The basic conditions for the development of climate change adaptation measures and greenhouse gas emissions reduction are information and knowledge. Adaptation to climate change is a new direction in the development of many countries of the world, including Central Asia.
Developing local climate information resources in each country is often inefficient and very expensive. For example, in the European Union, for this purpose, a single Climate-ADAPT information platform has been created. This platform supports European countries in adapting to climate change, offering data that may be useful to them.
At present, the project “Climate change adaption and mitigation program in the Aral Sea Basin” (CAMP4ASB) is completing the development of the Central Asian Climate Information Platform (CACIP). It is being developed by a team of international and local specialists, involved by the ICARDA company. Right nowthe work on the platform is in progress, http://www.centralasiaclimateportal.org/.
On May 5, an online meeting was held to discuss the development of CACIP. The meeting was attended by representatives of the national partners of the CAMP4ASB project from government bodies of Tajikistan: the Committee for Environmental Protection, the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan: Uzhydromet, CAREC specialists from the CAMP4ASB project, CACIP - ICARDA development team.
During the meeting, Irina Bekmirzaeva, Manager of the CAMP4ASB Regional Coordination Group, talked about the role of the Central Asian Regional Environmental Center (CAREC) in the development of this platform as part of the regional component of the CAMP4ASB project. The launch of a new climate information resource is planned until September of this year.
Enrico Bonaiuti, ICARDA Central Asia Climate Information Portal Project Development Manager, briefly introduced the platform and its interactive tools and e-learning capabilities. The main goal of the platform is convenient access to global, regional and local data and information on climate change, as well as their processing and visualization in the form of infographics, maps, etc. The platform covers, along with databases, thematic scientific publications, reports, information on successful experience, events and other types of information.
At this point, CACIP provides access to more than 11 thousandsdocuments. The platform interface is available in 7 languages: English, Russian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Turkmen and Uzbek. CACIP allows working with data for many years. For example, sustainable land management maps show the dynamics over the past 40 years. The platform focuses on the climate information needs of various target groups. For example, mobile applications for farmers will allow them to receive daily recommendations on climate and hydrological data.
During the online meeting, plans on the provisions of an institutional framework for the sustainable functioning of the emerging Central Asian Climate Information Platform were also discussed. In addition to that, consultations are held with stakeholders in Central Asian countries and on this basis, a new information resource is being finalized and plans for its promotion and implementation are being adjusted. Besides that, additional work on the development of interactive maps, methodologies for assessing vulnerability and climate risks and other information materials are in progress.
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