The need for strong weather and climate services to reduce vulnerability and promote sustainable development will be addressed by the Third Annual Conference on Climate Change and Development in Africa (CCDA-III) (http://www.climdev-africa.org/ccda3) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 21 – 23 October, 2013.
Organized by the African Climate Policy Centre (ACPC), under the auspices of the Climate for Development in Africa (ClimDev-Africa) Programme, the conference’s theme is Africa on the rise: can the opportunities from climate change spring the continent to transformative development?
The African Union and the World Meteorological Organization will co-host a side event that will identify current gaps and future needs in the provision of weather and climate services. It will also discuss a range of potential solutions through the implementation of the Integrated African Strategy on Meteorology (Weather and Climate Services), that can positively impact the lives and livelihoods of African communities.
The side event will further discuss the need for African political leadership and cooperation to strengthen and mainstream weather and climate services into the decision-making and development planning process in key sectors such as agriculture, water resources and transport.
The African continent’s weak adaptive capacity increases its exposure to climate change and limits its ability to benefit from advances in climate science. Many National Meteorological and Hydrological Services have limited resources.
The African Ministerial Conference on Meteorology (AMCOMET) provides political support to strengthen national meteorological services to enable them to perform their mandate and thus contribute to transformative development in Africa.
The Integrated African Strategy on Meteorology developed under AMCOMET and endorsed by the African Union, positions weather and climate services as essential components in poverty alleviation, disaster risk management and sustainable development efforts. The Strategy is a key component in the implementation of the Global Framework for Climate Service (GFCS) (http://gfcs-climate.org) in Africa to increase the provision of user-driven climate services, especially in the priority areas of food security, water management, disaster risk reduction and health.
Source: African Ministerial Conference on Meteorology (AMCOMET) Press Release
