Regional Implementation Activities William Westermeyer GCOS Steering Committee Meeting October 2008

GCOS Regional Activities Programme Regional Workshop Programme now formally ended, funds exhausted -- but opportunities for follow-up Two additional meetings held using RWP funds: Addis Ababa meeting 2006, which led to ClimDev Africa Belize implementation strategy meeting Climate Observations and Regional Modeling in Support of Climate Risk Management and Sustainable Development Other potential activities

ClimDev Africa: Some Recent Developments At least 8 possible donors expressing interest, in addition to African Development Bank Sweden, Norway, and UK have financed an appraisal mission on behalf of all donors Will provide guidance on initial inception phase of 6 mo. Early work on priority areas could begin during inception Initial establishment of Africa Climate Policy Centre Final appraisal or assessment before full implementation Other donors not yet approached, e.g., World Bank, will be encouraged to join African partners (AU, ECA, AFDB) seem to be converging in their views on roles, etc.

What Role for GCOS in ClimDev Africa? As member of the ClimDev Africa Steering Committee? To assist individual countries, groups of countries and/or regional organizations in the preparation of project proposals addressing observation needs that could be funded by ClimDev Africa? To work jointly with WMO to advance improvements in climate observations and services in Africa?

GCOS Implementation in Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean Follow-up to GCOS RAP for CAC countries Donors invited to consider proposalsWorld Bank, CDB, OAS, NOAA, Govts of Canada, Italy A focus on regional coordination and cooperation Some actions participants would like to see include: – Creation of a regional coordination committee under the auspices of the regional counterparts of GCOS sponsors – Appointment of a GCOS Regional Coordinator with responsibility to update RAP, facilitate implementation, and liaise with regional donor & partnership organizations – Hold annual implementation coordination meeting – Establish ongoing communication between Regional Coordinator and GCOS Secretariat

Proposals Considered in Belize The Provision of Additional and Better Upper Air Observations to Climatological Centers (6 GUAN + 13 RBCN); Creating and Sustaining a Regional Technical Support Center [funds received from Canada]; Improving Access to Climate Data in the Region (with special focus on recovery of historical data); Adapting to Climate Change: Raising Awareness in Central America and the Caribbean; and Creating an IOCARIBE-GOOS-GCOS Partnership to Support a Multi-Use Sea Level Observation Network for the Caribbean Region

Climate Observations and Regional Modeling in Support of Climate Risk Management and Sustainable Development: A World Bank Proposal Who: GCOS, WCRP, CLPA/WMO, ICPAC Other Partners: Hadley Centre, NCDC Where: Greater Horn of Africa Objectives of 3-workshop programme: – Ensure attention given by countries in Eastern Africa to observation and data needs – Demonstrate the use and value of regional models – Provide advice on model limitations – Improve regional capabilities for using data records and model projections for adaptation planning Funding and Startup Status: Uncertain

Problems and Options Bank will not allow funds ($100K) to support GCOS programme manager, in effect asking GCOS unsupported GCOS staff to work for free In addition to above, likely that insufficient funds requested to adequately implement proposal Potentially cumbersome reporting and procurement requirements of Bank Option?: Withdraw proposal, revise budget, resubmit to DFID, others as a pilot project within the ClimDev Africa Programme

GCOS and Adaptation - Better knowledge base better forecasting & climate services enhanced ability to adapt Importance of regional, national data as well as global data need to improve observations at all levels Importance of recovering historical data Importance of greater temporal and spatial detail Importance of making data accessible to users: all benefit Importance of understanding limits, as well as benefits, of the use of regional model output for adaptation planning Importance of promoting greater collaboration between the providers and users of climate information What does the new interest in adaptation mean for GCOS?

Some Potential Regional Activities 1. East and Southeast Asia (ASEAN countries) 2. Asian Development Bank 3. DFID South Asia