Meteorological Service director Maara Vaiimene represented the Cook Islands at the Climate and Oceans Support Program in the Pacific (COSPPac) Annual Meeting in Honiara, Solomon Islands, last week.

The five-day meeting, which ran from May 12 to 16 at the Heritage Park Hotel in Honiara, focused on strengthening regional climate resilience through enhanced cooperation and innovative strategies.

It brought together representatives from Pacific National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) and technical partners, to gather feedback and secure endorsement for newly developed crosscutting strategies under the COSPPac programme.

The strategies included communications strategy, gender equality, disability and social inclusion (gedsi) strategy, traditional knowledge strategy, and the monitoring, evaluation, reporting and learning (MERL) strategy.

Vaiimene’s attendance highlights the Cook Islands’ commitment to regional collaboration on climate resilience and the importance of integrating traditional knowledge into modern forecasting techniques.

The meeting also provided an opportunity for Pacific meteorological leaders to review progress made during phase three of the COSPPac project and finalise the 2025-2026 work plan.