work on, but early warnings are not going to result
in anything if we do not bring this whole ecosystem
together. That means working across the different pillars
from risk information to looking at the observations, the
forecasting, to looking at how the messages are
disseminated. And importantly, how those messages actually
turn into action and action of our communities and
particularly those of our most risk
communities.”
UNDP Pacific Office Deputy Resident
Representative, Abduvakkos Abdurahmanov said:
“An
early warning system is only as effective as the last person
it reaches. Our work must be people centred. It must
intentionally reach the furthest – remote maritime
communities, women, children, the elderly, and persons with
disabilities. Warnings must be accessible, understandable,
and actionable for every Fijian, regardless of where they
live, their gender, age or physical ability.”
The
workshop is being delivered with specialised technical
support from UNDP together with the International
Telecommunication Union (ITU), the World Meteorological
Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Office for
Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR). International experts will
share global best practices and technical guidance on CAP
implementation and interoperable warning dissemination
systems.
The discussions focus around developing
Fiji’s National CAP Profile and National CAP Policy,
clarifying institutional roles and responsibilities,
reviewing alert approval and dissemination processes, and
strengthening inter-agency coordination mechanisms that
support end-to-end warning delivery.
The workshop will
also examine the institutional and technical arrangements
required to establish the NDRMO as Fiji’s national alert
aggregation authority, responsible for receiving,
coordinating and disseminating multi-hazard alerts across
multiple communication platforms.
The workshop is
being delivered under Fiji’s Early Warnings for All
(EW4ALL) project, a Green Climate Fund-supported initiative
led by UNDP and the Government of Fiji to strengthen
multi-hazard early warning systems nationwide. By improving
risk information, forecasting, warning dissemination and
community preparedness, the project supports Fiji’s
commitments under the Sendai Framework, SDG 13 (Climate
Action), and the Paris Agreement, ensuring that no one is
left behind when disasters
strike.
