SAMOA

• View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240318208761/en/
  The year 2024 is of paramount importance for our future.
• We face an urgent need to handle the climate crisis, within the broader range of Sustainable Development Goals.
• This year’s high-level meetings leading up to COP29 will focus on climate finance, aiming to address the substantial funding gaps.
• “Adaptation finance must be at the heart of the negotiations towards COP29.

• NADI, Fiji, March 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- There's never been a better time to book your holiday with Fiji Airways announcing one of its biggest sales.
• In announcing the sale, Fiji Airways Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Mr. Andre Viljoen highlighted that this is the biggest campaign the National Airline has embarked on in the last three years.
• "I am genuinely excited as this is our largest sale for Fiji and the Pacific.
• Apart from these package deals, this sale also includes attractive airfares across the Fiji Airways network.

• Former Rivals Cite Palmer's Gaza, Immigration, and Economic Policies
  PHOENIX, March 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Democratic Presidential Candidate Jason Palmer, the surprise winner of the American Samoa caucus, today announced a comprehensive plan to solve America's immigration crisis and simultaneously received the endorsement of three other candidates in advance of Tuesday's Presidential primary in Arizona.
• Palmer announces comprehensive plan to solve America's immigration crisis and receives endorsements from former rivals.
• Gabriel Cornejo stated, "Jason Palmer has been advocating for a ceasefire since November.
• Frankie Lozada agreed, "Jason Palmer has been a true ally in advocating for peace in Gaza since the beginning of this campaign.

• One man mentioned a black-winged storm bird known as “manumanunicagi” that glides above the land only when a cyclone is forming out to sea.
• As the conversation continued, residents named at least 11 bird species, the odd behaviour of which signalled imminent changes in the weather.
• We reviewed evidence on traditional knowledge in the Pacific for coping with climate change, and found much of it was scientifically plausible.

A proven, robust system

• People have inhabited the Pacific Islands for 3,000  years or more and have experienced many climate-driven challenges to their livelihoods and survival.
• They have coped not by luck but by design – through robust systems of traditional knowledge built by diverse groups of people over time.
• Traditional knowledge in the Pacific explains the causes and manifestations of natural phenomena, and identifies the best ways to respond.

Reading the ocean and sky

• In Vanuatu’s Torres Islands, 13 phrases exist to describe the state of the tide, including anomalies that herald uncommon events.
• Distant storms can drive ocean swells onto coasts long before the winds and rain arrive, changing the usual patterns of waves.
• Winds that blow from the east (matā ‘upolu) indicate the imminent arrival of heavy rain, possibly a tropical cyclone.
• Many Pacific Island communities believe a cloudless, dark blue sky signals the arrival of a tropical cyclone.

The wisdom of animals and plants

• In Tonga, when the frigate bird flies across the land – unusual behaviour for an ocean species – it signals a tropical cyclone is developing.
• Another study, which included data on frigate birds in the Pacific, found seabirds appeared to circumvent cyclones, probably by sensing wind strength and direction.

• Traditional knowledge about insect behaviour in the Pacific Islands is also used to predict wet weather.
• Across the Pacific, common signs of impending wet weather are found in the behaviours of some plants.
• This can be explained scientifically by a process in which plant leaves close to protect their reproductive organs from extreme weather.

Planning for a warmer future

• This is true of the Pacific Islands, where in some places, traditional knowledge is all but forgotten.
• As climate change impacts worsen, optimal planning for island peoples should combine both approaches.

Patrick D. Nunn receives funding from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) via the Australia Pacific Climate Partnership (APCP), the Australian Research Council, and the Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research. Roselyn Kumar receives funding from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) via the Australia Pacific Climate Partnership (APCP)