SOPAC - Applied Geoscience and Technology Division - SPC

The first three of six boreholes planned for Tongatapu have been drilled to a depth of approximately 50 metres near the international airport and at the Mataki‘eua wellfield in Tonga.

Funded by the EU Disaster Risk Reduction Project in Eight Pacific ACP States (B-Envelope) and implemented by the Applied Geoscience and Technology (SOPAC) Division of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), the project is working closely with Tonga’s Ministry of Lands, Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resources to bore holes that will be used to monitor water quality on Tongatapu.

TUESDAY 25 SEPTEMBER 2012 - ‘It really is very simple. The workshop is about improving the safety of life at sea.’

Dr Russell Howorth of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) made this comment in his opening address of the Hydrographic Surveying and Nautical Charting Workshop, taking place at Fiji’s Naval Headquarters from 24 September to 5 October.

Dr Howorth, Director of SPC Applied Geoscience and Technology Division, said that the aim of the workshop, funded by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and organised by SPC, is to assist the participating countries to meet the basic requirements of navigation and safety as required and regulated by IMO’s International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea.

‘We must support campaigns to raise awareness of the safety and economic importance of hydrographic surveying and nautical charting services in the region,’ said Dr Howorth.

Hydrographic surveys refer to mapping the seabed, while nautical charts show maritime areas and include features of the seabed, navigational hazards and other details; charts being to ships what roadmaps are to cars.

From the Manager’s Desk

We’ve passed the mid-point for 2012 and have developed a few stories from the work we’ve done over July and August which we hope you will find interesting. These recent months have also seen a hive of activity for us in terms of our preparations for the 4th session of the Pacific Platform for Disaster Risk Management and Regional Water & Sanitation Consultations which are coming together this year in Noumea, New Caledonia on 17th – 21st September. We hope to have some interesting results from that meeting and look forward to sharing these with you in our next edition.

In July, SOPAC DRP bade farewell to our Training Support Officer, Vuli Gauna. During his time with the programme he visited a number of Pacific Island countries to assist with the development of national trainers and to implement DRM training courses in support of national capacity building efforts. Vuli recently led the completion and implementation of the new Disaster Risk Reduction course – a major undertaking.

Vuli has taken up a position with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) regional delegation in Suva, as the Regional Disaster Management Programme Manager, and can be contacted at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

We wish Vuli all the best in his future endeavours and know that his disaster management training expertise will still be utilized across the region in his new career.

I hope you will enjoy reading this edition.

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Mosese Sikivou
Deputy Director, Disaster Reduction Programme

31st August 2012 - A study of tropical cyclones and associated wave action is providing information that can be used to assess the resilience of Mangaia, the most southern of the Cook Islands, to the impacts of climate change and sea level rise.

Mr Jens Kruger of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) said that with coastal communities, private property, family homes and public infrastructure, such as the harbour, already exposed to extreme weather events, the recent study will help to support a risk-based approach to climate change adaptation.

Mr Kruger is the Physical Oceanographer with SPC’s Oceans and Islands Programme in the Applied Geoscience and Technology (SOPAC) Division.

He explained that data gathered during the study can be used to develop models of different scenarios to assess how changes in the climate and sea level would affect the frequency, magnitude and extent of coastal inundation on the island of Mangaia.

The data were collected by a team from SPC/SOPAC, the Cook Island's Ministry of Infrastructure and Planning, and New Zealand’s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research.

The research is part of the Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change project, funded by the Global Environment Facility through UNDP Samoa and SPREP (Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme). The project involves 14 Pacific Island countries including Cook Islands.

‘A key outcome of the study has been the Cook Islands Coastal Calculator, an engineering spreadsheet that can be used to provide information on waves and water levels at the shoreline, wave run-up and the resulting inundation,’ said Mr Kruger.