The CARIWIG project
Managers and policy makers in the Caribbean require knowledge of the likely impacts and hazards arising from climate change that are specific to their geographical location and that are relevant to their planning time-horizons (e.g. the short term, 2030s, or the longer term, 2080s). However, current climate model projections of the weather are of limited use in this respect due to scale and bias issues. Sophisticated downscaling providing locally relevant unbiased climate change information remains sporadic. Clear guidance for managers and policy makers for the utilization of such information is also limited.
The
CARIWIG project will addresses these issues through the provision of
locally relevant information on the weather impacts of climate change
for a range of time horizons, training for stakeholder technical staff
in the use of such weather information, the development of support
networks within the region and development of partnerships with UK
research institutes specializing in the management of a range of
hazards and impacts.
A web service will be developed to provide
this service through the adaptation and provision of leading
weather-generator models from the EARWIG and the UKCIP09 climate
knowledge systems. These weather generator models will be used to
provide locally relevant weather projections based on the best available
observed data and climate model outputs for the region .
Preliminary
use of the new web service will be for impacts studies and training
programs with key stakeholders in the region. This will inform
management decisions and inform the development of policy to address
specific local hazards and impacts of climate change. In addition
exchange visits to specialist institutions will help build regional
capacity in climate compatible development, and help develop and
strengthen research and regional support networks. Research findings,
best practice and the web service will be further disseminated through
workshops with key stakeholders and the provision of technical training
for stakeholder staff.
The project is funded by the Climate and
Development Knowledge Network (CDKN ) and work will be carried out in
partnership with the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre
(Belize), University of East Anglia (UK), University of the West Indies
(Jamaica) and the Institute of Meteorology (Cuba)
