Brochure CIIFEN (English version)

INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH CENTER ON EL NIÑO

www.ciifen.org

GOBIERNO NACIONAL DE LA REPÚBLICA DEL ECUADOR

WMO OMM

Building climate resilience for sustainable development.

ÍNDICE CIIFEN, making its own way while moving forward.......................3 About us?.........................................................................................7 Strengthening climate information services.................................10 Meteorology, climatology and hydrology database management system (MCH).........................................................11 Latin American climate assessment & dataset (LACA&D).................................................11 Operational system for interoperable hydro-meteorological process (Sophy and Hydex) ........................................................12 Desertification land degradation and drought (DDLD) observatory for Latin America (SCADO.........................................................................13 El Niño – La Niña in Latin America................................................13 Ocean analysis.............................................................................14 Climate analysis in the Americas..................................................14 Regional contribution to WMO El Niño-La Niña Update................15 Climate monitoring.......................................................................15 Seasonal climate forecast for Western South America..................16 El Niño 2015 - 2016: learned lessons...........................................16 Regional Climate Center for Western South America (RCC-WSA)..........................................................17 Strengthening climate research in Latin America.............................................................................18 I International conference on ENSO..............................................19 II International conference on ENSO.............................................19 International symposium on climate risk management .................20

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International workshop for development of climate indices for sector specific applications (ClimPACT)...................................20 Regional action plan for analysis of extreme events......................21 Ibero-American workshops on seasonal prediction......................21 Strengthening capabilities in Latin America................................22 Regional climate outlook forum (RCOF)........................................23 Regional group of developers (GRD)............................................27 Regional group for seasonal forecast...........................................28 Regional group for hydrological modeling.....................................28 Contributing to risk management and adaptation to climate change.......................................................29 Information system to support climate risk management for food security in Jubones river basin (Ecuador).........................30 Andean regional program for the strengthening of climate, meteorological and hydrological services and the development (PRASDES)................................................31 Climate resilient basins: Chinchiná (Colombia) and Mantaro (Peru)......................................................................32 Information system on climate change and biodiversity to generate public policies and adaptation in the tropical Andes (Bolivia-Ecuador-Peru)..................................................................33 Coping with climate change in the coastal range (Ecuador)...........................................................................34 Acronyms.......................................................................................36

CIIFEN, Making its Own Way While Moving Forward

of CIIFEN. In 2006, CIIFEN obtained funding from a regional project through the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) which made it possible to carry out the work it was meant for. After this project, CIIFEN received more financing from other donors and expanded its operations. We were ready to take off…

Rodney Martínez International Director of CIIFEN On January 10, 2003, CIIFEN began its activities in Guayaquil, Ecuador, with representatives from the international community as witnesses.

This was the tangible response to the long and hard process that began with the Declaration of Guayaquil in November 1998. On that day, CIIFEN began its journey, with the strong support of the Ecuadorian Government, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR). Like all great ventures, CIIFEN’s beginning was extremely difficult. In 2005, the State Meteorology Agency of Spain (AEMET) signed the agreement with WMO to join to the International Board 4

CIIFEN has been making its own way while moving forward, slowly but perseveringly. Until now, we have successfully implemented four regional projects in the Andean region and continue to implement a fifth one. We have coordinated 17 regional climate forums with the support of the WMO and the active participation of the Meteorological Services of Western South America. We have contributed to the scientific dissemination related to El Niño - La Niña and climate variability in multiple scales through three international conferences that have been promoted, mainly with the participation of Latin American scientists. We have led interventions in several vulnerable locations, organized hundreds of regional, national and local workshops that fostered the interaction among thousands of experts from the region and the world. We have been able to share our experiences and knowledge in hundreds of events including global conferences and regional forums.

The success of two projects carried out by CIIFEN between 2007 and 2009, related to risk management and financed by the IADB and the European Commission, respectively, gave CIIFEN its first institutional landmark: the Sasakawa Merit Award in 2009, which is a worldwide recognition to the best initiatives in disaster risk reduction.

In 2010, CIIFEN had the opportunity to implement the first project on climate change adaptation by applying the ecosystem based approach, thus penetrating the field of climate-biodiversity interaction. This led us to participate later in two regional projects for the Tropical Andes, working directly with the Ministries of Environment from the Andean countries. Since 2010, CIIFEN has made a strong contribution to the understanding, estimation and representation of climate vulnerability. Through multiple projects at local, national and regional scale, we gathered knowledge and developed several tools to decision-making support, territorial planning and adaptation planning.

