Meteorologists, sectoral experts, and representatives from farmer organizations, climate service user groups, rural extension services, media groups, civil society , private sector, donors and Dakar-based United Nations organizations came together at the Senegalese Meteorological Service (ANACIM) on 11 August 2017 to agree on a final list of activities for Senegal's national project component in a 7-country regional project proposal currently being developed.
The proposed initiative aims to mobilize seed funding for seven countries (Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Cameroon, Chad and Côte d'Ivoire) to implement their national action plans on climate services.
These countries have already adopted a national action plan to scale up climate services delivery, endorsed at the highest political level. However, in the short-term, limited public budgets are allocated towards the implementation of these national action plans. Therefore, the seven national governments are seeking support to deliver user-relevant climate services for their users and mainstream the use of climate information for adaptation decision-making. This is a critical investment in the Sahel region, which is already prone to increasingly frequent and severe climate related disasters.
National Consultation: prioritizing needs
Senegal’s national consultation sought to prioritize and agree on a final list of activities to include in the proposal. In the lead-up to the consultation, the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS) regional team supported ANACIM to meet with each priority sector and note the critical gaps, needs and remedial activities required by each sector. Three sectoral interventions were prioritized: agriculture and food security (including fisheries and pastoralism), health and energy. See the table below for further information:
| Agriculture sector priorities | Health sector priorities | Energy sector priorities |
|---|---|---|
| Suitable sowing dates per region based on the combination of: the average seasonal start date, the optimum date of sowing based on historical data, and the early or late season setup provided by seasonal forecasts | Day +1 prediction of air quality | Energy balance simulation models to assess the impact of climate variability on solar production data |
| Advice on post-harvest measures to conserve production (off-season rainfall) | Development of early warning health systems on climate-sensitive diseases based on the rainfall thresholds per zone provided by the seasonal forecast, as well as humidity, and temperature. | Information on direct and diffuse irradiation data at two heights. |
| Development or implementation (calibration) of a water balance model to determine the soil-water reserve. |
The partners present at the consultation reviewed the gaps and identified the capacity development, training and equipment needed to implement each activity.
A participatory needs-driven process: Senegalese case study
Developing the Sahel proposal has been a bottom-up process. Senegal, along with the other countries targeted by the regional proposal, have been at the helm of its development from the start. National stakeholders have been actively engaged in identifying, developing and validating national priorities for investment, on the basis of their national action plan.
To illustrate this, the core project development team have already been working for over two years now to identify the core needs of the country, which this proposal aims to address.
Multiple steps have been taken to get to this stage. First, key stakeholders required for the development of the project design at the national level were identified. From there, National Meteorological Services and user groups from diverse sectors collectively discuss the urgent need of climate information and weather related advisory services. This key dialogue then led to the development of a coherent national action plan on climate services that defines gaps and strategic priorities for investment on climate services in Senegal. Now, the draft decree, which will create Senegal's National Framework for Climate Services, is in the process of being launched.
Regional drive
Senegal has kick started the national consultations to finalize their component of the proposal. Burkina Faso, Niger, Mali, Cameroon, Chad and Cameroon will host their own national consultations from early September. This will lead to the finalization of project activities for the proposal to fund national action plan for climate services implementation in the Sahel.
For additional information on the national consultations, please contact:
Alioune Kaere (Senegal and Mali): [email protected]
Daouda Yahaya (Niger, Cameroon, Chad and Côte d'Ivoire): [email protected]
Pascal Yaka (Burkina Faso): [email protected]
Author: Arame Tall, GFCS Regional coordinator for Africa ([email protected])