- Servicing Development Actors in Africa

Climate risk management is an approach to climate-sensitive decision making that is increasingly seen as the way forward in dealing with climate variability and change.

In Africa, climate information exists that could improve decision making within numerous sectors of the society, thereby mitigating the effects of adverse climate. But at present this information is seldom incorporated in development decisions. The main problem is one of “market atrophy”: negligible demand coupled with inadequate supply of climate services for development decisions. While important exceptions exist, poor incorporation of climate considerations in development is widespread from policy level to field operations. This quasi nonexistent user-provider interaction is prevalent in all sectors and affects government, private sector and civil society partners similarly.

Workshop Format:
Half-day of round-table discussions at the Graduate Institute

Objectives:

• Bringing together policy-makers, experts as well as stakeholders from the development community and providers of climate information to exchange experiences and discuss the building of climate services in Africa;
• Exchanging experiences about the climate information needs/demand as well as institutional aspects and mechanisms for cooperation that would facilitate a better access to climate information and products targeted at end users

Key questions for discussion:

• What kind of climate products for Africa?
• What are important sources of demand for climate information which so far have been overlooked?
• How to bridge the disconnect between climate services and development priorities?
• How to translate climate information into operational decision support tools?
• How to build more effective channels of communication between the climate information providers and the users? How to reach the ultimate beneficiaries at the community-local level?
• How to evaluate development programs?

Invitees:

• Staff of relevant international organizations, e.g. World Meteorological Organization
  
• Swiss negotiators in climate change issues
  
• Professors from the Graduate Institute
  
• Development community