In 2013, we got involved in the first project financed by the Adaptation Fund in South America. In the same year, the largest regional project in our institutional history started: The Andean regional program for the strengthening of climate, meteorological and hydrological services and the development (PRASDES) financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland.

In 2014, we officially started our cooperation with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the project Climate Resilient Basins.

In 2015, CIIFEN reached its second institutional landmark, receiving the official designation from WMO as Regional Climate Center for Western South America.

During 2015 and 2016, the planet was hit by El NiĂąo, considered as one of the three strongest since 1950, which coincided with the 5

hottest consecutive year on record. CIIFEN had the opportunity to prove its competence and responded with all its capabilities to the information requirements from the different countries of the region and from other continents.

Our work, during El NiĂąo event, was acknowledged by the United Nations General Assembly, which in its Resolution 70/110 of December 2015, clearly recognizes our work for the benefit of the countries from Latin America region. This is the third and most recent landmark in our journey.

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Thank you! To all governments, donors, institutions, authorities, local communities, scientists, experts, media and general public who have trusted CIIFEN. We face new challenges, a changing and less predictable climate along with an increasing vulnerability in the developing world.

We are pleased to present this synthesis of CIIFEN’s activities as a testimony of our work and our renewed commitment to serve more and better with excellence and enthusiasm.

About us 7

Mission To promote and develop actions to consolidate science-policy interaction and the strengthening of climate and ocean services aiming to contribute on risk management and adaptation.

Vision A research center that is both versatile and efficient, to provide innovative solutions to strengthen institutions, governments, the most vulnerable communities, ecosystems and production systems in order to cope with current and emerging challenges imposed by climate and global change.

Strategic Objectives OE1: To promote the use and application of climate services and geoservices for risk management and adaptation.

OE2: To strengthen regional and global coordination mechanisms in order to improve climate services, disaster risk reduction, and adaptation.

OE3: To contribute to the generation and dissemination of scientific knowledge on climate, vulnerability, and impacts in Latin America.

OE4: To contribute regional, national, or local initiatives, to strengthen risk management, adaptation and the development of climate resilient cities and communities.

OE5: To consolidate the positioning and financial sustainability of CIIFEN. 8

OUR TEAM

International Board Scientific Advisory Committee International Director

Scientific Coordinator

Geospatial Services

Climate Services

Computer Products

Capacity Building

FinancialAdministrative & Informatic Support

Projects team

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Strengthening Climate Information Services 10

Meteorology, climatology and hydrology database management system (MCH)

Latin American Climate Assessment & Dataset (LACA&D)

MCH is a database management system (DBMS) based on an open source code. The system, developed by Mexico and adapted by the Ibero-American Cooperation Program, was transferred to WMO in 2011.

lacad.ciifen.org

The MCH database was installed at CIIFEN to store daily and monthly data from more than 600 meteorological and hydrological stations from National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) of Western South America which are used for climate forecast in the region. Furthermore, MCH allows to connect automatic stations and to collect real-time data.

The LACA&D system offers science-based operational services to assess observed changes in climate extremes in South America.

These services are based on high-quality observational data provided by the NMHSs. This system was developed by the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), and it is managed jointly with CIIFEN for Latin America region.

LACA&D allows data capture from daily observations of longterm meteorological stations, data storage in a central relational database, perform quality and homogeneity data, and the

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calculation of different indexes, particularly related with climate extremes. Some of the LACAD&D products include: • Daily dataset built from 1778 series with quality control of 7 essential climate variables (including temperature and precipitation), observed in 1241 meteorological stations in 9 countries (69% publicly available) • Provide information about stations and homogeneity of the data series • Maps of changes in the extremes in the form of tendencies, anomalies, and climatology for 55 climate indexes.

Operational System for Interoperable Hydro-meteorological Processes (Sophi and Hydex) CIIFEN, through the Andean regional program for the strengthening of climate, meteorological, and hydrological services and the development (PRASDES), contributed to the creation and consolidation of the regional group of developers (GRD), madeup by programming and database administration experts from the Andean NMHSs, for the development of data exchange programs.

The GRD coordinated their work through 14 workshops where 105 technicians participated.

