While world leaders negotiate climate policies and financial commitments at COP31, women in Vanuatu are already on the frontline of climate action, helping communities prepare for cyclones and other extreme weather events.

But despite their growing role in protecting lives and livelihoods, women say their work continues to face major challenges, including unreliable communication networks, limited resources, and inadequate support.

Through the Woman mo Weta network, women are working with the Vanuatu Meteorology and Hydrological Department (VMHD), area councils and community authorities to ensure weather warnings reach communities before disasters strike.

Janet Iatiknu says the program has significantly improved how communities prepare for cyclones compared to previous years, when many people lacked timely weather information.

She says the establishment of the Woman mo Weta Network in 2018 has helped communities become more aware of weather warnings and understand when, why and how to prepare.

“Compared to Cyclone Pam in 2015, when communities were left with nothing and experienced devastating losses, the establishment of the Woman mo Weta Network in 2018 has made a significant difference.

Communities became more aware of weather warnings and better prepared ahead of disasters.

“During the twin cyclones in 2023, our network helped disseminate clear and early warnings, which helped save lives and protect properties,” said Iatiknu.

However, ensuring weather information reaches everyone remains a major challenge.

Nancy Naupa says even when women have mobile phones and access to weather information, poor network coverage can prevent them from receiving or sharing urgent warnings during emergencies.

She says changing weather patterns and repeated disasters are also making recovery increasingly difficult for women and their communities.

“Another challenge is the changing weather patterns. In the past, our pupus (grandparents) would know what kind of weather to expect. But for us women today, we face disasters upon disasters. Cyclone after cyclone, with hardly any time or opportunity to recover,” Naupa said.

The network currently operates in five islands – Santo, Efate, Erromango, Tanna and Malo.

Naupa says more support is needed to strengthen the network, improve communication and expand the program to other islands so more women can prepare their communities for climate-related disasters.

For ActionAid Vanuatu, Country Manager Flora Vano, said these experiences are exactly why women’s voices must be heard at international climate negotiations.

She says global discussions often focus on government representatives, policies and agreements, while the everyday struggles of communities experiencing climate change receive insufficient attention.

“Voices of our women is very critical to be raised in these COPs. These international negotiations are only featuring official government ministers, but we don’t hear from the community. These negotiations are to do with paragraphs and policies, but these will not solve the needs of women in the community,” Vano said.

She highlights the difference between leaders participating in international climate discussions and women in remote communities who continue to struggle with basic services and access to information.

“These leaders live a luxury life, but these women have to get on boats from one point of the island to another, get water from wells, which is very hard,” she said.

Vano says women have to go from climbing trees to access mobile network coverage and pass on the important warnings to ensure their communities receive weather information.

She says their experiences must inform climate policies and financing decisions, ensuring resources reach the communities that need them most.

Vano also acknowledged the Vanuatu Government for allowing women from the Woman mo Weta network to participate in COP31, giving them an opportunity to understand the negotiations and bring their community experiences into international discussions.

Through partnerships with VMHD, agriculture authorities and the NDMO, the network is helping women become recognized not simply as vulnerable members of their communities, but as capable leaders in climate preparedness and resilience.

As climate negotiations continue at COP31, the women say strengthening community resilience requires more than early warning programs and trainings.

It also requires reliable communication systems, sustained resources, and investment to ensure women can continue protecting their communities in a growing world of climate change.