Inter-institutional cooperation, key to the fight against climate change, makes the "Training in Climate Services" course possible.
La Antigua Guatemala, May 8th, 2023. From May 8th to 19th, the Training Center in La Antigua Guatemala of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) will host the development of the course "Training in Climate Services". 22 students from 11 Latin American and Caribbean countries will benefit from this training activity organized within the framework of the European Union's Euroclima Program.
The purpose of this activity is to train experts from the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) of 11 Latin American and Caribbean countries in the provision of climate services and knowledge of the characteristics of regionalized climate change scenarios. This activity corresponds to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.
The expert faculty of the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET), as the Regional Training Center of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), and the Rovira i Virgili University (URV), will provide an extensive program of lectures and activities on climate services and scenarios.
Among the issues to be addressed in the course are the creation and management of climate databases; the development of climate change indicators; the use and interpretation of seasonal forecasts and climate projections; the creation and management of climate services; and tools and strategies for communicating their data to potential users.
According to the special report on managing extreme weather and disaster risks to enhance adaptation to climate change, presented by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), "Extreme weather events, exposure and vulnerability are influenced by a wide range of factors, including anthropogenic climate change, natural climate variability and socioeconomic development. Disaster risk management and climate change adaptation focus on reducing exposure and vulnerability and increasing resilience to the potential adverse impacts of extreme weather events, even though risks cannot be completely eliminated."
In this sense, the generation of immediate and reliable climate information is essential to anticipate possible weather scenarios that contribute to the adoption of measures to reduce risks and vulnerabilities in the fields of agriculture, fisheries, water management, among other sectors that depend on scientific information to plan their activities. The generation of reliable climate information requires updated meteorological services, as well as the exchange of information and access to existing databases.
Synergies in international cooperation
The activity brings together 22 officials from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Uruguay, and the Dominican Republic belonging to the Conference of Directors of Ibero-American Meteorological and Hydrological Services (CIMHET). The course is the result of the synergies and programs of several institutions with extensive experience in development cooperation and international training in meteorology:
- Capacity building project on climate change scenarios of the European Union's Euroclima Program, implemented by the International and Ibero-American Foundation for Public Administration and Policies (FIIAAP).
- AECID Intercoonecta 2022-2023 Program Provision of meteorological and climate services for disaster risk reduction and adaptation to climate change.
- Expert faculty in climate services and scenarios of AEMET as WMO Regional Center and
- Faculty of the Universitat Rovira i Virgili under the agreement signed with AEMET for training activities.
About Euroclima
Euroclima is a program funded by the European Union and co-financed by the federal government of Germany through the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), as well as by the governments of France and Spain through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union, and Cooperation.
The Program's mission is to reduce the impact of climate change and its effects in 33 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean by promoting mitigation, adaptation, resilience, climate investment and biodiversity. To this end, it is implemented according to the "Spirit of Team Europe" under the synergistic work of eight agencies: Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), AFD Group: Agence Française de Développement (AFD)/ Expertise France (EF), Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), International and Ibero-American Foundation for Public Administration and Policies (FIIAPP), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).