This process had the technical assistance of IRD, FMI and SYKE. As a result, the Operational System for Interoperable Hydro12

meteorological Process (SOPHI) was developed. This software is composed by three sub-systems: 1) regional database; 2) regional interoperable platform for hydro-meteorological data and; 3) computer management tool for these data. SOPHI allows real-time sharing from meteorological and hydrological stations in binational areas. Through SOPHI, data is stored in a centralized database (BDO) on each NMHS. The data from each BDO can be directed to the regional database where can be transferred to another BDO in another NMHS and be consulted from there.

Desertification, Land Degradation and Drought (DLDD) Observatory for Latin America (SCADO) CIIFEN hosts the SCADO system, which supply data, information, and other key tools for comprehensive analysis of drought phenomenon, land degradation problems and desertification in Latin America. This Observatory was created by the Joint Research Center (JRC) as part of EUROCLIMA, a regional cooperation program between the European Union and Latin America. CIIFEN implemented the migration from a commercial database language to an open source database. The system offers operational services relevant for desertification and drought management to all Latin America.

El Niño – La Niña in Latin America The bulletin describes the current ocean and atmosphere conditions in the Pacific Ocean to assess the evolution of El Niño or La Niña, emphasizing how this interaction can affect Latin American climate.

The bulletin is elaborated at the beginning of each month and is distributed to thousands of users across the Americas.

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Ocean Analysis

Climate Analysis in the Americas

The bulletin describes the oceanographic conditions of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans as well as the Caribbean Sea, by monitoring variables as sea temperature, currents, and sea level, with emphasis in their potential impacts on the marine-coastal areas and the related economic activities in Mesoamerica and South America.

This bulletin is delivered during the second week of each month.

This product integrates multiple sources of global and regional information to support the monitoring and prediction activities in the NMHS and other institutions from Latin America. This also includes a comprehensive analysis of oceanic and atmospheric variables, model predictions and expected impacts which are made and delivered in a friendly format to make them accessible to non-experts users too.

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Regional contribution to the WMO El Niño/La Niña Update In a global effort, WMO, along with scientists, agencies, specialized institutions, among others, prepares an analysis of the conditions and probabilities of El Niño or La Niña onset. CIIFEN is one of the organizations that permanently contributes to this international effort. El “Niño/La Niña Update” is produced and disseminated at global level at least three times a year or when the situation requires it.

Climate Monitoring Through its information platforms, CIIFEN facilitates access to a wide range of satellite-derived data and products, forecasting models, and ocean and ground-based observing system on a global and regional scale. With this effort, CIIFEN tries to simplify for users, both technical and scientific, the search, access, understanding, use, and application of the available information with emphasis in Latin America and the Caribbean regions.

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Seasonal climate forecast for South America

El Niño 2015-2016: Learned lessons

Seasonal forecast for South America is generated each month and provides information on the probability of above or below normal rainfall and air temperature for the subsequent three months. This monthly product is produced since 2005 without interruption, thanks to the coordination and the continuous collaborative effort of eight NMHS´s data from South America, which share with CIIFEN the forecasts from more than 900 stations. These are compiled in order to elaborate an integrated map with the seasonal forecast for the whole subcontinent.

During 2015 and 2016, the earth was hit by an El Niño event, classified as one of the three strongest since 1950, which coincided with the warmest year on record. CIIFEN was tested and responded with all its capacities to the information requirements in different countries of the region and from other continents.

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Our work during this event was recognized by the United Nations General Assembly in its 70/110 resolution, which explicitly acknowledged our work in benefit of the countries from Latin American region.

Regional Climate Center for Western South America (RCC-WSA)

• Strengthening capacities for climate data management

www.crc-osa.ciifen.org

• Strengthening climate services directed to the priority sectors

The International Research Center on El Niño (CIIFEN) was designated by the WMO as the Regional Climate Center for Western South America. With this designation, the institution expands its scope of action towards the provision of data and climate information for the NMHS of the assigned region.

• Strengthening capacities for seasonal prediction

• Positioning and visibility of NMHSs. The RCC-WSA is implemented by CIIFEN with the coordination and guidance of its Steering Committee composed by the Directors of the NMHSs from Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.

