Pacific school infrastructure webinar builds resilience in the region

The Pacific region contributes a tiny share of global carbon emissions, yet it experiences some of the world’s most severe climate impacts. When school materials and buildings are damaged in a climate event, learning is disrupted, often for long periods of time, which can increase the risk of students dropping out of school.

Yet Ministries of Education (MOEs) across the Pacific are grappling with climate-caused challenges in schools, often in isolation. The Global Buildings Performance Network (GBPN) in partnership with Save the Children, recently hosted the Pacific Climate Smart Education Systems Initiative: School Infrastructure webinar, in order to support knowledge sharing and create space for peer learning across the region. The webinar is the first in a three part school infrastructure peer-learning series. 

For the first time, MOE infrastructure representatives and local experts came together to exchange experiences on managing school buildings in the face of climate risks. Representatives from Tonga, Fiji, and Vanuatu explained how they navigate post-disaster recovery, conduct risk assessments with limited resources, and strengthen school safety planning over time. 

Pacific Island States are among the most remote places in the world, resulting in logistical challenges alongside constant exposure to natural hazards. Cyclones, coastal flooding, sea-level rise, and salt corrosion are not abstract risks, but recurring realities that communities face year after year. When the impacts of climate-related disasters are  measured in damaged homes and lost livelihoods, the education sector can get overlooked. 

Cyclone Gita in 2018 damaged 75 per cent of schools on Tonga’s main island, Tongatapu, resulting in losses of more than $10 million. Reflecting on Tonga’s response to the cyclone, Leveni Aho, former Director of the National Disaster Management Office, described how post-disaster assessments have informed improvements in school design. 

“Schools in Tonga are now designed to better withstand future risks,” Aho says. 

“These include cyclone-resistant roofing systems, wind and seismic multi-hazard structural design, and strengthened water storage, WASH resilience, and sustainable power solutions.”

Akuila Raibe, Principal Education Officer for Assets and Infrastructure at Fiji’s Ministry of Education, Heritage and Arts explained the step by step process that they went through to strengthen the climate resilience of their school infrastructure. “We conducted assessment of buildings using AKVO-Flow software which can be integrated into the Education Information Management System. We made efforts to ensure that the school disaster risk reduction handbook has clear inclusive and gender responsive guidance and tools,” Raibe says.  

In Vanuatu – one of the most disaster-prone states in the region – Samson Sawan, Principal Education Officer for Assets and Infrastructure of the Ministry of Education and Training, highlighted the importance of one key factor.

“Operational changes such as clear roles, agreed standards, and community consultation and mobilisation are important to ensure that solutions are supported by local people, and the skills exist locally to build and maintain structures,” Sawan says. “Vanuatu has recently revised its National Building Code and is implementing a rigorous Building Strong and Building Safe strategy. The Ministry has strengthened school-building approval processes to support climate-resilient reconstruction, including quality-assured supervision.” Targeted training for facilities unit officers and local stakeholders, alongside embedding climate smart criteria in the contracting and procurement processes, has further improved compliance.

Webinar participants also raised practical questions linked to day-to-day challenges, including roofing corrosion. Discussions highlighted nature-based options, such as planting coconut palm barriers to reduce salt spray reaching structures. Others shared updated roofing specifications, including BlueScope Lysaght COLORBOND® products designed for harsh coastal and maritime conditions and roofs with steeper pitches to enable salt wash off. 

Participants also discussed monitoring school buildings across remote islands, with Tonga sharing its experience of using drones deployed from ships for cost-efficient rapid post-disaster assessments, while Vanuatu explained how it relies on provincial project managers and maintenance officers. 

The webinar underscored the depth of local expertise and the value of peer learning in identifying practical, locally relevant solutions to shared regional challenges.

As global efforts accelerate toward net-zero, resilience in regions such as the Pacific is crucial. Designing schools that are better adapted to local climate conditions helps reduce the need for frequent repairs and rebuilding after disasters. Fewer repairs mean lower material use, reduced transport emissions, and infrastructure that lasts longer, all of which support longer-term emissions reduction goals while improving safety and continuity of learning.

The Pacific Helpdesk and the accompanying series of guidance notes are designed to support MOEs in this work. By helping integrate climate resilience into school building codes and infrastructure planning, these tools aim to translate shared experience into sustainable, systemic improvements. The GBPN Pacific Hub and the Pacific Climate Resilient Education and School Safety (CRESS) Community of Practice, hosted on the Waka Moana Learning Hub platform, serve as growing hubs for region-specific resources across education systems, while the Helpdesk provides tailored, remote technical support to ministries navigating complex and evolving challenges.

The peer learning series will continue to offer a platform for Pacific Island States to move from shared experience to shared progress, strengthening school infrastructure systems that are resilient, inclusive, and designed to endure in a changing climate.

To request support, visit the Pacific Helpdesk or contact Leanne Harrison at leanne.harrison@gbpn.org.

This activity is part of the Climate Smart Education Systems Initiative supported by the Global Partnership for Education.