APA – Dakar (Senegal) The AWARE platform aims to improve preparedness, response, advocacy and the search for funding during periods of high climate risk.
Senegal, like many other countries in the region, is bearing the full brunt of the effects of climate change. The problems of floods and droughts are legion. These events have had a significant impact on the country’s population, agriculture and economy.
To cope with these increasingly frequent climatic shocks, anticipatory measures (AA) involving a proactive approach combining early warning systems, preparedness measures and rapid responses are needed.
It is against this backdrop that the AWARE “Early Warning, Early Action and Early Financing” platform has been developed to support a proactive approach to mitigating the impact of disasters, crises and climate-related events by taking action before they happen.
It was launched on Wednesday 11 October in Dakar by the ‘Agence Nationale de l’Aviation Civile et de la Meteorologie’ (National Agency for Civil Aviation and Meteorology, ANACIM), the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI).
“We think this is a great opportunity for the country, because this platform will enable us to radically change the way we manage climate change in Senegal,” said Dr. Issa Ouedraogo, a researcher at the International Biodiversity Alliance (CIAT).
The AWARE platform will demonstrate the interconnection and improved accountability between multiple stakeholders in strengthening early warning, preparedness and rapid response, which are essential to saving lives and livelihoods, reducing suffering and minimising economic losses, reads a document released to the press.
“This tool will enable us to work in synergy to be able to spot an alert, know what needs to be done and how to go about finding rapid funding,” explained the Director of Meteorology Operations at the National Civil Aviation and Meteorology Agency, Dr. Ousmane Ndiaye.
At the heart of the AWARE Platform is the Early Warning Dashboard, a stream of data drawn from remote sensing sensors and government information sources on five types of indicators: climate; markets; health; nutrition and population movements (Table 2).
The climate section also includes weather forecast indicators (precipitation, temperature, wind speed, cloud cover, atmospheric pressure) for the short, medium and long term, and enables the evolution of climate risks to be monitored.
If the Early Warning dashboard indicates that predefined thresholds have been crossed, this triggers a signal that a flood, drought or landslide is possible. For example, early forecasts may indicate a high risk of heavy rain in three to four months’ time. This triggers “preparedness” interventions. If the forecast later confirms that this danger will arrive in a few days’ time, the communities concerned will be informed to move to the “Ready” stage, and then to the “Active” stage.
The platform has been developed as part of the CGIAR (Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research) Climate Resilience (ClimBeR) initiative to transform the adaptive capacity of land, water and food systems.
This research is guided by demand on the ground, with the vision of strengthening the capacity of policies to respond to local needs, using the tools available, and promoting effective ‘Governance for Resilience’ (G4R) at different levels and scales.
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