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Harsen Nyambe Nyambe, Director of Sustainable Environment and Blue Economy at the African Union Commission, stressed the importance of dialogue between producers and users of climate information. “For Africa to build climate-resilient economies and communities, it is imperative that countries strengthen their capacities to generate and deliver reliable, timely and tailored climate information services. This can only be achieved if producers and users of climate information services engage in effective dialogue. The 1^st African ClimSA Forum provides a unique platform for this engagement,” said Director Nyambe

The European Union-funded ClimSA Programme is notably implemented under the Intra-ACP Coorporation – 11^th European Development Fund Strategy. At the African Union Commission, the Programme supports the implementation of the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS) in Africa. The ultimate goal of the Programme is to foster sustainable development on the continent. By strengthening the entire climate services value chain, the Programme improves the accuracy and accessibility of timely weather and climate information for decision-making, adaptation, and risk mitigation at all levels. It also contributes to efforts towards achieving the goals of the Africa Agenda 2063 as well as achievement of the goals and targets of other global development frameworks including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, among others.

Thomas Huyghebaert, Head of the Cooperation at the EU Delegation to the African Union, highlighted the longstanding collaborations and cooperation between the African and European continents on climate and environment. The ClimSA programme is a recent example of AU-EU collaboration. Mr. Huyghebaert stated, “As highlighted during COP27 in Egypt and last week at the Africa Climate Summit in Kenya, Africa is an active part of the solutions to the climate crisis. It is key to engage all stakeholders of the climate services value chain, in this 1^st Africa ClimSA Forum, as to encourage and showcase more impact on the ground, and thereby further demonstrate the successful collaboration between Africa and Europe in the fields of Earth observations and Climate”

In ACP regions, many economic sectors and livelihoods rely on climate and weather-related information. These sectors include agriculture, energy, health, water resources, fisheries, tourism, environment, and transportation. On the African continent, climate service providers, such as Regional Climate Centres (RCCs) and National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs), deliver climate information services to this diverse user base. therefore, the ClimSA Programme enhances technical, infrastructural and human capacities of member states to support observations, climate monitoring, and forecasts. ClimSA also facilitates Africa’s smooth transition to the use of the Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) satellite products.

During the three days of deliberations, the 2023 ClimSA Forum will address topics such as climate services and stakeholder engagement for building resilience in the ACP region, experiences in strengthening regional and national capacities in delivering and using climate services, and ClimSA’s contribution to building resilience to climate change, among others.

This 2023 ClimSA Forum is jointly organized by the African Union Commission (AUC) in collaboration with the Government of Seychelles, the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) with the support of the European Union Commission.