In its short-term the RCC-WSA strategic plan includes:

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Strengthening Climate Research in Latin America 18

I International Conference on ENSO The first International Conference Alexander von Humboldt on “El Niño Phenomenon and Its Global Impact” was held in Guayaquil, from 16 to 20 May 2015. This was the first of the Alexander von Humboldt (AVH) conferences initiated by the European Geosciences Union (EGU). It was organized jointly by CIIFEN and EGU. This conference was attended by 153 scientists. The articles presented were published on Advances of Geosciences Volume 6.

II International Conference on ENSO It was held in Guayaquil, from 12 to 14 October 2010. The main theme of the conference was “Climate Variability in South America, Trends, Teleconnections and Potential Impacts”. It was organized and sponsored by World Climate Research Program (WCRP), the Climate Variability, Predictability and Climate Change Program (CLIVAR) and CIIFEN. It was attended by 110 scientists. The articles were published in Advances of Geosciences Volume 33.

III International Conference on ENSO It was held in Guayaquil from 12 to 14 November 2014. The theme of the conference was “Closing the Gaps between Global ENSO Science, Regional Processes, Extremes and Impacts.” It was organized under the auspices of WMO, the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS), and the Permanent Commission for the South Pacific (CPPS). It had the participation of 210 scientists. The articles were published in Advances of Geosciences Volume 42.

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International Symposium on Climate Risk Management This international Symposium, organized by WMO was held in Guayaquil, from 10 to 12 October 2011, in collaboration with CIIFEN. It joined experts from all five continents along with members from the WMO Commission of Climatology Expert Team on Climate Risk Management. The results of the symposium generated a scientific publication entitled: Guide for Members of the World Meteorological Organization: Local Climate Risk Management - Techniques, Case Studies, and Good Practices.

International Workshop for the Development of Climate Indexes for Applications in Specific Sectors (ClimPACT) The international workshop was held in Guayaquil from 10 to 14 June 2013. It was co-organized by the WMO Commission for Climatology and CIIFEN. Its main objective was to improve the use 20

of climate information in the agriculture, water, and health sectors for climate risk management and adaptation through interdisciplinary analysis and the interpretation of specific climate indices for each sector. During the workshop, the ClimPACT software was presented. This software, based on the RClimDex software, was developed by the WMO/CLIVAR/JCOMM Expert Group on Climate Change Detection and Indices (ETCCDI).

ClimPACT allows to calculate a new set of climate indexes, especially developed for sectors like agriculture, water and health.

ClimPACT is freely available at: http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/wcp/ccl/opace/opace4/ meetings/linkedfiles/climpact.r

Regional Action Plan for Analysis of Extreme Events

Ibero-American Workshops on Seasonal Prediction

At CIIFEN’s headquarters, in January 2011, experts from all South American meteorological services participated in a workshop for analysis of extreme events. This workshop was supported by climatologists from the Center for Climate Change of the Rovira i Virgili University of Tarragona, Spain. As a result of the workshop, a regional action plan was agreed for daily precipitation and temperature data processing from more than 280 meteorological stations. This plan generated a scientific article which was published in “Global Planetary Change” and became the regional contribution to the V Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

CIIFEN, with the financial support of the Conference of Directors of Ibero-American Meteorological and Hydrological Services (CIMHET), has organized three Ibero-American workshops on seasonal prediction (TIPE). The first one was held in Guayaquil in October 2008, the second in Lima in November 2009 and the third in Guayaquil in October 2016. The workshops have enhanced the capacities on dynamic and statistical climate prediction in all NMHSs of Ibero-America and the cooperation among experts and institutions in the region for mutual technical support and coordination of activities.

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Strengthening capabilities in Latin America 22

Regional Climate Outlook Forum for Western South America The regional climate outlook forum for western South America (RCOF-WCSA) has been coordinated and organized

by CIIFEN since 2003 with the support of the World Meteorological Organization and the active participation of the national meteorological services. During the Forum, the oceanographic and climate conditions are discussed, the seasonal forecast is presented to institutions and a wide range of users; training sessions on specific topics are also organized. The climate forecast is distributed to more than 11,000 users of various productive sectors, authorities, cooperation agencies, scientific institutions, and universities, mainly from Latin America.

