PROJECT #2002-07
International Workshop on Reducing Vulnerability of
Agriculture and Forestry to Climate Variability and Climate Change
| Project Leader |
Dr. J. SALINGER
National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research
P.O. Box 109 695, Newmarket, Auckland
NEW ZEALAND
Tel: + 64-9-375-2050
Fax: + 64-9-375-2051
Email: j.salinger@niwa.cri.nz
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| Funding |
US$ 40,000
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| Participating countries |
Participants from the following countries were funded: Australia, Bangladesh,
Cook Islands, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal,
New Zealand, Pakistan, P. R. China, Philippines, Russia, Sri Lanka and
Viet Nam.
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In addition, participants from Albania, Armenia, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada,
Central African Republic, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Egypt,
Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Iraq, Islamic Republic of
Iran, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyz Republic, Lesotho, Libyan Arab
Republic, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique,
Niger, Nigeria, Peru, Poland, Republic of Macedonia, Republic of Moldova,
Saint Lucia, South Africa, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Tunisia, Turkey,
Uganda, Ukraine, UK, USA, Uzbekistan, and Zimbabwe were provided support
to attend the workshop through funding provided by CTA, CIDA, Meteo France,
START, UCEA, UNEP, USDA and WMO.
Brief introduction and background
Climate change and variability, drought and other climate-related extremes
have a direct influence on the quantity and quality of agricultural production
and in many cases, adversely affect it, especially in developing countries,
where technology generation, innovation and adoption are too slow to counteract
the adverse effects of varying environmental conditions. A workshop
was organized by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), with the
National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) providing significant
scientific and other support for the APN part of the project. This
was an International Workshop on Reducing Vulnerability of Agriculture
and Forestry to Climate Variability and Climate Change held from 7-9 October
2002 in Ljubljana, Slovenia, in conjunction with the 13th Session of the
Commission for Agricultural Meteorology of WMO.
Outline of activities conducted
Workshop activities included:
- Opening session that included welcoming addresses from different
sponsors of the workshop, and the Slovenian hosts;
- Six technical sessions covering different objectives of the workshop.
In each session there were presentations by invited speakers, followed
by comments from discussants from developing countries. These were on:
- Reducing vulnerability of agriculture and forestry to climate variability
and climate change overview;
- Impacts of climate variability in the tropics;
- Impacts of climate variability in the temperate regions;
- Reducing vulnerability to climate variability and climate change:
adaptation and applications;
- Reducing vulnerability to climate variability and climate change:
technology and strategies;
- Reducing vulnerability to climate variability and climate change:
communication, education and training; and
- Reducing vulnerability to climate variability and climate change:
future research and applications.
- A final session for discussion on the conclusions and recommendations
of the workshop.
Outcomes and products
- Participation of scientists from APN countries enabling interaction
with the experts presenting state-of-the-art papers in the workshop and
also with scientists from other regions;
- Provided an opportunity for the APN scientists to learn about the
range of adaptation options for agriculture and forestry, including the
use of technological advances, for reducing the vulnerability of agro-ecosystems;
and
- A CD-ROM of papers presented was provided to all participants.
Future directions and follow-up work
- The workshop papers are being prepared for publication in a special
issue of the journal Climatic Change; and
- The summary report of the workshop including the conclusions and
recommendations will be brought out in the six working languages of WMO.
Copies of this report will be distributed to all the co-sponsors of the
workshop, including APN, START, UNEP and FAO to disseminate them widely
to all policy-makers in their networks. In addition, copies of the
report will be made available at the sessions of the Conference of Parties
(COP) of UNFCCC, UNCCD and CBD.
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