VanKIRAP-VBTC partnership to bring climate information to the people

PORT VILA: For many in Vanuatu, accessing reliable information about climate and weather can be hard. A new media partnership will use the Vanuatu national broadcaster’s almost 100% coverage footprint to bring everyone in Vanuatu quality, timely and relevant climate and weather information that they can use in their daily lives to plan for and respond to weather events and the changing climate.The Climate Information Services for Resilient Development in Vanuatu project (known locally by its Bislama acronym, VanKIRAP) and the Vanuatu Broadcasting and Television Corporation (VBTC) signed a partnership agreement last Friday to use VBTC’s radio, television, and social media channels to deliver climate and weather information to the nation.Vanuatu is one of the most vulnerable countries to the increasing impacts of extreme weather events and human-induced climate change. This includes climate-related natural disasters such as cyclones and droughts, as well as more slowly occurring climate change-related impacts like sea level rise and ocean acidification. This media partnership helps address this vulnerability by creating a better informed population, and by ensuring that reliable climate and weather information reaches everyone who needs it.