XIV COF 2014 Guayaquil- Ecuador

X COF 2010 Quito-Ecuador

XIII COF 2013 Bogotá-Colombia

VIII COF 2008 Caracas-Venezuela

XII COF 2012 Guayaquil-Ecuador

VI COF 2006 Armenia - Colombia V COF 2004 Guayaquil-Ecuador

VII COF 2007 La Paz-Bolivia

XVI COF 2016 Lima-Perú

XV COF 2015 La Paz-Bolivia IX COF 2009 Cuzco-Perú

XI COF 2011 Santiago-Chile

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Training Workshops CIIFEN has conducted dozens of regional training workshops for NMHS technicians in Latin America. The training sessions have covered topics such as: quality control, homogenization, and data management, statistical and dynamical climate modeling, meteorological monitoring and prediction, management of

bioclimatic models, climate analysis tools, meteorological forecasting, and climate prediction. CIIFEN has also held workshops of methodologies for vulnerability assessment, climate hazards mapping, hydrological monitoring, design, and management of early warning systems, use of applications and web based information systems for risk management among others.

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Community Workshops In order to increase the resilience of communities at a more local level, workshops have been conducted with community stakeholders, covering topics such as: risk assessment, mapping of local threats, simulations of early warning systems, raising climate change, definition of community-based adaptation measures, community climate change perception, definition of vulnerability based on local knowledge and use and application of climate information provided by the NMHSs for the development of their productive activities.

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Workshops with decision-makers In order to enhance risk management on climate related hazards, CIIFEN has held workshops on the inclusion of variability and climate change criteria in territorial management and development of local governments. These workshops are aimed at municipal administrations, risk management entities, territorial planning agencies, ministries of agriculture and environment, ministerial cabinets, regional, and local government authorities, insurance companies and agro-export companies.

Workshops with guilds and associations CIIFEN has prepared workshops on the management of climate information for decision-making and its dissemination with groups of small and medium scale farmers associations of artisanal fishermen, guilds of journalists, and chambers of commerce, industry and production.

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Regional Group of Developers The regional group of developers (GRD) was created in October 2014. The GRD is composed by Information Technologies (IT) Specialists from the NMHSs of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru; under the leadership of two professionals from SENAMHI Bolivia and SENAMHI Peru with experience in the implementation of protocols and development of integrated data management systems.

The main objective of the RGD was to create an interface to communicate the meteorological with the hydrological databases of the NMHSs, to facilitate data exchange and management of hydro meteorological data between the four countries.

As a result, the RGD developed a regional database, which was implemented in each NMHS, that allows the integrated storage of meteorological, hydrological and climate data.

This group installed an interoperability platform to transfer information from the official database of each country to the regional database and thus, facilitate the data exchange between countries.

It also developed a meteorological, hydrological, and climate data management system to transfer information between the national data base structure of each country and the regional data base.

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Regional Seasonal Forecast Group The seasonal forecast group was created in La Paz, Bolivia, on November 20, 2015 by experts from the National Meteorological Services (NMHSs) from Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.

This group aims to work on improving seasonal prediction databases; coordinate actions with the regional climate center for western South America (RCC-WSA) and participate in capacity building processes.

As a result, the group has undertaken the task of verifying the seasonal forecasts that have been monthly produced since 2003.

Another achievement of the group has been the exchange of knowledge between experts from the NMHSs who have provided training in statistical forecasting and forecasting verification.

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Regional Hydrological Modeling Group

As part of the Prasdes Program’s achievements, the Regional Hydrological Modeling Group (RHMG) was formed in September 2016, with the endorsement of the directors of the NMHSs. The objective of this group was to consolidate hydrological forecasting systems based on robust models, according to characteristics of the basins from the Andean region, using the operational, meteorological forecasts available in the national NMHSs as the main input.

One of the challenges of the group is to consolidate their work and keep close coordination with the Regional Seasonal Forecast Group, to be able to integrate precipitation forecasts with hydrological forecasts in several pilot Andean basins.

Contributing to risk management and adaptation to climate change

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Information System to Support Climate Risk Management for Food Security in Jubones river basin (Ecuador) http://181.198.20.219/sac-foreccsa/ This system was implemented under the project “Strengthening communities resilience to the negative effects of climate change emphasizing on food security�, FORECCSA (by its acronym in Spanish), through an agreement signed between CIIFEN and the World Food Program (WFP). FORECCSA is being implemented by the Ecuadorian Ministry of environment and financed by the Adaptation Fund of Kyoto protocol. The Project partners are: The Ministry of agriculture, cattle rising, aquaculture and fisheries, and 31 Decentralized Autonomous Local Governments (DAG) of Jubones river basin in Ecuador.

