Ghana Hosts Forum on CLimSA ACMAD

Climate Services for Sustainable Adaptation Actions: Engagement with End-Users and Policymakers
and the African Centre of Meteorological Applications for Development (ACMAD) have in Accra over the week to deliberate on how to improve climate change adaptation in the continent.

The forum was under the theme
“Improving Climate Services for informing decision making in Africa”.

The forum seeks to provide an opportunity for the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) and Regional Climate Centres (RCCs) to share and exchange experiences in light of their pivotal role in integrating users’ feedback in providing climate services.

Addressing newsmen at the back stage of the event, Dr. D. Faka (Team Leader) –
of the CLIMSA program from OACPS secretariat in Brussels, stated the
Objectives of the forum as
obtaining’ feedback to improve the utility and benefits of climate service applications, thereby enhancing regional resilience in OACPS countries vulnerable to climate change.

Specific objectives includes the following,
reviewing tools and products/services generated by Regional Climate Centres (RCCs), assessing users’ adaptation measures derived from climate services, and analyzing feedback on the usefulness of climate services.

Exchanging best practices and lessons learned across regions, showcasing successful climate services mainstreaming for priority sectors and promoting a science-policy interface under the ClimSA programme were also priotised.

He indicated that areas that needs attention includes tailored climate services aligned with science-based knowledge, identification of best adaptive practices for climate services uptake,
improved application of climate services in climate-sensitive sectors,
establishment of new collaborations and partnerships for expertise exchange.

Increased awareness and understanding of climate mainstreaming modalities among end-users and policymakers according to him, must be taking seriously.

For him, a warming world, the need of climate science-based information for policy, planning and practice decisions, at all levels and scales is now more urgent than ever.

In partnership with the European Union (EU), the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) has initiated the Intra-ACP Climate Services and Related Application Programme (ClimSA), under the 11th European Development Fund (EDF).

ClimSA’s objectives are to provide members and regions of the OACPS innovative and collaborative solutions to manage climate-related risk considerations in their sustainable development policy, planning and practice decisions, by (i) Contributing to strengthening the production, availability, delivery and application of science-based information; and (ii) Building the capacity of decision-makers at all levels.

In the context of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development and the Paris Agreement, providing science-based information with reliable data on climate change and climate variability is critical for the 79 members and six regions of the OACPS to meet their commitments.
Source frank owusu obimpeh