Commissioning of the (1) Hahake Coastal Protection, (2) the Evacuation Roads, and the (3) Automatic Weather Station under the Climate Resilience Sector Project (CRSP), which Funded by the ADB & Government of Tonga
18 November 2019; Venue: Navutoka; Time: 12:00 pm
The Prime Minister for Tonga Honorable Dr. Pohiva Tu’i’onetoa commissioned the Hahake Coastal Protection, Evacuation Roads, and the Meteorological Equipment’s under the Climate Resilience Sector Project (CRSP) on 18 November 2019 at 12:00pm in Navutoka, Tongatapu.
The Climate Resilience Sector Project is under the grant provided by the Asian Development Bank Strategic Climate Fund for US$19.25 million, which was approved on 9 December 2013, signed on 25 February 2014 and was declared effective on 12 March 2014. The project is to implement the Strategic Program for Climate Resilience prepared by the Government of Tonga under the Pilot Program for Climate Resilience (PPCR). The project closing date was extended to 30 November 2019 from 30 June 2019 to enable the project to complete remaining works and ensure smooth transition of ongoing activities and responsibilities to Government. The Government had also contributed $2.5 million US dollars. The total project cost is US$23.13 million. SMEC Limited – Surbana Jurong’s, and the ITS as the project management unit is managing the project.
CRSP objective is to increase resilience of vulnerable communities to climate variability and change, disaster, and mainstreaming climate risk management and adaptation in development planning of key vulnerable sectors.
The project outputs are: (a) ensuring climate resilience is mainstreamed into development planning of key vulnerable sectors; (b) improving capacities to monitor and manage Tonga climate data and information; (c) establishing a sustainable financing mechanism to support community based climate change adaptation responsive investments; (d) increasing eco-system resilience and climate infrastructure investments; and (e) ensuring that the project is successfully managed and implemented.
The project strengthens government and community capacities to finance, develop, monitor, and implement investments to improve ecosystem resilience and climate-proof critical infrastructure.
The impact envisioned is to increase resilience in economic, social, and eco-systems to climate variability and change and disaster risk in Tonga. The overall outcome is to strengthen the enabling environment for climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction at national and local level.
(1) HAHAKE COASTAL PROTECTION
Hahake Coastal Protection is 2.305 km length, which provides coastal protection for Navutoka and Manuka. The crest of the seawall is 2.7m above ground level. This allows 0.5m freeboards above high-water mark. The design included geotextile underlay. Construction included 3 boat ramps; picnic areas; and landscaping is included. Two boat trailers were procured to assist the local fisherman and communities to pull local fishing boats in and out of the water easily in preparation for cyclone seasons. Construction was underway in April 2018 and was completed in September 2019. The contractor was the Petani Quarry, and the seawall was constructed for 4.4 million pa’anga.
Seawall protecting Navutoka community
Boat ramp & foot of the seawall
Construction
Landscaping
(2) EVACUATION ROADS
Construction of evacuation and post disaster access roads provide escape routes for areas vulnerable to flooding and tsunamis in Talafo’ou, Navutoka, Popua, and Tufuvai ‘Eua. MoI issued work in 21 July 2017 for $3.1 pa’anga total. Total evacuation road length constructed is 6.6km. Work was completed in August 2018. Evacuation road construction contractor was Luna’eva.
The evacuation roads are vital because it will enable the communities to safely escape to higher ground in the event of storm surge or a tsunami.
Tufuvai evacuation road – BEFORE
Tufuvai evacuation road – AFTER
Navutoka Talafo’ou evacuation roads
Popua Evacuation Road
(3) METEOROLOGICAL EQUIPMENT, COASTAL MONITORING SYSTEM, AND INSTALLATION OF THE AUTOMATIC WEATHER STATION (AWS)
The Tonga Meteorological Service (TMS) under the Climate Sector Resilience Project (CRSP) aims to increase its capacity to provide improved weather and marine forecasts, and to develop improved meteorological and coastal data to assist and inform planning for adaptation to climate change. MEIDECC issued the contract to the National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research Ltd. in August 2018. Installation work was completed in October 2019 for US$ 1.5m. Work covers instruments and related components for the 23 met stations including 2 permanent sea- level stations installed throughout Tonga, computer database hardware, fencing, civil works, sea level stations, design of the network, temporary coastal data collection stations, forecasting products, hardwares and softwares, and associated training to meteorological staffs.
AWS & Data Logger Installation by NIWA & Meteorological Team, MEIDECC
AWS communications box from the set of site photographs archived in CliDE Automatic Weather Station, METEO
Buoys Installation for coastal modeling by METEO & NIWA Team