The objective of this system was to identify the possible effects of climate on food security, the population and their livelihoods in order to support the implementation of adaptation actions in the Jubones watershed. The system also provides information to decision makers, farmers and other stakeholders directly or indirectly related with the food security chain. As a result of the project, a study on the possible changes of climate for the mid-21st century based on the trends of climate in recent years and climate projections of high resolution models was developed. A vulnerability analysis of food security, considering access, use and availability of food was performed and included local population consultations along the Jubones watershed. This analysis considered three climate related hazards: heavy rains, droughts, and frosts.

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Climate monitoring combined with the identified vulnerabilities were integrated in an information system to support climate risk management and foster a coordinated institutional response.

This information system was installed on a web platform and is publicly accessible.

Andean Regional Program for the Strengthening of Climate, Meteorological and Hydrological Services and the Development (PRASDES)

• The development of a hydro-meteorological data exchange system called “SOPHI” and the “Hydex” application that allows hydrological data exchange between NMHSs.

www.prasdes-ciifen.org

• The development and implementation of early warning systems in Catamayo-Chira watershed (Ecuador-Peru) and in Suches watershed (Bolivia).

CIIFEN implemented the Regional Program for the Strengthening of Climate, Meteorological, Hydrological Services and the development (PRASDES), in collaboration with the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) from Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru; the technical assistance of the Finnish Meteorology Institute (FMI), Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE) and the French Research Institute for Development (IRD). This project was financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland.

• The development of a technological platform that enables meteorological and climate real-time monitoring, as well as thematic maps for vulnerability and risk analysis.

The main objective of PRASDES was to strengthen the capacity of NMHSs in the Andean region to provide hydrological and meteorological information and high-quality climate services in response to the needs and demands of strategic development sectors, risk management systems, and vulnerable communities at regional, national and local levels. This program achieved, among other outcomes: • To improve meteorological forecasting capacity through provision of high-tech computer equipment and software for analysis (SMARTMET).

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Climate Resilient Basins Project: Chinchiná (Colombia) and Mantaro (Peru)

• Better understanding of the CV and CC expression and its impacts on the basins, built on the integration of formal and local knowledge.

www.cuencasresilientes-ciifen.org

• Local communities aware of regional vulnerabilities to climate variability and climate change.

CIIFEN implements the USAID-funded regional project “Climate Resilient Basins in Chinchiná, Colombia and Mantaro, Peru,” which aims to increase resilience and reduce vulnerability to climate change in these two basins, through the strengthening of base knowledge for decision-making, the generation of local policies and strategies for adaptation to climate change.

The project seeks to identify, in greater detail and precision, the regional expression of climate variability (CV) and climate change (CC), the associated impacts and hydroclimate risks in the intervention areas, as well as the estimated vulnerability levels of the basins; strengthen the capacities of regional and local governments and stakeholders in the study areas to incorporate CV and CC criteria into planning processes and tools; and strengthen local Meteorological Services in the basins, and the Regional Climate Center for Western South America (CRC-OSA).

The project has as strategic partners to IDEAM, CORPOCALDAS and the organization “Pactos por la Cuenca del río Chinchiná” in Colombia, and SENAMHI, Junín Agrarian Agency, Junín and Ayacucho Regional Governments and MINAM in Peru. All project activities are included within five expected outcomes:

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• Local governments of Chinchiná and Mantaro basins incorporate components of adaptation to climate change into their territorial management.

• Local communities in Chinchiná and Mantaro basins aware of climate change problems and critical of decision-making on how to tackle them.

• Climate Information Services strengthened and providing information for risk management by extreme phases of climate variability and for adaptation to climate change.

Climate Change and Biodiversity Information System for Promoting Conservation and Adaptation Public Policies in the Tropical Andean region (Bolivia-Ecuador-Peru) www.geoportal.ciifen.org CIIFEN implemented the regional project “Climate Change and Biodiversity Information System for Promoting Conservation and Adaptation Public Policies in the tropical Andean region”, financed by the IADB (Inter-American Development Bank) under the modality of regional public goods. Three countries from the Andean region Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia participated in the project, with their National Meteorological Services and Ministries of Environment as strategic partners.

• Definition of precipitation and temperature change projections for the period 2020-2039 at 20 km resolution in Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia.

• Development of executive summaries for decision makers on adaptation and conservation issues.

