This February, the Pacific RISA team traveled to Palau for a week to support the co-development of climate services and products that are locally relevant, impact-driven, support sector-based decision making, and to build local capacity to access and use climate data and information. Part of the team’s international work on climate services delivery, the week advanced our research on climate impacts to human health and agriculture, key priority areas for Palau as identified in multiple national reports and planning documents.

After learning during the 2024 climate services dialog in Palau that taro (kukau, in Palauan) is a staple crop of high importance for food security and island sustainability, the team developed a prototype of an early warning dashboard for taro producers, who are primarily women as heads of households. During this visit, the goal was to evaluate ways to improve the draft dashboard and enhance its practicality for users. Information below was primarily gathered through taro patch visits with farmers, but also includes information gathered during meetings with NGOs, as well as government officials. Nearly all taro patches in Palau depend on surface water availability, so knowledge of rainfall amounts and frequency, as well as temperature and duration of hot and sunny weather, is crucial for making planting decisions or other interventions, such as when to cover vulnerable crops. With this information, the team will update the dashboard and integrate other suggested tools, such as a community news page for information exchange.