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Abstract
Agricultural stakeholders can effectively manage the risks and opportunities arising from climate change and variability by enhancing climate services in agriculture. Key to understanding and addressing the climate challenge is the provision and the use of climate information to aid decision-makers and policy-makers. Climate services are now integral to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Assessment Reports, governments’ national adaptation plans, funding bodies, and a growing number of sectors and industries worldwide. The article provides our personal perspective, experience, and views on the important and timely issue of managing better the risks and opportunities to the agriculture sector and community that are arising from changes in climate. We describe a framework to help drive action to tackle the climate challenge comprising enhanced knowledge and information products, efficient information delivery and use, and assured policy and institutional support, in an iterative loop.
Abstract
Agricultural stakeholders can effectively manage the risks and opportunities arising from climate change and variability by enhancing climate services in agriculture. Key to understanding and addressing the climate challenge is the provision and the use of climate information to aid decision-makers and policy-makers. Climate services are now integral to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Assessment Reports, governments’ national adaptation plans, funding bodies, and a growing number of sectors and industries worldwide. The article provides our personal perspective, experience, and views on the important and timely issue of managing better the risks and opportunities to the agriculture sector and community that are arising from changes in climate. We describe a framework to help drive action to tackle the climate challenge comprising enhanced knowledge and information products, efficient information delivery and use, and assured policy and institutional support, in an iterative loop.
Drought is a global problem that has far-reaching impacts, especially on vulnerable populations in developing regions. This paper highlights the need for a Global Drought Early Warning System (GDEWS), the elements that constitute its underlying framework (GDEWF), and the recent progress made toward its development. Many countries lack drought monitoring systems, as well as the capacity to respond via appropriate political, institutional, and technological frameworks, and these have inhibited the development of integrated drought management plans or early warning systems. The GDEWS will provide a source of drought tools and products via the GDEWF for countries and regions to develop tailored drought early warning systems for their own users. A key goal of a GDEWS is to maximize the lead time for early warning, allowing drought managers and disaster coordinators more time to put mitigation measures in place to reduce the vulnerability to drought. To address this, the GDEWF will take both a top-down approach to provide global realtime drought monitoring and seasonal forecasting, and a bottom-up approach that builds upon existing national and regional systems to provide continental-to-global coverage. A number of challenges must be overcome, however, before a GDEWS can become a reality, including the lack of in situ measurement networks and modest seasonal forecast skill in many regions, and the lack of infrastructure to translate data into useable information. A set of international partners, through a series of recent workshops and evolving collaborations, has made progress toward meeting these challenges and developing a global system.
Drought is a global problem that has far-reaching impacts, especially on vulnerable populations in developing regions. This paper highlights the need for a Global Drought Early Warning System (GDEWS), the elements that constitute its underlying framework (GDEWF), and the recent progress made toward its development. Many countries lack drought monitoring systems, as well as the capacity to respond via appropriate political, institutional, and technological frameworks, and these have inhibited the development of integrated drought management plans or early warning systems. The GDEWS will provide a source of drought tools and products via the GDEWF for countries and regions to develop tailored drought early warning systems for their own users. A key goal of a GDEWS is to maximize the lead time for early warning, allowing drought managers and disaster coordinators more time to put mitigation measures in place to reduce the vulnerability to drought. To address this, the GDEWF will take both a top-down approach to provide global realtime drought monitoring and seasonal forecasting, and a bottom-up approach that builds upon existing national and regional systems to provide continental-to-global coverage. A number of challenges must be overcome, however, before a GDEWS can become a reality, including the lack of in situ measurement networks and modest seasonal forecast skill in many regions, and the lack of infrastructure to translate data into useable information. A set of international partners, through a series of recent workshops and evolving collaborations, has made progress toward meeting these challenges and developing a global system.
