Our work
Enhancing climate and ocean services across the Pacific
COSPPac supports Pacific Island countries to access and use reliable climate and ocean information to inform planning, strengthen disaster preparedness, and manage climate risks. By building local capability and delivering practical tools and services, the program helps communities make informed decisions that protect lives, livelihoods, and critical infrastructure.
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Supporting high-quality, long-term sea level and land movement information
The Pacific Sea Level and Geodetic Monitoring network, operating under COSPPac, provides accurate and continuous sea level and land movement measurements across the Pacific. The network was established in the early 1990s, when, with Australian Government funding, tide gauges were installed in 12 Pacific Island countries. It was later expanded to include measurements of vertical land movement. It now extends to 14 countries and is also supported by New Zealand.
Archiving long-term climate records and developing sector-specific products
Climate Data for the Environment (CliDE) is a climate database used by Pacific meteorological services to store, manage, and access climate information. By digitising historical paper records and securely archiving them, CliDE helps ensure valuable climate information is preserved and accessible for future use.
To support the practical use of this data, CliDE is complemented by CliDEsc, an application tool that enables meteorological services to analyse data and generate products such as climate summaries, reports, and early warning information.
Supporting the delivery of seasonal and within-season climate outlooks
With COSPPac support, Pacific meteorological services have produced tailored climate and ocean outlooks for different users. This includes sector-specific bulletins, coral bleaching alerts, as well as national Early Action Rainfall Watch (EAR Watch) Bulletins that help disaster management agencies, water authorities, planners, and communities prepare for extreme rainfall and drought. Pacific meteorological services also expanded their forecasts to include sub-seasonal outlooks covering weekly to monthly timeframes.
Supporting learning and Traditional Knowledge integration
Through training, mentoring, and regional collaboration, COSPPac has strengthened the ability of Pacific meteorological services to produce forecasts and communicate climate information that supports planning, preparedness, and disaster response. Capacity-building initiatives have built staff skills in data interpretation, forecasting, and inclusive stakeholder engagement.
Traditional Knowledge
An important part of this work is recognising and integrating Traditional Knowledge alongside scientific forecasting. For generations, Pacific Island elders have used environmental indicators to anticipate extreme events.
COSPPac works with meteorological services to document and digitise this knowledge through Traditional Knowledge databases and glossaries, helping to preserve it for future generations while strengthening locally relevant forecasting
Training and development
Through capacity development and mentoring, staff across meteorological services, government agencies, and partner organisations are better equipped to interpret data, use forecasting tools, and tailor climate and ocean products for key sectors including agriculture, fisheries, health, water, and transport.
For example, the Pacific Met Desk Training and Guidelines offer multiple opportunities for training in data management and analysis, the use of software tools, producing tailored climate information and delivering fit-for-purpose climate services.
The CliDEsc and applications Moodle course provides an introduction for new users, while the CliDEsc Cookbook for Product Developers is a guide for advanced users providing a general understanding of how to develop new products and to deploy these via the CliDEsc Content Management System.
Communication and inclusion
COSPPac has enhanced collaboration among meteorological services, government agencies, regional organisations, industries, and communities, while also improving how climate and ocean information is accessed, communicated, and shared.
Engagement platforms and co-design forums are designed to be gender-responsive and inclusive, helping to ensure services reach and are relevant to women, people with disabilities, and other marginalised groups who face the greatest climate risks.