Pradeep Kurukulasuriya Mark Tadross Doha, Dec 2012

1. Strengthening climate information and early warning systems for climate resilient development and adaptation to climate changeStatus of the UNDP-GEF Supported Initiatives in 10 countries in Africa Pradeep Kurukulasuriya Mark Tadross Doha, Dec 2012

2. Overview • 11 Least Developed African countries – Benin, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Sao Tome & Principe, Gambia, Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia • Projects will address NAPA-identified priorities (LDCF funding) • Two main components: • Transfer of technologies for climate and environmental monitoring (mostly investment) • Climate information integrated into development plans and early warning systems (mostly technical assistance)

3. Developments to date • Project development team: • 6 international lead developers (1-2 countries each) • 1-2 national counterparts in each country • Initial planning meeting for international lead developers • Government-led stakeholder workshops in each country • Initial consultations with key government departments, NGOs and the private sector • National Meteorological and Hydrological Agencies • Ministries of Agriculture and Health • Disaster Management Agencies • Cell phone companies and power generation utilities

4. Challenges for implementation • Equipment: • Rehabilitation of existing weather and hydrological stations is sometimes preferable to new equipment • Current observations often relayed by telephone • Automatic Stations (transmitting via GPRS or satellites) are preferred but may not be practical (limited GPRS coverage) or easy to maintain (skills to fix) • Incompatibility of equipment from different manufacturers exacerbates maintenance and functional difficulties • Radar only covers small regions (often around airports) and involves large investment and maintenance costs • Calibration equipment often lacking • Satellite-receiving equipment in disrepair or data inaccessible to institutions who can use it • Data archiving facilities inconsistent, centralised etc.

5. Challenges for implementation • Institutional • Data collectors receive limited incentives to report data regularly • Limited facilities for receiving and archiving data • Limited national capacity for implementation • Limited budgets for hiring new staff • Communication and dissemination • SMS systems for reporting and dissemination require operational budgets • Centralised facilities for issuing timely warnings to districts/provinces are not always functional • Forecasts not useful e.g. not adapted to specific sectors • Limited use of internationally available forecasts and monitoring

6. Challenges for implementation • Operational • Limited operational budgets limit the effectiveness and sustainability of interventions • Few private sector services • Climate information not combined with other information on vulnerability to enhance warnings • High turnover and lack of trained personnel • Slow procurement processes • Legislative • Met services are often not fully constituted • Lack of dedicated Institutions mandated to issue warnings

7. Approach to project design • Identify users/sectors in need of climate-related warnings and long-term observations. Assess feasibility and costs of providing new and rehabilitated equipment • Assess current and past activities to improve climate-related technologies and EWS – identify (un)successful approaches • Identify current systems, weaknesses in the flow of information, dependencies on skilled human resources • Use satellite monitoring information in place of observations where feasible, cost-effective and accurate • Improve forecast infrastructure and technologies – assess if forecasts can be shown to have useful skill • Wherever feasible, utilise monitoring and forecasts from international and regional centres

8. Next steps ……… • 14 national and 6 international team members engaging with government agencies, NGOs and donors to: • Understand current deficiencies in observational network and development of climate related information • Assess problems related to human resources, budgets, institutional capacity, communication of information etc. • Ongoing information, interactions and feedback via blog site: http://www.ews-undp.blogspot.com • In-country consultations to be held between November 2012 and January 2013 • 1st draft project documents: January 2013 • Feedback and review workshops: February - March 2013 • Submission final documents to GEF: April 2013

9. Collaboration and alignment with regional, bi- and multi-lateral initiatives • Regional: • ACMAD, ICPAC • SADC, COMESA, ECOWAS • Bi-lateral donors: • DFID, GIZ, JICA, USAID • Multi-lateral donors: • UN (WMO, FAO, WFP, UNEP, UNDP-BCPR, ISDR) • World Bank, IFC, GFDRR • AMESD (EU)

10. Timeline for project development phase Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan 2013 Feb Mar Apr May Jun Inception Workshops Initial consultations Project design National consultations, riskmapping, hardware inventory, capacityassessments, budget analyses, O&M costs etc. 1st Draftreview Validation workshops +government consultations 2nd Draft Logicalframework financing plan Final Draft Submission for CEO Clearance, adjustment based on GEF review