• Development of a geo-portal for the visualization and download of maps, documents and data •

This project grouped professionals and experts in climate, biodiversity, and information technology for the development and implementation of a climate change regional public information system that provides information on integrated climate change scenarios; definition of vulnerable Andean ecosystems; systematized complementary information on biodiversity and climate, and contributes to the formulation of conservation measures as a strategy for adaptation to climate change.

Some relevant results of the project were: • Estimation of the vulnerability to climate change of Andean ecosystems;

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Coping with Climate Change in the Coast Mountain Range in Ecuador www.cordilleracostera.org CIIFEN implemented the project “Coping with Climate Change in the Coast Mountain Range in Ecuador”, co- financed by the European Commission between 2011 and 2014. It had as partners to the Ministry of Environment of Ecuador, the Guayas and Manabi Provincial Decentralized Autonomous Governments (DAG) and as collaborators to The Nature Conservancy and the Provincial DAG of Santa Elena.

This project contributed to the knowledge of the region by conducting a study of climate variability (CV) and climate change (CC) and a social--economic and environmental vulnerability analysis for the region, a map of the coast mountain range vegetation cover and an analysis of conservation gaps for the provinces of Manabí and Santa Elena. Through a participatory process, that considered the local reality and the community climate susceptibility, adaptation measures were designed to support the most vulnerable communities and the sustainability of their livelihood. Measures also included the conservation and restoration of the dry forest in the Coast Mountain Range to contribute to the maintenance of their ecosystem services.

Some of the implemented measures were: • 6,422 Ha of protected forest in the upper parts of the Cordillera are maintained under a conservation commitment

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in exchange of the renovation of 113 ha of coffee plantations in agroforestry systems; • Eight farms with analogous forestry were implemented: they contribute to the connection of remnants of forest and the recovery of degraded forest, recovering ecosystem services such as water uptake and regulation, offer source of income to local populations and food to native fauna.

• 105 km long by 10 meters wide river banks recovered improving both water quality and quantity; • 12 agro-ecological farms designed to optimize water use and thus become less vulnerable to the potential effects of climate change.

Other pilot actions include the recovery of an “albarrada”, a native Ecuadorian system to store water in dry seasons; support actions for the management of conservation areas; construction of a community forest nursery with capacity to produce 180,000 plants per year; and improved connectivity between Cerro Blanco and Chongón Colonche protecting forests, with reforestation of 6 ha of dry forest in Guayas, in partnership with Probosque Foundation.

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Acronyms AEMET Meteorology State Agency (Spain) AvH Alexander von Humboldt CECCCCO Consortium for coping with climate change in the Ecuadorian coast mountain range CIMHET Conference of Directors of Ibero-American meteorological and hydrological services CLIVAR Climate and ocean: Variability, predictability and change DBMS Database management system DDLD Desertification land degradation and drought observatory FMI Finnish Meteorological Institute IADB Inter-American development bank IDEAM Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies (Colombia) IRD French Research Institute for Development KNMI Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute LACA&D Latin American climate assessment and database MCH Meteorological, climatological and hydrological database management system NMHS National meteorological and hydrological service ODB Official database of each national meteorological and hydrological service PRASDES Andean regional program for the strengthening of climate, meteorological and hydrological services and the development RCC-WSA Regional climate center for western South America SCADO Desertification land degradation and drought observatory for Latin America SMHN National Meteorological and Hydrological Services SYKE Finnish Environment Institute TIPE Ibero-American workshop on seasonal prediction UNISDR United Nations Office for disaster risk reduction USAID United States Agency for International Development WCRP World Climate Research Program WMO World Meteorological Organization 36

CREDITS Editorial Group Jessica Díaz Juan José Nieto Rodney Martínez Elba Fiallo-Pantziou Photos: CIIFEN

For further information on the contents of this publication, contact: International Research Center on El Niño - CIIFEN PO Box: 09014237 Guayaquil, Ecuador Tel: (593 4) 2514770 Fax: (593 4) 2514771 Info-ciifen@ciifen.org Or visit our website www.ciifen.org

It is allowed to reproduce and communicate this work as long as the source is correctly quoted and not used for commercial purposes.

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International Research Center on El Niño - CIIFEN Escobedo #1204 y Av. 9 de Octubre. Edificio El Universo, 1er Piso • Guayaquil - Ecuador Phone.: (593 4) 2514770 Fax: (593 4) 2514771

info-ciifen@ciifen.org www.ciifen.org