Kingdom of Tonga/Pacific Region
The Kingdom of Tonga is a Polynesian

conducted covering Eua Island and thearchipelago in the South Paciﬁc Ocean withremaining islands of the Ha’apai Group. In

170 islands, of which only 36 are inhabited.

2021, another survey was conducted for theWith a total surface area of approximately

Island750 km2 scattered over 700,000 km2 of theOrthoimages,

Paciﬁc Ocean, Tonga consists of more waterContours,

than dry land. Its location makes it highly

generated from these surveys. The Ministry ofvulnerable to natural disasters and theLands and Natural Resources conducted

impacts of climate change, such as sea-levelsmall-scale drone surveys to obtain more

rise, and it faces more frequent and severe

recent images. Between 2023 - 2024, 32

weather events, such as tropical cyclones

villages were droned to collect images thatand drought. To strengthen the management

can be used to identify changes before andof Geospatial Information in Tonga, theafter a cyclone event. The products generated

National Integrated Geospatial Action Planfrom these surveys further support Quarry

2023 – 2027 was developed and launchedAnalysis, Flood Analysis, Tsunami Modelling,

through the guidance of the Integrated

Identifying coastal changes, and so much

Geospatial Information Framework (IGIF).

more.

Remote Sensing plays a crucial role in various
areas, with

its signiﬁcance particularly

pronouncedin

DisasterManagement,Environmental monitoring, and Agriculturalmonitoring.

andofDigital

Vava’uandElevation

Building

Niua.
Models,Polygons

were

2. Disaster Management
In 2022, Tonga was greatly affected by theHunga Tonga – Hunga Ha’apai volcaniceruption and tsunami. This became a trigger
for improving strategies and monitoring
natural hazards and weather events in the1. Environmental Monitoring
Having updated aerial imagery is crucial for
decision-making in Tonga. Aerial images areused for various reasons, particularly in urban
planning,Groupdisastermanagement,

environmental monitoring, and infrastructuredevelopment. Over the years, Tonga has beencollecting aerial images from LIDAR Surveys.
In 2012, the main island of Tongatapu and themain island of the Ha’apai Group (Lifuka)
were surveyed. In 2018, another survey wasKingdom. Thus, the integration of Remote
Sensing become vital in various agencies. At
the Tonga Geological Services, satellite
images monitor volcanic activities. TheNOAA/CIMMSS Volcano Cloud Monitoring
Web Portal offers multiple satellite images
and monitors Thermal Anomaly and Ashcovers. The Sentinel Hub is also now used tolook at visuals on the islands, such as
monitoring growth or size. Access to satellite
imagery is valuable because islands arewidely spread and remote in Tonga. Other

Agencies have also begun to create platformsof the National Forest Inventory Document tofor sharing information and installed newthe Government of Tonga and Tongan

equipment to improve monitoring. Two newforesters and 2) Capacity building on Satellite

activities were launched during the 53rdImagery. The National Forest Inventory aims

Paciﬁc Islands Forum Leaders Meeting into support the sustainable management ofTonga in August 2024. The ﬁrst activity aimed

Tonga’s forests and tree resources.

to enhance disaster preparedness using
remote sensing in Tonga and is a joint
initiative

bytheUN-SPIDER

andtheCommittee on Earth Observation Satellites(CEOS) for a CEOS Tonga Preparedness PilotProject.

TheNationalDisasterRisk

Management Office leads this initiative inTonga and will utilise satellite imagery andadvanced Earth observation technologies toenhance

ourdisaster

preparedness

signiﬁcantly. The second activity was the
deployment of Tonga’s ﬁrst Weather Radar at
the Tonga Meteorological Services. Weather
Radar coverage in the Paciﬁc is sparse;
therefore, this addition provides improved airmeasurements. This is a crucial tool for Tonga,
given its exposure to severe weather events
suchas cyclones, heavy

rainfall, andthunderstorms.
3. Agriculture Monitoring
Satellite Images were used to identify land
cover changes in Tonga. In collaboration withthe Tongan Department of Forestry, theGlobal Green Growth Institute (GGGI), as animplementing partner of the Regional Paciﬁc
NDC Hub, conducted two major activities tosupport the preparation of Tonga’s National
Forest Inventory (NFI) during a workshop on
July 23, 2024. These included 1) the handover

The application of Remote Sensing in various
ﬁelds is still growing in Tonga. However,
several limitations and challenges hinder thisgrowth,
technicalincluding

ﬁnancial

expertise,

infrastructurelimited

andconstraints,
accesstechnology,

toandgeographic and environmental challenges.
However, continuous support is provided
throughDevelopment

Partners,

Foreign

Embassies, and Regional Organizations toovercome these challenges.
END