National Consultation on Climate Services & National Climate Outlook Forum forTrinidad and Tobago

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Summary

Dates:

Monday, May 11, 2015 to Thursday, May 14, 2015

Location:

Port of Spain

Trinidad and Tobago

Type:

Workshop

The National Stakeholder Consultation (NSC) on Climate Services hosted by the Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Service (TTMS) of the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR) and the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) was held at the Radisson Hotel, Port of Spain, Trinidad from May 11th to May 13th, 2015. Attendance and participation by partners and stakeholders at the consultation were wide–ranging, with representation from water, drainage, disaster risk management, health, agriculture, and energy sectors, among others.

The consultation addressed several aspects for the implementation and delivery of climate services at the national level, including an overview of the global framework for climate services as it relates to the national context, climate services successes, needs, gaps, challenges and the existing institutional framework for Climate Services in Trinidad and Tobago. The NSC was undertaken to foster a collaborative effort to establish and operationalize a national framework for climate services in Trinidad and Tobago that would enhance climate information and services in general. The NSC provided several recommendations which were derived from an action plan matrix developed as a road map for the implementation of a national framework for climate services, based on presentations and discussions at the NSC.

The following were noted as recommendations and follow-up actions:

The TTMS must strengthen cooperation at the national level with the four priority areas and expand this into other sectors such as tourism, transportation, energy, among others that are users of climate information and data.
The establishment of a Climate Services Panel led by the TTMS that incorporates as core members: DRR, Water, Agriculture, Health, and Energy and other key sectors to serve as an implementing arm for the Action Plan.
The TTMS to develop a policy stating its mandate and which will support the development of a legislative framework for the TTMS.
The continuation of National Climate Outlook Forum as the mechanism to discuss and develop consensus based climate services and as a means of generating feedback and evaluation of existing climate services.
Embark on a communication process that will improve the media and communication skills of the TTMS staff.
Position climate services in relation to socio-economic development by highlighting projects and case studies which examine the impact of climate services on socio-economic development and in particular those that brought added value. The aim is to bring visibility to the importance of the TTMS. Sectors already showing the added value of climate services such as agriculture, water, disaster risk reduction and energy should be focussed on, initially.

The Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Service (TTMS) successfully concluded its inaugural National Climate Outlook Forum (NCOF), which was held on May 14, 2015 in Port of Spain, immediately following its National Stakeholder Consultation on Climate Services. These events were hosted in collaboration with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR); and was partly funded by Environment Canada, as part of the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS).
The NCOF brought together representatives from key organizations such as World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Caribbean Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH), Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI), Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), and key stakeholders from climate sensitive sectors such as agriculture and food production, water management, health, energy, tourism and disaster management to discuss climate services and their benefits at the national level.

The NCOF will serve as a key mechanism in Trinidad and Tobago for regularly engaging, interacting and coordinating among the Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Service and key stakeholder agencies in responding to seasonal climate, their extremes and variability. It will facilitate a dialogue process that focuses on the application of probability in seasonal forecasts to communicate uncertainties in climate risk management in the priority areas and provide a platform for regular evaluation of the seasonal forecast, its uptake, application and value added results.

Concept Note NSC & NCOF

Final Report:

Final Report NSC

Final Report NCOF

Objectives

The objectives of the NSC are as follows:
1) To facilitate dialogue among climate service providers in Trinidad and Tobago, user organizations, the climate related research community, and decision makers in policy and planning in key sectors where decisions and practices need to be informed by climate services.
2) To review the current climate services available and facilitate dialogue on developing a system for generation and delivery of climate information and services that will enable effective uptake and integration in climate sensitive sectors in Trinidad and Tobago, in ways that engage national needs and demands.
3) To discuss the use of climate information in decision making in general and ways to mainstream climate services in the four priority sectors of the GFCS, these include Agriculture and Food Security, Disaster Risk Reduction, Health and Water, and other critical sectors of Trinidad and Tobago economy and society.
4) To discuss the sustainable implementation of a national framework for climate services in Trinidad and Tobago by focusing on the need for capacity building in climate research, climate observation and monitoring, operational climate information generation, and end-user interaction and engagement.

The objectives of the NCOF are as follows:
1) To create a platform for provision of climate information at relevant timescales through a regular and sustained multi-stakeholder dialogue process, by bringing together the Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Service as climate information provider and end users from key stakeholders in priority areas.
2) To empower the country to better address climate related risks, given the country’s vulnerability to flooding, dry spells, droughts and other extreme weather and climate events by mainstreaming the use of climate information in a consistent manner across all the climate-sensitive sectors.
3) To review the current status of the climate in Trinidad and Tobago and present participants with the expected seasonal climate outlook conditions and other climate information for use in practical climate risk reduction, resilience and adaptation needs.
4) To enable an assessment of the understanding of the seasonal outlook presented, how key agencies and sectors will use the information and ensure that climate information is interpreted adequately.
5) To enable end-users to benefit from improved climate prediction and information services through the incorporation of user views and needs.
6) Strengthen the climate information user interaction and engagement mechanism and serve as a method of providing feedback from users on the climate early warning seasonal outlooks.
7) Improve the development and delivery of climate information and provide opportunities for the generation of new climate information products and services for protection of natural resources, lives, livelihoods and property.

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National Consultation on Climate Services & National Climate Outlook Forum forTrinidad and Tobago

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