By JOHN HOUANIHAU
Officers from the Climate Change Division (CCD) of the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology (MECDM) have completed an eight-day training programme in Tulagi that aims to strengthen climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction in development planning.
According to a press release from MECDM, the training focused on improving participants’ understanding and practical use of the Integrated Risk-Informed Planning Tool (I-RIPLANT), a decision-support system developed by the ministry to support climate-resilient development planning and informed decision-making across Solomon Islands.
The programme brought together nine provincial officers, including Climate Change Adaptation and Community Risk Reduction Officers (CCARROs), who took part in technical presentations, practical exercises and group discussions to strengthen their planning and risk assessment skills.
The training was facilitated by Dr. Morgan Wairiu and Dr. Kristina Fidali, with participants also receiving technical guidance from Malachi Bate’e, whose practical expertise helped deepen their understanding of climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction.
MECDM said the training also highlighted the ministry’s ongoing efforts to integrate climate resilience into national, provincial and community development planning.
Stakeholders who attended the programme acknowledged the ministry’s commitment to build capacity across all levels of government.
The ministry said the Tulagi training builds on a similar programme held in Auki last year, where provincial officers were first introduced to the I-PLANT tool and basic Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping techniques to produce community climate risk and hazard maps.
According to the ministry, lessons learned from the earlier programme have identified areas requiring further improvement, prompting continued technical support for provincial teams involved in the Integrated Economic Development and Community Resilience (IEDCR) project.
Participants expressed appreciation to the Climate Change Division for providing the training opportunity and reaffirmed their commitment to apply the knowledge and skills gained to strengthen climate-resilient development initiatives in their respective provinces.
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