Climate services: A tool for adaptation to climate change in Latin America and the Caribbean: Action plan and case study applications.

Date
Dec 2014
A variable and changing climate where uncertainties exist regarding its future extremes requires better quantity, quality and accessible information that support planning and decision-making processes, as well as infrastructure that can take changing conditions into account.


New advances in science and technology have provided higher reliability in climate information, more resilient infrastructure and better insights into managing climate risks and opportunities. New practices and tailored climate information and adapted infrastructure-Climate Services-would be able to accelerate and strengthen the process in order to meet the growing demands for useful and usable climate information. In the LAC region, a vision for



the development and implementation of climate services has been developed with a vision of integrating climate information into decisionmaking in socioeconomic sectors, through an effective dialogue between providers and users on the range, timing, quality, content and delivery format of climate products and services. Developing and effectively deploying climate information and climate-adapted infrastructure is an important challenge for the water sector in the LAC region. An effective response to this challenge must integrate meeting the needs of the users of such climate services and building capacity in the existing and next-generation of scientists, practitioners, managers and policy makers. With this in mind, this paper focuses on information and infrastructure activities within the overall framework of climate services for the LAC region.